Tipperary University Hospital has apologised to the family of a young mother for the shortcomings in care which led to her death and that of her unborn baby.
The death of Caroline and her son TJ came before the High Court yesterday.
Caroline Kavanagh from Skeheen-a-rinka in South Tipp was 22 weeks pregnant with her second child, a baby boy, when she first presented at the Clonmel hospital A&E with chest pain in February of 2015.
But the 37-year-old was misdiagnosed and her heart attack symptoms were not identified or addressed and she was discharged home.
She was found dead in her bed by her mother on the morning of February 11th 2015.
In the proceedings it was claimed that the correct diagnosis of acute heart attack was not made and Caroline was not offered appropriate cardiac care to significantly improve her chances of survival when she attended the hospital on February 6, 2015.
A letter of apology was read to the court as Caroline’s 74-year old mother Margaret Kavanagh settled a High Court action against the HSE over her daughter’s death.
The letter from the interim hospital manager, Ailish Delaney expressed their profound sympathy and acknowledged there were shortcomings in Caroline’s care.
A breach of duty was admitted by the HSE in the case.
