7-Year-Old Dies After Fatal Treatment Delay – Hospital Apologizes as Parents Recall Agonizing Screams

A seven-year-old Dublin girl died after medical staff failed to perform a timely life-saving procedure to drain fluid from her brain, an inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court has concluded. The verdict of medical misadventure comes after Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street apologized to the family of Lily Daly for the “tragic consequences” of her care in 2019.

Lily, who had been susceptible to hydrocephalus since birth, was brought to the hospital on February 8, 2019, suffering from severe headaches and a sore throat. Her mother, Olivia Maguire, described her daughter as “screaming in pain” and vomiting at the hospital, despite reassurances from staff that her vital signs were normal, according to the Irish Mirror.

Consultant neurosurgeon Darach Crimmins, who had overseen Lily’s care since infancy, admitted during the inquest that immediate surgery rather than an MRI scan could have saved her life. “I made completely the wrong decision. I should have had the common sense to say ‘things are not stable,'” Prof Crimmins testified. “I remain deeply sorry that I didn’t make a different decision”, reported Belfastlive.

The court heard that Prof Crimmins was performing surgeries at Beaumont Hospital when Lily was admitted to Temple Street. Despite being updated about her deteriorating condition by his registrar, Dr. Ellen O’Brien, he did not instruct an urgent operation to relieve the fluid buildup in her brain.

Coroner Dr. Myra Cullinane highlighted several contributing factors to Lily’s death, including delayed medical intervention, a consultant working at a different hospital while a junior doctor made decisions, and poor information sharing between medical staff about the patient’s condition.

In a poignant tribute, Ms. Maguire revealed that Lily’s kidneys and heart valves were donated after her death, saving other lives. She remembered her daughter as “an amazing young girl who was very bright and very sociable.”
The hospital has since implemented several changes, including additional consultants and nursing staff in the emergency department, new MRI scanners, and improved training on medical record keeping, communication, and managing increased brain pressure.

Lily’s parents recently settled a High Court legal action for €168,000 and received a formal apology from the hospital. Their legal representative, Roger Murray SC, said the family found some comfort in knowing that lessons learned might prevent similar tragedies in the future.