A young girl, now eight years old, required urgent transfer to a different medical facility after her eyelids were unintentionally glued together by a doctor, according to court records. Saoirse Feeney, the child involved, underwent a distressing incident at Crumlin Hospital in Dublin where excessive glue application sealed her eyes shut. Following a lawsuit against Children’s Health Ireland, the family received a €15,000 (£12,000) settlement from an Irish court for the mishap that took place in August 2022.
The court proceedings revealed that Saoirse was brought to the emergency room by her mother after sustaining a head injury from hitting a wooden table at home, resulting in a cut above her eye. Despite her mother, a pediatric nurse, applying butterfly stitches to stop the bleeding, doctors at the hospital decided to use glue to close the wound. Unfortunately, the overuse of glue led to it entering Saoirse’s eye, causing her left eye to be sealed shut. This raised concerns about potential long-term effects on her eyesight, as explained by Barrister Anita Finucane in court.
Subsequently, Saoirse had to be transferred to Temple Street Children’s hospital for the separation of her eyelids, requiring multiple rounds of irrigation treatment with a significant amount of fluid to remove the glue. The process was described as extremely distressing. As a result of the incident, Saoirse ended up with excess glue on her eyebrows, and some of her lower eyelashes fell out due to the glue and irrigation treatment. Additionally, some eyelashes turned inward, causing her discomfort. She had to use antibiotic eye drops four times a day for six weeks post-treatment.
Despite these challenges, Saoirse returned to school nine days after the event, appearing visibly self-conscious. Interestingly, she mentioned not recollecting any details of her time in the hospital during a brief conversation with the judge. The family proceeded with legal action against Children’s Health Ireland, the organization responsible for pediatric services in Ireland, leading to the acceptance of a €15,000 (£12,000) settlement by the court.
Judge Ní Chúlachain emphasized Saoirse’s luck in not sustaining permanent eye damage from the incident, noting that the compensation amount was on the higher end of recommendations for temporary eye injuries.