A four-year-old boy who was severely disabled following failures of care at Portiuncula Hospital in Co Galway has been awarded €2.4m in damages.
Eoghan Dunne, from Tullamore in Co Offaly, had been admitted to the hospital on 3 August 2012 following a GP referral.
The then 11-month-old boy had developed a fever and become breathless and lethargic.
Lawyers for the Dunne family told the High Court that Eoghan had been in "severe respiratory distress" while under observation at the hospital, and had a very high heart rate.
They said antibiotics should have been administered when the child was first admitted.
12 hours after his admission, Eoghan was transferred to Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin.
He had developed septic shock and later suffered cardiac arrest. He was left with major neurological damage and spent six months in hospital.
The Dunne family received a report on the care provided to Eoghan in February 2014 - they had been unaware that a review of his treatment had been undertaken by the hospital.
Today's interim settlement, of €2.4m, covers the next four years. The case will be reviewed in July 2020.
