Family of Phoebe O’Connell sues Mater Hospital, QAS over near-fatal meningococcal miss

The family of a Brisbane student who nearly died when she was struck down with meningococcal is suing over her allegedly negligent treatment, with her medical specialist father describing the horror of watching the purple rash appear.

The medical specialist father of a Brisbane student who nearly died when she was struck down with meningococcal has described the horror of watching the purple rash appear and her fingertips start to blacken.

Brian O’Connell, the anaesthetist father of Phoebe Kate O’Connell, now 21, claims in documents filed in the Supreme Court that as he sat next to his unconscious daughter in South Brisbane’s Mater Hospital four years ago, he knew doctors had not “got it early, but actually very late”.

Details of Dr O’Connell’s reaction after his daughter was struck down with the deadly disease were revealed in the Supreme Court late last month when he and his critical care nurse wife Katy were given permission to sue the Mater and Queensland Ambulance Service.

The pair are claiming for psychological damages suffered as witnesses to their daughter’s allegedly negligent treatment.

Phoebe O'Connell in hospital.

Dr O’Connell, 61, went into heartbreaking detail of the night he and his 52-year-old wife thought could be one of Phoebe’s last.

“Around 3am Phoebe’s diagnosis of meningococcal was confirmed,” Dr O’Connell said in court documents.

“As I sat by her bedside, I watched the purple rash appear and I could see her fingertips start to blacken.

“Phoebe was not conscious and so I sat there watching the monitors. While I sat there, I knew that we had not got it early but actually very late.”

Phoebe can also now sue the operator of the Mater Private Emergency Care Centre in South Brisbane, as well as the state government, which operates the ambulance service, for personal injury damages in the Supreme Court.

She needed a kidney transplant from her mum, suffered nerve damage including to her feet and hands, suffers hyposplenism and the loss of parts of her fingers and toes and scarring on her forearms, feet and nose after coming down with the disease on November 28, 2018.

On March 28 an acting deputy Supreme Court registrar ordered, by consent, that Mr and Mrs O’Connell and Phoebe each be given leave to sue Mater Misericordiae Limited, and the state for personal injuries.

In her notice of claim, Phoebe alleges that the Mater did not confirm her diagnosis of meningococcal until 3am on November 29, a day after she first presented at the hospital by ambulance unable to walk with a high temperature of 39.9 degrees.

Phoebe O’Connell had to receive a kidney from her mother and has scarring after suffering from meningococcal. Picture: Josh Woning

Phoebe claims that she was sent home on November 28 after the doctor, Arthur Beggs, diagnosed her with influenza B, but she returned eight hours later because she was becoming gravely ill.

In her claim Phoebe alleges her serious injuries were caused by failures on both an individual practitioner and systemic level at the Mater, including failure to perform adequate diagnostic investigations, failure to escalate her deterioration to a senior doctor and to stop her from being discharged without proper diagnosis or treatment.

Phoebe is also claiming against the QAS for alleged failure by staff to promptly assess her and treat and transfer her accordingly from her Bulimba home to hospital.

Dr O’Connell states in his claim against the Mater that when Phoebe was feeling ill on the morning of November 28, he had to work at Greenslopes Hospital and asked his wife to take Phoebe to The Mater.

“As I knew she would be in good hands at the Mater,” Dr O’Connell states in his notice of claim filed in the Supreme Court.

After Phoebe was sent home diagnosed with flu, he says he wasn't worried.

“As an anaesthetist, I trusted the opinion of the Emergency Doctor,” he wrote.

“I knew that Katy had raised the concern relating to meningococcal and the doctor had promised it was not, so I assumed that the Emergency Doctor had screened for that.”

Later that night Phoebe’s condition worsened and she went back to hospital with her mum, and he stayed home to look after his youngest daughter.

But at 2.11am his wife called hysterical.

“I recall she said she thought Phoebe was dying and nobody was listening to her. I immediately drove to the hospital,” he states.

Mum Katy O’Connell donated a kidney to her daughter Phoebe. Picture: Peter Wallis

Dr O’Connell is also claiming against the QAS for their alleged failure to promptly and appropriately assess his daughter and treat and transfer her to hospital with appropriate consideration of her condition.

Katy O’Connell, is suing for having to donate her kidney to her daughter and for the trauma of witnessing Dr Beggs and various other doctors at the Mater failing to treat her daughter properly and quickly.

She also claims the Mater doctors failed to take notice of her concerns about how seriously ill her daughter was.

Mrs O’Connell states in court documents that emergency medicine expert David Spain alleges the delay in Phoebe’s treatment was between 10 and 11 hours.

She states that when Phoebe was diagnosed with meningococcal she was “gravely concerned” her daughter might die.

Earlier she saw Phoebe’s feet were “bright white which I knew meant she was in complete shock”.

Prior to her earlier discharge with a diagnosis of flu, Mrs O’Connell claims she raised her “express concern” that Phoebe “may have meningococcal”.

“As a critical care nurse, I raised my concerns about my daughter’s condition and disagreed with her discharge,” Mrs O’Connell states in court documents.

The family will be required to put on expert evidence to confirm their alleged psychiatric injuries, and the QAS considers Mrs O’Connell’s loss of her kidney as not compensatable, court documents state.

No date has been set for hearing and Mater and QAS are not yet required to file a defence to the claims.

Dr O’Connell said he and his family did not wish to comment on the case.

“Legal proceedings were commenced by solicitors for the O’Connell family on March 23,” a Mater spokesperson told The Sunday Mail in a statement.

“Legal reasons and patient confidentiality requirements prevent us from making any further comment on this case,” the statement read.

A QAS spokesman told The Sunday Mail that he could confirm they responded to a request for service followed by transport to hospital emergency.