'Our 27-year-old son died in agony on flight home from Algarve'

21 February 2024 , 10:02

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The family of an Irish tourist who died from untreated peritonitis are suing an Algarve hospital

A grieving family is suing a Portuguese hospital after their son died within hours of seeking medical help.

Holidaymaker Robbie Byrne had travelled to the Algarve with friends, waking up to crippling stomach pains halfway through the trip. His worried friends called an ambulance and the 27-year-old was rushed to hospital in Faro.

But his family claim Robbie, a window-fitter from Sallynoggin, Dublin, was instead greeted with "hours of abandonment on a trolley", and that he received sub-par levels of care which resulted in tragedy hours later.

Robbie ultimately checked himself out of the hospital and boarded a flight home to Dublin with pals while still in pain. But as the plane began its descent in the early hours of June 18, 2022, his condition deteriorated and, tragically, he passed away. He was pronounced dead upon arrival home.

His bereft mum Sonya is now taking legal action after it transpired Robbie's appendix had burst, and a hole had been burnt through his bowel. The 56-year-old mum said: "I've worked tirelessly to try to get answers since my son died but I've never spoken publicly until now."

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The pain of losing Robbie has been 'unbearable' his family said

Robbie Byrne’s mum and dad Sonya and Nicky holding up a photo of their son

A lawsuit suing the local Algarve health authority for €500,000 was filed last month by lawyer Alexandre Martins on behalf of Sonya and husband Nicky at a civil court in Lisbon, Dublin Live reports. The parents say that, despite being slightly asthmatic, Robbie had been a healthy young man and his condition had struck very suddenly with no forewarning.

"Robbie had a burst appendix and the poison burnt his oesophagus and burnt a hole through his bowel," Sonya told XX. "All of this came on very suddenly. He'd gone out with his friends the Wednesday night and they called for an ambulance after waking up early and hearing him wailing with pain. They were instructed not to follow him to hospital because of Covid."

"After he returned home he told them he had been left alone in a corner on a trolley, without the glasses he normally wore and unable to make himself understood properly because he didn't speak Portuguese. Robbie couldn't talk to me directly by then because he had no energy."

"I initially put it all down to dehydration because of the heat and I was in a bit of a panic and with his friends telling me they'd done nothing for him at the hospital my focus at that point was just on getting Robbie home. None of us knew how sick my son was because he hadn't got the information that could and should have saved his life in my opinion. I'm so angry now I have the fuller picture."

Robbie's voluntary self-discharge was described as an "act of desperation" following the "appalling" treatment he received at the hospital, Sonya said. Lawyer Mr Martins said: "From being treated at the hospital until his death, Robert experienced nearly 48 hours of suffering, without even being prescribed medication to alleviate it."

"This prolonged pain and the pain his parents suffered knowing the circumstances in which their son died must be compensated. We would understand it if Robert had been in the middle of a desert but there's no way to explain how anyone can be abandoned inside a hospital in a civilised country."

Clinical routine in Portugal would have required Robbie to undergo in-depth examination such as an MRI scan, Mr Martins said, with the potential for surgery. "What Faro did was to give Robert a green, non-urgent bracelet, and leave their patient without care or information," the family's lawyer said.

"Information is essential in a case like this. He was unaware that his life was at risk and, feeling abandoned, ended up turning his back on the hospital without knowing the risk he was running." As well as the local healthy authority, the lawsuit has also been filed against the doctor at the Algarve University Hospital Centre who saw Robbie.

Legal documents state he was examined just after midday on June 16, with concerns Robbie was not told how severe his conditions were or that he was even given pain relief. Sonya said: "My son should never have been allowed on that plane.

"He fainted at the airport in the boarding area and they asked for an ambulance and got the Red Cross. His friends who were with him at the time saw things I don't want to know about and have still left them traumatised today. Our compensation demand stands at €500,000 because I wanted to go to the highest level."

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"This is not about money but about hitting a big corporation where it hurts most which is in their pockets. They'll never ever feel the pain we do which is never going to go away." The family strongly believe Robbie's death could have been prevented and said they didn't want any other families to suffer what they were going through.

The local health authority said in a statement it "naturally regretted" this "personal tragedy" but said the fact the lawsuit had already been lodged meant it couldn't comment fully. It added: "From the preliminary assessment carried out internally, there is no indication or suspicion that calls into question the quality of the services provided."

"The user abandoned the service, which is why we stand ready, with serenity and complete availability, to clarify this situation in the appropriate instances when required."

Gerard Couzens