A court ruled today that St Philip’s Hospital was not responsible for the death of a patient who fell from a third storey window in 1999.

The case against the hospital, a doctor and two nurses, was instituted by Major Alfred Briffa, widower of Lilian Briffa, and their children.

They sued Good Shepherd Limited’ operators of St. Philip's Hospital for damages, claiming that Mrs Briffa, 76 and practically blind, fell from the low window of her room after having been given an overdose of a sleeping pill which, combined with a chest infection, disorientated her. Doctors testified that Mrs Briffa was given two tablets of Silnox in a short period when half a tablet was already dangerous. They argued medical literature showed overdosing on the drug could induce hallucinations, convulsions and hypersensitivity to light.

A lawyer for the hospital had claimed that Ms Briffa was a compulsive smoker, who climbed on to a stool and leaned out of the window to smoke before falling. He said this was the reason why she asked for the window of the room to be opened.

The court found that there were signs that the patient had been smoking, and when she climbed on the window sill, she was under the effect of the pill administered to her, but these effects were not known and there was no logical explanation for her actions. There was no evidence that the patient was  administered an overdose.