State paid out €330m to settle claims against health services

The State has paid out about over €330 million in the last 3 years settling personal injury actions and claims for property damage against the Health Service Executive and voluntary hospitals, new figures show.

The HSE has told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee in a written report the combined payout to individuals for damages in 2012, 2013 and 2014 amounted to more than €208 million.

The report says that in addition in the same period in excess of €115 million was paid out in legal costs.

More than €67 million of this went to lawyers acting on behalf of plaintiffs involved in legal cases against the HSE and voluntary hospitals.

A total of €48.323 million was paid to lawyers defending such action on behalf of the State.

The report given to the Public Accounts Committee states that more than €9.5million was paid out in costs to expert witnesses involved in cases brought against the HSE and voluntary hospitals over the same 3-year period.

Claims made against the HSE and voluntary hospitals for personal injury and third-party property damage are handled by the State Claims Agency.

The report says a key feature of State indemnity is that the injury or damage must have been caused by the negligence of the HSE, its servants and/or its agents.

“The general definition of negligence is that it is either an omission to do something which a reasonable person would do, or an act which a prudent or reasonable person would not do.”