An independent forum is needed for medical compensation claims, according to Mr Raymond Bradley, Managing Partner at Malcomson Law, one of Ireland’s leading practices specialising in medical law.
Mr Bradley, whose firm represents Haemophilia sufferers at the Lindsay Tribunal, told a seminar in Dublin today that the current court system is not in the interests of patients, medical practitioners, hospitals nor the legal profession.
Mr Bradley referred to the system in New Zealand, which he said reduces the burden on the legal system and medical administrators and quickens the process of resolving claims "at significantly less cost to the taxpayer".
One of Ireland’s leading heart surgeons, Dr Maurice Nelligan told the seminar doctors are becoming increasingly reluctant to undertake high-risk procedures because of the threat of litigation.
Mr Bradley referred to high costs of indemnity and insurance premiums caused by the high costs of medical negligence actions, saying "the hardest hit have been Consultant Obstetricians and Gynecologists".
Earlier this year, the Medical Defence Union (MDU), who provide insurance and indemnity cover for many GPs and specialists in the State, increased its charges for consultant obstetricians from £68,500 to £393,000.
They say they cannot offer full insurance cover to obstetricians. "The litigation climate such as it is in Ireland makes that unaffordable," said Dr Christine Tomkins.
"Irish obstetricians are four times more likely to be sued than a doctor in the UK and the cost of claims is doubling every three years," she added.
At today's seminar entitled, Medicine & the Law: The Future for Ireland, Mr Bradley said patients also had cause for complaint over "the sheer expense, delay, the difficult burden of proof and other difficulties associated with pursuing a medical negligence claim."
He said the introduction of a no-fault system operated by an independent hearings board such as those operated in Sweden and New Zealand should be an option available to a potential litigant.
Mr Bradley said the current system where claims are pursued through the courts is adversarial, costly and time-consuming.
