Speaking at a hearing of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children this week (27 January), Law Society President Kevin O’Higgins said an MPS report on the cost of medical indemnity “contained a number of statements that the Law Society believes are erroneous and misleading.”

“Crude discussions on economic costs fail to encapsulate the human cost of medical negligence. The consequences for a plaintiff and their family arising from a catastrophic medical injury must always be at the forefront,” Mr O’Higgins cautioned.

Rebutting claims by the MPS that responsibility for increases in medical indemnity insurance lies with the legal profession, the Society outlined to the committee the positive impact that adequate resourcing of both the health system and the courts system would have on avoiding and reducing claims, in addition to the processing of them.

To read the full details, see the press release.