Consultants condemn Martin’s plans for court fight

HOSPITAL consultants yesterday hit out at Health Minister Micheál Martin’s plan to fight the €800 million historic liabilities they could face in the British courts.

The British Medical Defence Union (MDU) and Medical Protection Society who have insured Irish consultants to date, now say that they may not cover an Irish consultant being sued by a public patient because their past premiums may not cover the costs.

Protracted negotiations aimed at securing a deal between British insurance companies and Mr Martin have failed to secure any agreement on who should foot the bill for compensation claims against Irish consultants.

Mr Martin insisted yesterday he will fight any case taken against an Irish consultant for a procedure because both the Irish State and the doctor were paying the premiums to the British insurance company.

But the Irish Hospitals Consultants Association (IHCA) called on Mr Martin yesterday not to expose the Irish taxpayer to such an enormous liability by fighting court actions in British courts that could cost the Irish taxpayer up to €800m.

“Taking on the British insurance companies in a UK court is a big gamble and it could expose the Irish taxpayer to huge penalties if the minister lost the case,” IHCA general secretary Finbarr Fitzpatrick said.

The IHCA want Mr Martin to negotiate a settlement with the Medical Defence Union and Medical Protection Society whereby the insurance company would pay the first €100m in any future settlement and the minister would pay the balance, Mr Fitzpatrick added. “It is unlikely there would ever be a case for such a big amount since only two cases against consultants in the past 30 years have had awards of over €12m,” he said.

The IHCA believes Mr Martin’s €800m estimate of historic liabilities is exaggerated because up to now he has insisted the figure is only half that amount.

The Irish Medical Organisation, which also represents some hospital consultants, confirmed yesterday that they will also oppose Mr Martin’s move to fight historic liabilities in the British courts.

The IMO will hold a meeting for its consultant members in Dublin next Sunday, which will be attended by the Medical Defence Union and the Medical Protection Society.

The IMO’s legal advisers will outline the options open to its consultant members. Its consultant committee has recommended a rejection of Mr Martin’s proposal to fight the historic liabilities in the British courts.

It is expected that IMO members will be asked to vote on opposing the move in the High Court by seeking a judicial review.

But Mr Martin yesterday rejected calls for the department to negotiate with the British insurance companies to avoid any future court challenges.

“We have tried to negotiate with them to secure a settlement on historic liabilities but their offers have fallen far short of what the Department of Health was prepared to accept,” Mr Martin’s spokeswoman said.

The actuarial advice that the department has received is that these liabilities could range between €400m and €800m and this is the figure Mr Martin was quoting, his spokeswoman added.

The spokeswoman rejected the IHCA claim that a deal where the insurance company would pay the first €100m in liabilities and Mr Martin the remainder would save the Irish taxpayer any money.

“The minister could end up footing a bill of at least €700m if he signed such a deal,” she said.