Door still open to Cork doctor if all evidence is disclosed, says union

VIDEOTAPES and documents had not been disclosed, but the door was still open to a Cork doctor, to secure assistance from the London-based Medical Defence Union (MDU), if he co-operates with them, the High Court was told yesterday.

Dr James Barry, in his late 70s, of Lauriston Lodge, Glanmire, is claiming indemnity from the union arising from a number of civil claims made against him, by several of his former female patients.

He claims that for more than 30 years, he was covered by professional indemnity insurance by the MDU, against whom he is taking the case. The MDU denies he was covered by them.

The civil actions relate to alleged events which date from the 1960s, up to the mid 1990s.

Asked by Patrick Horgan SC, for the plaintiff, about a document referring to legal fees of £100,000, Eric Markham, president of the MDU, said that was an assessment of the legal costs of the cases, if they got Dr Barry on board.

“We don’t take the costs into consideration when deciding whether or not to advise a member. We were not concerned in this case with the finances, but purely and simply with the fact that Dr Barry was asking for assistance, without disclosing all the matters concerned.”

Mr Markham said that they often dealt with brain damage, and spinal injury cases, involving £1 million, and they did not refuse to assist members in such cases. He added that if Dr Barry co-operated, “the door was still open” for him to get assistance.

When Mr Horgan suggested that the MDU had “run away” from Dr Barry, Markham said they had not run away from their obligations, and had tried their best to get Dr Barry to comply. They had declined an offer to meet Dr Barry in the absence of disclosure.

Markham said that documents and videotapes had not been disclosed by Dr Barry. Earlier Markham said the MDU’s general attitude, was to bend over backwards to assist members.