Crash victims pay out €13m for ‘free’ hospital care

CRASH victims have paid out €13m on hospital care over five years for a service which should be free, the chair of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) said yesterday.

Dorothea Dowling said the charge was discriminatory because it applied only to road traffic accident inpatients.

“People that should be entitled to free hospital care are being charged up to €1,000 a night because of this levy. These patients were billed for €13 million between 1997 and 2002,” said Ms Dowling.