US lawyer to consult on medical negligence cost

A leading US lawyer is coming to Ireland to help our medical and legal systems examine faster and cheaper ways of resolving medical negligence cases, the cost of which have almost doubled since 2009 to €81m last year.

International lawyer Kathleen Clark, who has pioneered new collaborative approaches to these issues in the US, will be among the speakers at a major seminar, organised by the Cork Resolution Centre, at UCC’s Brookfield Conference Centre on Apr 17.

It comes as new figures show that the HSE paid out just over €81m through the State Claims Agency on negligence claims last year — up 2.4% on the 2010 figure.