State faces €127m bill for health negligence

The deepening recession is causing more people damaged by health service negligence to sue the State rather than accept the errors were unintended — with a potential €127m bill on the cards for this year.

The State Claims Agency — which oversees clinical indemnity schemes and payouts due to individual hospital or doctor mistakes — made the statement in its latest newsletter report.

According to the agency, the first half of 2012 saw an upsurge in the number of cases taken against the State — the first time this has occurred since the Clinical Indemnity Scheme began a decade ago.