Medical negligence settlements highlight need for mediation

Controversial last-minute settlements of high-profile medical negligence cases highlight the need for an early mediation process, according to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

The chairman of the institute’s Irish branch, Jim Halley, said a settlement could be arrived at within months, not years, using a mediation service of the kind offered by the institute.

He referred to a report in the Irish Examiner last Saturday about six-year-old Dylan Gaffney Hayes, of Kilcohan Park, Waterford, who was awarded €8.5m.