State 'may face hundreds of MRSA lawsuits'

Hundreds of MRSA victims and their families are reportedly considering suing the State.

Reports this morning say the pressure group MRSA And Families has begun a process of assisting people affected by the superbug to build a case for legal action.

The group is accusing the Government of failing to protect people from the hospital-acquired infection.

An elderly woman has already secured substantial damages after a hospital where she contracted MRSA admitted that it had failed to impose infection-control policies.

Almost 600 MRSA infections were reported in Irish hospitals in 2005, the last year for which figures are available.