They bury their mistakes and get away with it

SOME 2,000 people die from preventable medical error in Irish hospitals every year, more than the number who die on the roads. This is one of numerous shocking statistics to emerge from RTE’s recent Prime Time programme entitled Bad Medicine.

According to experts in Harvard Medical School, it is likely that 14,000 people are injured or killed in Irish hospitals every year as a result of preventable medical error. Of these, only a small proportion less than 4% ever sue.

Other myths were also exploded. In Ireland we sue much less often for medical negligence than in Britain and our highest medical injury court awards are considerably lower. It is very difficult to prove medical negligence. Prime Time described the situation in Ireland as "anything but a compensation culture".