Legal News (Healthcare)

Latest News
Date Heading Short Description
April 2013 Courts Bill 2013 The Government has recently published the Courts Bill 2013 which provides for some noteworthy procedural changes to the Irish legal system. View
April 2013 Reversal of decision to destroy the Heel Prick Test Database In a significant policy U-turn, the Minister for Health, James Reilly, this week ordered the HSE not to destroy blood samples taken from new-born babies during the course of their heel prick test View
March 2013 Court asked to balance rights of mother and unborn child Caroline Crowley, Partner, and Aoife Nally, Associate, of Hayes solicitors recently acted for a hospital in seeking a Court Order to compel a pregnant woman to undergo a caesarean section. View
March 2013 I.C.G.P. Hayes solicitors were delighted to participate in a day long conference held by the I.C.G.P. which focused on the role of GPs who care for patients in nursing homes or in long term residential care. View
March 2013 Paying the piper We are about to see significant change in the way the courts deal with damages, particularly where an injured party has been awarded substantial damages for catastrophic injuries. View
March 2013 Landmark Surrogacy Case In a recent landmark decision of the High Court, the genetic mother of twins born to a surrogate mother has been declared the legal mother of the children. View
February 2013 Medical Fitness to Drive Guidelines published “Medical Fitness to Drive Guidelines” were recently complied by the National Programme Office for Traffic Medicine which has been established as a joint initiative between the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) and the Road Safety Authority (RSA). View
February 2013 High Court orders the taking of blood samples from Teenager The High Court recently made an Order permitting the taking of blood samples from a 15 year old girl suffering from a psychiatric disorder. View
January 2013 Playing by the rules, pre-action procedures Alison Kelleher examines the pre-action protocol procedures in England and Wales and how a similar protocol in this jurisdiction could benefit all parties resulting in early resolution of claims or alternatively, well informed parties when litigation commences View
January 2013 Dental Complaints Resolution Service – Experience to date Recent statistics show that the Dental Complaints Resolution Service (DCRS) has had a busy first six months in operation. View
January 2013 Government commitment to provide for Periodic Payment Orders A Government commitment to prepare legislation providing for Periodic Payment Orders has been announced in recent days. View
January 2013 Absolute Ban on Assisted Suicide re-affirmed in High Court The absolute ban on assisted suicide was recently re-affirmed in a landmark High Court decision. View
December 2012 Increase in Medical Council Complaints The Medical Council’s most recent Annual Report shows, like in all professions, a rising tide in the number of complaints received by the Council and it seems that this increase is likely to continue. View
December 2012 Freedom of Information Requests for Access to a Deceased’s Medical Records Health service providers are faced with a difficult decision when considering a request for a deceased’s medical records from a deceased’s spouse or next of kin under the Freedom of Information Act 1997 (“the Act”). View
December 2012 A Whiter Shade of Pale Dentists across the country have welcomed the recent changes in legislation to regulate the use of tooth whitening products which follow many years of lobbying by dental groups. View
December 2012 Medical Council Guidance on Relationships between Doctors and Industry The Medical Council has recently published guidance clarifying its position on the relationship between doctors and industry. View
December 2012 High Court Permits Blood Transfusion for Jehovah Witness The High Court has recently ordered that a member of the Jehovah Witness faith can receive certain blood transfusion products in circumstances where a dispute arose over her wishes. View
December 2012 New Risk Equalisation Scheme Legislation. The Government has recently published the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012 which provides for a new Risk Equalisation Scheme in the private health insurance market to apply from the beginning of next year. View
December 2012 Personal Injuries Claim Dismissed Due to Misleading Evidence. In a recent personal injuries claim involving a slip and fall, the High Court dismissed the case in its entirety due to false and misleading evidence given by the Plaintiff. View
October 2012 Consent – Not a Minor Issue.

(Reproduced from Riskwise Ireland 21 with permission from Dental Protection)

 Treating teenagers can present the dentist with particular challenges. Legal complexities surrounding the consent process only serve to complicate matters further when dealing with patients under 18 years of age. View
September 2012 HIQA Publishes guidance on improving patient safety HIQA has produced new guidelines aimed at improving patient safety and strengthening safeguards surrounding the use of personal health information. View
September 2012 Untimely death highlights the need for Periodical Payments The recent passing of a young Plaintiff, just one month after receiving an award of damages of €5.5 million is a stark example of the benefit of periodical payments in catastrophic injury cases. View
July 2012 Legal costs – Developments The Government’s programme for national recovery and its key commitments in the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland aimed at structural reform has already had a significant impact on the issue of legal costs in Ireland. View
July 2012 Taking control of your future health - a step closer to certainty In January 2012 the re-introduction of the Advance Healthcare Decisions Bill to the Dáil brought us one step closer to being able to direct what medical treatment we do not want carried out or continued in future should we become unable, due to mental incapacity through illness or accident, to make that decision at a later date. View
July 2012 Minister Shatter publishes Draft Mediation Bill, March 2012 The general scheme for a Mediation Bill was published by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Mr Alan Shatter, T.D. on 1 March 2012. View
July 2012 A welcome initiative As with any profession there may be times when treatment does not go entirely to plan and patients may raise concerns. The complexity of dental care has increased over the years and, during the same time, patients’ knowledge of dentistry and patient expectations have increased. View
July 2012 Sanctions under the Medical Practitioners Act, 2007 The topic of this piece relates to the sanctions that the Medical Council can impose on a Practitioner who has been found guilty of professional misconduct or poor professional performance. View
June 2012 HIQA Tallaght recommendations On 17 May 2012 the Health Information and Quality Authority published its findings following an investigation into quality, safety and governance of the care provided at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital (Tallaght Hospital) for patients requiring acute admission. View
June 2012 High Court gives consent to treatment In mid May 2012 the High Court gave permission to a hospital to amputate an unconscious patient’s leg based on evidence that the operation was necessary to save his life. View
June 2012 Bourbon v Ward - what does it mean Bourbon v Ward and MIBI (2012) IEHC 30 concerned a minor plaintiff who was injured after being struck by a car. In November 2009 his claim was settled for €800,000 plus costs which represented approximately 50% of the full value of the claim. View
May 2012 The Final Whistle The Government recently published the Draft Heads of the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill. Prior to this, the area of whistleblowing was puzzling with different legislation in place for different sectors. View
May 2012 The downside for “whistleblowing” employees in the Health Sector Recently, five employees of the Avondale Nursing Home in County Kilkenny were found by the Employment Appeals Tribunal to have been constructively dismissed in 2009 by their employer after raising their concerns over the welfare of elderly patients at the Nursing Home. View
April 2012 Minister Shatter publishes Draft Mediation Bill, March 2012 The general scheme for a Mediation Bill was published by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Mr. Alan Shatter, T.D. on 1 March 2012. View
April 2012 Irish Court approves record €11.5 million settlement for injured plaintiff On Friday last, Ms Justice Mary Irvine approved the sum of €11.5 million as compensation for a 10 year old boy who was catastrophically injured in a 2008 road traffic accident. View
April 2012 Slight fall in incidents reported to the Clinical Indemnity Scheme in 2010 The Clinical Indemnity Scheme’s STARSWeb statistics for 2010, released in March 2012, indicate that there has been a 0.4% decrease in incidents reported to the CIS compared with 2009. View
April 2012 Clinical Indemnity Scheme Obstetric Forum Louise O’Rourke, a partner in the Healthcare team, recently addressed the Clinical Indemnity Scheme’s Obstetric Forum on the topic of “Open Disclosure”. View
March 2012 Judiciary critical of legal costs The level of legal costs have long been a contentious issue and February saw members of the judiciary joining the fray from both on and off the bench. View
March 2012 UK makes potentially record breaking personal injuries award A court in the UK recently made what it understood to be one of the highest ever awards of compensation in a personal injuries action. Cerys Edwards, now aged 6, was awarded a lump sum of almost £5 million plus £450,000 every year for the rest of her life. View
March 2012 High Court permits blood transfusion for Jehovah’s Witness Hayes recently acted for a Dublin hospital which successfully applied to the President of the High Court for an Order permitting doctors there to administer a blood transfusion to a three year old child from the Jehovah’s Witness community if it should be necessary during or as a result of surgery. View
February 2012 New Dental Council Code of Practice on Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct This month, the Dental Council published an updated Code of Practice on Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct. View
February 2012 Mental Capacity Bill awaited After several years in the pipepline, it now looks likely that a Mental Capacity Bill will be published by the Government in the near future according to a recent statement by the Minister of State for Health, Kathleen Lynch. View
February 2012 Hospital allowed to withold rescusitation In January 2012 the High Court granted an order permitting a hospital not to resuscitate a severely and permanently disabled 6 year old child if his condition worsens to the point that resuscitation is required. The application was not supported by the child’s parents. View
February 2012 Doctors under the microscope As part of endeavours to increase patient safety and improve the delivery of healthcare services in Ireland, doctors will soon be subject to closer scrutiny of their bedside manner. View
February 2012 Advanced Healtcare decisions Bill February 2012 In January 2012, the Advance Healthcare Decisions Bill was introduced by Fine Gael’s Deputy Liam Twomey. View
December 2011 Irish Dental Association’s Dispute Resolution Service – Filling the gap in the Complaint’s Procedure The Irish Dental Association has recently announced a new initiative to assist with the resolution of complaints made by patients to dentists in private practice. View
September 2011 Mature Teenagers: What makes them “mature” and should they be allowed to consent to medical treatment? The Law Reform Commission’s recent report on “Children and the Law: Medical Treatment” published on 25 July 2011 has sought welcomed clarification on the existing law on consent to medical treatment for children under the age of 18 years and has also provided a draft Bill. View
August 2011 Medical Negligence Litigation and Mediation: If the cap fits… The Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Richard Bruton recently announced radical proposals to overhaul medical negligence litigation in Ireland... View
August 2011 Children of Jehovah’s Witneses – a conflict of rights? Every patient who is not incapacitated by reason of age or mental disability has the right to refuse a blood transfusion. View
April 2011 Dentists obliged to display fees from 1 June 2011 Under a new Code of Practice recently published by the Dental Council, dentists in general practice must display their fees from 1 June 2011. View
November 2010 Working Group on Medical Negligence and Periodic Payments publishes the first part of its Report – Monday, 15 November 2010 The Working Group on Medical Negligence and Periodic Payments, which includes Ciaran O’Rorke, head of the Hayes solicitors’ Healthcare team... View
November 2010 DVD Medical Negligence Cases Deirdre McCarthy was invited to speak at the VTE National Symposium on 16 September 2010 organised by Covidien. View
August 2010 Structured Settlements Gain Momentum As work on officially reforming the payment of damages in catastrophic injury cases continues... View
July 2010 REVISION OF THE IRISH ANTI-DOPING RULES With all the fantastic sporting events that are happening at the moment, sports enthusiasts may be interested to know about the Irish Sports Council’s (ISC) Anti-Doping rules. View
July 2010 REGULATION OF COSMETIC SURGERY IN FOR A NIP AND TUCK Once accessible only to the rich and famous, cosmetic surgery has become increasingly popular in the past decade. View
July 2010 HEALTH INFORMATION BILL PENDING WITHIN WEEKS This long awaited Bill will offer significant and revolutionary advances in the use and protections afforded to personal health information in Ireland. View
July 2010 BREAST CANCER TREATMENT: THE WAY FORWARD Good news has arrived for both breast cancer patients and breast surgeons in the form of the recent report of Health Information and Quality Authority on Services for Symptomatic Breast Disease published on 26 February 2010. View
June 2010 The right to refuse treatment - recent English judgment Last month the English Court of Protection made headlines when it ruled that it would be lawful to impose treatment on a cancer patient, despite her refusal to consent to same. View
May 2010 Moving towards Periodic Payment Orders in medical negligence claims. The settlement of recent medical negligence cases suggests that the State and patients alike are willing to embrace the Periodic Payment Order (PPO) or equivalent in circumstances where there is as yet no statutory system for the making of such payments as part of compensation. View
May 2010 MDU claims over Irish jurisdiction again rejected. The latest development in long running legal battles arising from the Medical Defence Union's refusal to provide indemnity cover for Irish based consultants... View
May 2010 State to provide teenager with rare metabolic disorder with weekly tuition The State has agreed to provide 20 hours of tuition per week, and other educational services, to a teenaged girl suffering from a rare metabolic disorder. View
May 2010 Nurses and Midwives Bill 2010 The practice of nursing and midwifery is set for reform with the publication of the Nurses and Midwives Bill 2010. View
May 2010 Maintenance of Professional Competence for Medical Professionals The Minister for Health & Children has signed an Order bringing Part 11 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 into effect from Saturday 1 May 2010. View
April 2010 Ciaran O'Rorke Partner, Hayes solicitors appointed by President of the High Court to "Working group on payments for catastrophic injuries" The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, has established a working group to examine how damages are paid in catastrophic injuries cases. View
February 2010 PAI Seminar “Cost Effective Legal Proceedings and Taxation of Costs” Martha Wilson recently attended a most relevant seminar organised by Public Affairs Ireland that highlighted a number of useful ways of effectively managing disputes to achieve the maximum saving of costs. View
February 2010 Make your own decision Buzzwords in some circles at the moment are advance care directives also known as living wills. View
February 2010 The Coroner – a Layman’s Guide The Coroner is an independent person with responsibility to investigate sudden and unexplained deaths. View
December 2009Frozen Embryos Are Not The ‘unborn’ The Supreme Court made headlines this week when it considered the age old question of when life begins. View
November 2009 Ciaran O'Rorke spoke at CLT Medical Negligence Conference on 4 December 2009 Ciaran O'Rorke, Head of Healthcare spoke at the Central Law Training Ireland Medical Negligence conference along with Dr Simon Mills, Desmond Ryan BL and Michael Boylan of Augustus Cullen Law. View
November 2009Medical Council Guidelines A revised guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Doctors has been published by the Medical Council. View
October 2009The Case for Advance Care Directives There has been a good deal of publicity on the topic recently following publication of the Law Reform Commission’s September 2009 report on Bioethics: Advance Care Directives. View
September 2009Medical Council - Professional Competence The Medical Council is now conducting a pilot study on Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) among hospital based consultants in Ireland... View
June 2009The First Public Medical Council Inquiry Did you know that the Fitness to Practise Committee of the Medical Council held its first public inquiry in March 2009?... View
June 2009Blowing The Whistle An introduction to Part 14 of the Health Act 2007 on Protected Disclosures. View
May 2009Speak Up!
The commencement of the public consultation on the content of the Human Tissue Bill.		 On 9 April the Minister for Health and Children announced the commencement of a public consultation on proposals for a Human Tissue Bill. The Department has strongly advised stakeholders to submit substantive suggestions before 29 May 2009 as making further significant change will become progressively more difficult as the process progresses. View
September 2008Radical Reform for Medical Practitioners
The New Medical Practitioners Act		It has been 30 years since the law relating to the regulation of Medical Practitioners has been substantially reviewed. View
September 2008Mediation in Clinical Negligence actions – does it work?In May 2008 both sides to a long running medical negligence action voluntarily entered mediation which resulted in the matter being brought to a conclusion. View
23-Jul-2006Sun and surgery in EuropeOn 16 May last the European Court of Justice made a ruling that will be of great interest to patients on waiting lists for surgery across the country.......View
23-Jul-2006Powers to prescribe given to nursesThe Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2006 contains, for thefirst time in this country, a provision allowing for the prescription ......View
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