PIAB & medical negligence

mstq

Howdy

Do you make a medical negligence claim through PIAB?
On their website it says

handles personal injury claims relating to motor accidents, accidents in the workplace and claims involving public liability.

Does that fall under public liability, or I have to get solicitor and go to high court right away?

injuriesboard

Hi,

The Injuries Board deals with claims for personal injury compensation claims arising from motor accidents (motor liability), accidents in the workplace (employer liability) and accidents in public places (public liability).

Unfortunately InjuriesBoard.ie does not deal with claims for compensation arising from medical negligence.

Section 3 of our legislation (Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003) outlines the types of claims that we deal with. You will also find information on our process at http://www.injuriesboard.ie/eng/Making_a_Claim/

I hope this information is of assistance.

Reloc8

To make a claim for medical negligence you will need an opinion in writing from an appropriately qualified medical professional indicating that the person you wish to sue has been negligent.

You will also almost certainly require the advice of a solicitor and should take steps to procure same.

blueythebear

mstq wrote: »

Howdy

Do you make a medical negligence claim through PIAB?
On their website it says

Does that fall under public liability, or I have to get solicitor and go to high court right away?

I would recommend that anyone taking any form of personal injury action goes straight to a solicitor and does not make a claim to the injuries board themselves. But anyway, medical negligence claims do not come under the remit of the injuries board. Go see a solicitor as soon as possible.

blueythebear

blueythebear wrote: »

I would recommend that anyone taking any form of personal injury action goes straight to a solicitor and does not make a claim to the injuries board themselves. But anyway, medical negligence claims do not come under the remit of the injuries board. Go see a solicitor as soon as possible.

Meant to say also, be prepared to invest in your case financially. As Reloc8 says, you will have to get a report from a suitable medical professional to say that one of their colleagues was negligent. You will most likely not find an Irish doctor willing to badmouth another irish doctor so you'll need an expert report from a UK Doctor and for him to travel over to give evidence at hearing. This will cost you a couple of grand at least.

nuac

Preparing a medical negligence case is senior hurling.

You will need to get all relevant medical records and reports, including internal HSE reviews..

You will need a report by a consultant of standing and experience in the area concerned.

Be careful - just because a consultant appears to have strong academic qualifications does not mean that he or she will be a good witness. (s)he may be light on actual recent clinical experience of the procedure involved, or for other reasons may not be a good witness in the witness box.

Reports will cost in the region of £1500 - £3000 - up front - rarely are such witnesses prepared to wait until action heard or settled.

You need a solicitor experienced in such cases.

mstq

So how much cost involved should I be looking at? If it helps, it's a dental thingy

blueythebear

mstq wrote: »

So how much cost involved should I be looking at? If it helps, it's a dental thingy

This is a question you should be asking your solicitor. I can't stress strongly enough if you have a medical negligence case, it needs to be handled by an experienced solicitor. Depending on your solicitor's view on the case, the amount you'll need to front up will vary. Whether the case warrants High Court, Circuit Court or District Court jurisdiction will have a bearing also. It could be a few grand or it oculd be less.