Medical negligence payouts have doubled in five years

Compensation pay-outs for medical negligence have nearly doubled in five years, the Irish Examiner reports.

The number and value of successful claims by victims of negligence has rapidly increased from €58 million and 567 cases in 2011 to nearly €100 million and 1,307 cases last year.

According to the Department of Health, a total of 5,753 claims were settled or concluded between 2011-2016 at a total cost of €478 million.

Documents seen by the paper note there “may still be some associated payments and reimbursements outstanding on finalised claims”.

Last year, 97 per cent of cases handled by the State Claims Agency “were settled without the necessity for a contested court hearing”.

John McGuinness, chair of the Oireachtas finance committee, told the Irish Examiner: “This is the shocking cost of HSE failure revealed for the first time in such detail.

“Systemic incompetence, neglect and a failure of management within the HSE. To see taxpayers having to deal with payouts of near €100m a year, as it was last year, is disgraceful.”