Healthcare Law

Northern Ireland's High Court has dismissed applications for judicial review alleging breaches of statutory duty by the Department of Health and two health and social care trusts over treatment waiting times. In a judgment handed down this morning, Mr Justice Adrian Colton said the "crisis" in waiti

The High Court has ruled that a doctor who was facing suspension from the medical register pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings may be identified in media reports. The application was made by Mediahuis, who sought to name the doctor who had several serious driving convictions. In an ex te

The High Court has ruled that the HSE was required to provide an assessment of need for a disabled child who required a diagnosis to access appropriate schooling and education services. The applicant had significant learning difficulties but the HSE had not assessed him for several years. Delivering

A health and social care trust is set to pay out £20 million to the family of a nine-year-old girl who suffered a serious brain injury at birth in one of Northern Ireland's largest-ever medical negligence settlements. The High Court in Belfast has approved the settlement, which follows legal a

Legislation is set to be drafted to bring the regulation of nursing homes in line with the recommendations of the Covid-19 nursing home expert panel report. The Health (Amendment) Bill will make a number of amendments to the Health Act 2007, which provides for the regulation of designated centres fo

The High Court has ruled that the provisions of the Children First Act 2015 require HSE counsellors to report child abuse claims made by adult service users to Tusla. A 2019 policy published by the HSE required certain “mandated persons” to pass on information to Tusla where there were r

A bereaved mother has received "substantial damages" from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and the Northern Ireland Hospice following a settlement ending legal action over alleged medical negligence. Christina Campbell, whose daughter Jessica died at four months old after being di

The UK Supreme Court will soon have the opportunity to settle the law relating to the proximity issue of plaintiffs as secondary victims in claims arising from clinical negligence, writes Belfast barrister James Stitt. On 13th January 2022 the Court of Appeal of England and Wales handed down judgeme

Healthcare lawyer Sandra O'Malley has been appointed by LauraLynn, Ireland's Children's Hospice, as chair of its board of directors. LauraLynn operates Ireland's only children's hospice as well as two local disability services, all based in Mallow, Co Cork.

The High Court has refused an application by the Medical Council to suspend a doctor from the register pending the resolution of a fitness to practise inquiry. The doctor had previously been convicted for drunk driving and other driving offences and banned from driving for 10 years. Despite providin

A further delay to the introduction of a long-awaited compensation scheme for injuries linked to vaccinations is "very disappointing", a solicitor has said. An expert group chaired by Mr Justice Charles Meenan in 2020 recommended the introduction of the scheme as a "matter of urgency", having been c

A draft national policy framework for open disclosure in the Irish health and social care sector has gone out for public consultation. The Department of Health developed the draft national open disclosure framework to provide a consistent approach to open disclosure across the entirety of the health

The legal framework underpinning the ownership and governance arrangements for the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) has been agreed by ministers following an extended political row. Campaigners and opposition parties have raised concerns about possible religious influence in the hospital after

Roger McMillan, managing partner and head of healthcare at Belfast-based Carson McDowell, has been named as a recipient of the 2022 Industry Defender Award by the board of directors of the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association. The award is presented to individual defence lawyers who have

A solicitor has called for period payment order (PPO) legislation to be revised to link payments to wage inflation rather than consumer prices. David O'Malley, a partner at Callan Tansey Solicitors, made the call outside the High Court after judges approved a third interim payment to his client Ruby