On Wednesday 3rd October, CEDR Ireland held a seminar on ‘Mediation and Medical Negligence’ which was kindly hosted by Mason Hayes and Curran.. The seminar, which was attended by over 50 delegates, was chaired by Jane Player who is a CEDR mediator and also the Vice Chair of the IBA Mediation Committee.
The first speaker was well-known CEDR mediator, Tony Allen. Tony has extensive experience in mediating clinical negligence claims and he shared those experiences during his presentation. He spoke of the potential of mediation to provide parties in a clinical negligence mediation with creative settlements which include remedies which are not available through the court system. He gave practical examples of cases which successfully settled through mediation.
The second speaker was Senior Counsel and CEDR mediator Patrick Hanratty, Pat gave an honest and insightful presentation on the uptake of mediation for clinical negligence disputes in Ireland. He suggested that the reason that the uptake remains low may be due to the reluctance of plaintiffs to attempt mediation. He also praised the Irish judiciary for their activism in promoting mediation for such disputes.
The third speaker was New York attorney, Scott Pearl. Scott outlined the experience in the United States in relation to the use of mediation for resolving medical malpractice disputes. Scott spoke of his own experience in mediating and representing clients in medical malpractice mediations and outlined the developments in the sector.
The final speaker was Siobhan Coleman who is a Senior Solicitor with the State Claims Agency. Siobhan outlined that the Agency is supportive of mediation for resolving clinical negligence disputes but noted that the number of mediations for such disputes remains low.
It has been estimated that up to 1,500 deaths are caused annually by medical errors in Ireland. Medical negligence litigation has long been criticised as complex, costly, and gruelling for all concerned, yet the number of medical negligence claims being brought in this country has risen sharply in recent years. CEDR Ireland believes that mediation has a fundamental role to play in the resolution of clinical negligence disputes in Ireland. To echo the sentiments of McVeigh ‘Our culture is increasingly blame-orientated, and litigation only feeds this tendency. Mediation, on the other hand, provides a safe forum for a doctor, who may still be obliged to continue to care for an aggrieved patient, to give them what they often need – an explanation, assurance of changed practices, and an apology if appropriate – without the latter being rewarded by inclusion in the Writ as an admission of liability’.
CEDR Ireland 