New initiative announced by law firm Callan Tansey and the International Medical Protection Society to keep medical cases out of the Irish courts system.
At an international medico legal conference being hosted today in Sligo by the law firm Callan Tansey, a major new initiative was announced to help keep medical cases out of the Irish court system.
One of the world’s leading medical insurers, the Medical Protection Society https://www.medicalprotection.org), announced that it will, in partnership with the Irish law firm Callan Tansey, pilot the use of Pre-Action Protocols in Ireland with a view to resolving medical negligence cases early, minimising delay and cutting down on trauma and cost for all parties involved.
Pre-action protocols set out the requirements that parties to a claim must comply with before bringing a clinical negligence action. The protocols are designed to encourage the early resolution of any actions where proceedings are instituted and to avoid entering the courts system.
Speaking today Roger Murray Managing Partner of Callan Tansey solicitors said; “Callan Tansey is very pleased to be partnering with the Medical Protection Society on the trial of new pre-action protocols in the area of clinical negligence. These protocols are designed to help families get answers to their questions about what happened to their loved one more quickly and to avoid the often-traumatic experience of a court case. International evidence shows that such protocols work. They save time and money and help ease the burden on families who find themselves dealing with the consequences of medical error. We meet such families every day and we know how difficult the adversarial courts system often is for them. These protocols have the potential to make a huge difference by keeping cases out of the court system. In the wake of the Scally report it’s clear that change must happen and that openness and candour should matter when medical mistakes happen.”
At the conference today Dr Timothy Mc Donald, President of the US Centre for Open and Honest Communication at the MedStar Institute for Quality and Safety in Washington DC, will speak about the need for candour when medical mistakes happen. He will share his expertise as a pioneer of the duty of candour as Patient Safety Officer of one of America’s largest hospital groups
The conference is also due to hear from injured patients and their families about how they feel the system should be improved.
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Further information:
www.callantansey.ie
Olive Stephens: 085 8535647, Olive@communicationsclinic.ie