Medical negligence case runs for 27 years


The Health and Social Care Board for Northern Ireland has advised that a medical negligence case has been closed after 27 years with no settlement, with legal fees for the last 2 years alone reaching almost £2million.

The figures were provided to the Northern Ireland Assembly after a question was posed by MLA John O'Dowd. Mr O'Dowd had talked of a family he was aware of that had been waiting for 16 years for their medical negligence case to be heard, and are in desperate need of the compensation to help take care of their severely disabled son. The case was repeatedly cancelled before reaching court, and legal fees were continually mounting up.

The Health and Social Care Board, in their written reply, confirmed that they have currently 55 ongoing cases that have lasted between 15 and 27 years.



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