Medical Negligence Litigation in Ireland: Current Issues and Approaches

This volume of articles is a collaborative work between twelve students of the School of Law of Trinity College Dublin and twelve Senior Counsel who are members of the Inner Bar of Ireland. The articles address the key areas of legal controversy that exist in the ongoing defining of the parameters of medical negligence litigation in Ireland. Each article is presented as a response to a specific question which defines the issue that is being further clarified or has been recently resolved. These issues include:

• the revised definition of the standard of care in medical negligence litigation
• the emerging understanding of a cause of action based upon informed consent
• the existence of a cause of action for nervous shock of a relative of someone who has received negligent medical care
• the existence of a cause of action for wrongful birth
• the status of blind reviews, hindsight bias and intra-observer variability in the analysis of evidence
• the test for causation as a ‘but for’ test and/or one of ‘material contribution’
• the effect of the resolution of a claim for damages upon a subsequent claim by a statutory dependant, after the death of the original claimant
• the wider time limits for the institution of medical negligence proceedings
• the tolerance of issuing proceedings but not serving them in medical negligence litigation
• the effects of the statutory duty of disclosure upon the defence of medical negligence litigation
• the implications of mediation for the defence of a medical negligence action, and
• the constitutionality of the Personal Injuries Guidelines of the Judicial Council in so far as they establish a statutory cap upon general damages

All royalties from this publication are in aid of the work of the Bar Benevolent Fund which is supported by the Bar of Ireland. This volume is also written as a festschrift in honour of Mr Justice Kevin Cross to mark his unique contribution to the development of the law, together with his facilitation of the hearing of cases, in this area for many years prior to his retirement as a Judge of the High Court in 2021.

This publication is also the result of a unique collaboration between members of the Bar of Ireland and the undergraduate students of a leading school of law in Ireland. As such, it provides a precedent for how undergraduate students can gain a greater understanding and experience of the profession of the Bar and is an initiative which is supported by the Education Committee of the Bar of Ireland.