John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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395. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to establish a medical injuries assessment board, along the same lines as Personal Injuries Assessment Board; his position with regard to the high legal costs and awards relating to medical injuries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40309/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I have no plans to establish a Medical Injuries Assessment Board. The Injuries Board is the responsibility of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Its role is to assess claims for compensation for anyone who has been in an accident and suffered an injury.

Clinical indemnity cover in respect of clinical negligence claims occurring in public hospitals and HSE funded facilities is provided by the State’s Clinical Indemnity Scheme (CIS). The State Claims Agency has a statutory responsibility to manage claims to ensure that the State’s liability and associated legal and other expenses are contained at the lowest achievable level. In this regard it has referred some minor cases to the Injuries Board for assessment and resolution.

A suite of reform measures is currently being advanced by the Government which will result in a positive impact on the tort system and the management of clinical negligence claims. The Government agreed also in October that there will be a review of the State Claims Agency and how claims are handled. The review will be undertaken by the Department of Finance as it has overall responsibility for the State Claims Agency. It is expected that the terms of reference for this review will be drawn up shortly.