Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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129. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount the State Claims Agency paid in legal costs to solicitors representing plaintiffs in medical negligence claims in 2017 and 2018; the top ten payments made to named legal firms representing the agency and plaintiffs, respectively, in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15323/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the State Claims Agency (SCA) that this information has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and that the figures provided are correct as of 29/03/2019.

Medical negligence claims are identified on NIMS through the Incident/Hazard Category of Clinical Care. This query relates to Clinical Care claims being managed by the SCA on behalf of the Health Service Executive.

Plaintiff legal costs relate to the payment made to the Plaintiff’s legal team i.e. Solicitors and Counsel and are also inclusive of expert fees which are discharged by the Plaintiff’s solicitor. These expert fees may relate to actuarial, engineering, medical, witness fees, etc.

Table 1 shows plaintiff legal costs made in relation to Clinical Care claims in 2017 & 2018. 

The top 10 payments in Tables 2 & 3 are at a claims level and represent total payments made to a firm in respect of an individual claim.

Table 2 shows the top 10 Clinical Care claims by Agency solicitor fees paid in 2018.

Table 3 shows the top 10 Clinical Care claims by Plaintiff legal costs paid in 2018.