2ND PATHWAYS TO PROGRESS LEGAL CONFERENCE, 20 SEPTEMBER 2018

Highlights of last year’s Medico Legal Conference 2018

Proactive approaches to preventing and minimising the impact of medical negligence situations for patients and the medical profession.

CallanTansey, one of Ireland’s leading medical negligence law firms and previous winner of  Connaught Law Firm of the Year, sees first-hand the devastation and hurt visited upon individuals, families and communities when medical procedures go wrong or a diagnosis is missed or delayed.  We also acknowledge that these events have a devastating effect on the personal and professional lives of the Clinicians and Medical teams involved. The controversy involving cervical screening mis-diagnosis highlights the need for a Duty of Candour. Other ways of approaching clinical negligence cases including the use of Mediation or alternative dispute resolution must be explored. Can the system be improved for patients and their families and indeed for the medical profession and the State? Can we find Pathways to Progress?

The conference aimed to create collaboration between Clinicians, Hospital Management, Families, Legal Professional and State Stakeholders to minimise the impact of medical negligence. The particular focus of the conference from a patient point of view was on Acquired Brain Injury and Spinal Injury. We also heard the stories of patients, families and survivors and from leading international medical experts. The legal discussion focused on ways to improve the system for those involved and potential alternatives to the current adversarial model. Our Keynote Speaker was The Honourable Ms. Justice Marie Baker of The Court of Appeal. We were honoured to be joined by Dr. Timothy McDonald, the world’s leading authority on Candour in Medicine.

Photos taken at Callan Tansey Solicitors’ Medico Legal Conference ‘Pathways to Progress’ September 20, 2018

Photos taken at Evening Gala Dinner after Medico Legal Conference

Press Release at Medico Legal Conference 2018

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.