Parents of brain-damaged child left with €500k legal bill after court action fails

Robbo

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

considering the number of cases families take against the state for maintenance it was a matter of time before one was lost

if this had been a car accident the insurance would have paid out wouldn't it ?

the main thing is that it highlights that funding for special needs has a lot of gaps

It is worth bearing in mind that the standard for medical negligence is much higher than the standard for ordinary negligence.

drkpower

delad wrote: »

The lawyers have made a mint from this, all at the expense of us the taxpayers as we will have to bail out the family. Its such a farce that this sort of thing is still allowed in this day and age.

The lawyers for the family have likely lost a huge amount from this. Many/most cases of this nature are taken on a 'no foal, no fee' basis, ie. if they dont win, the lawyers get nothing. So months and years of work, all for nothing. And it is also likely that the family's lawyers would have paid - out of their own pocket - for medical and financial reports, and witness expenses (multiple experts attending court from Ireland and the UK). These costs, in a case of this nature, would extend to tens of thousands of euro.

Hardly 'making a mint', is it?

SuperInfinity

drkpower wrote: »

The lawyers for the family have likely lost a huge amount from this. Many/most cases of this nature are taken on a 'no foal, no fee' basis, ie. if they dont win, the lawyers get nothing. So months and years of work, all for nothing. And it is also likely that the family's lawyers would have paid - out of their own pocket - for medical and financial reports, and witness expenses (multiple experts attending court from Ireland and the UK). These costs, in a case of this nature, would extend to tens of thousands of euro.

Hardly 'making a mint', is it?

If the lawyers didn't rack up the €500,000 bill who did? We were all wondering where the cost came from even with the lawyers, saying that the lawyers were all working on that basis is a ludicrous assumption.

You can take your "many/most", I don't think you have any clue what you're talking about.

drkpower

Gbear wrote: »

Maybe the family really thought they had a case but it doesn't look like they really did based on the rte link.

To even take a case like this, the family would have to have had supportive opinion from experts in the relevant field.

The complexity of these cases is such that there will often be a genuine difference of opinion amongst experts as to whether there was negligence.

So it is not that the family would not have 'had a case'; they are very likely to have had quite a good case, but even a decent enough case loses sometimes.

drkpower

SuperInfinity wrote: »

If the lawyers didn't rack up the €500,000 bill who did? We were all wondering where the cost came from even with the lawyers, saying that the lawyers were all working on that basis is a ludicrous assumption.

First, it is the standard way in which these cases are taken.
Second, if the family were paying their lawyers, and their expert fees, on an interim basis, it is likely that they would have paid over €500,000 by the time the case was finished. The family dont appear to have that kind of ready cash available.
Third, the family's lawyers have stated that they have 'waived' their fee.

All of the facts point to one conclusion.

alphabeat

dear U2 , Denis o Brien , etc

pay this bill, think of it as a karma tax.

poeticseraphim

The balance of disincentivizing disingenouis cases and disincentivizing genuine ones is tipped in the wrong way in this situation.

The costs should be awarded on a case by case basis if the judge feels discretion is needed.

The current situation is there to prevent predatory litigation. Which this was not. It is not there to bankrupt vulnerable people who were trying to see if they needed the courts to protect them.

And as someone mentioned the solicitor and barrister should never have taken it is there was no legitimate case. They should be discaplined if thy hav mislead someone.

I also think it goes beyond costs in this case...it is punitive to these people....

It is not justice of only the wealthy can afford to take the risk to seek justice.

Just because a court does not rule in your favour does not mean you should give punative damag as it is not really certain you have behaved improperly simply because you brought a case forward that did not win.

I think it needs reform.

hatrickpatrick

I think the entire ridiculous cost surrounding the legal system is deterring people from taking cases even when they have a perfectly valid reason to, and that's very sad indeed.

poeticseraphim

Milk & Honey wrote: »

Their solicitor is waiving his fee. He has been working for nothing and paying his office and employee expenses to keep the case running. He has lost heavily on the case.

See lots of lawyers are kind people.

Andy-Pandy

I'd happily throw in €10, i think its a great idea. I live in Cabinteely, and the thought that they may have to forfeit their house is sickening. The pressure that they must be under doesnt even bare thinking about.

Capt'n Midnight

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

if this had been a car accident the insurance would have paid out wouldn't it ?

the main thing is that it highlights that funding for special needs has a lot of gaps

Robbo wrote: »

It is worth bearing in mind that the standard for medical negligence is much higher than the standard for ordinary negligence.

My point wasn't so much about this case but that the likelyhood and level of compensation for vehicle related incidents seems much higher than those for conditions that arose naturally or from other circumstances.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1012/jennifer-courtney-court.html

A High Court judge has described the system of awarding compensation to victims of catastrophic injuries as "outdated, ineffective and unjust".

Mrs Justice Mary Irvine was speaking as she was asked to approve a settlement of €4 million to a young Dublin woman left with permanent brain damage after being struck by a car five years ago.

lyndaduffy

Wow Andy-Pandy!!! we can't get over your generosity. very touching. Hopefully it will never come to this, still in shock at the moment. Have to say we have been absolutely amazed by the media interest in our situation. People have been so concerned and worried for us and we have had some great offers of fundraising help. It has restored our faith - there are some good people out there!
However, I have just read the previous pages of comments and have to say we are both really disappointed at the views of many of you board posters. We would like to make it very clear that we did NOT go into the legal system lightly, we received amazing advice from both our legal experts and world-renouned medical experts from abroad and here in Ireland. We would never ever have gone into this if we didn't think we had a very genuine case and if we did not have every confidence we would win. Also as some others pointed out, our legal team have waived their legal fees so the approx 1 million euros of costs (half of which we have to pay) is only going to the legal eagles on Holles Streets side. It goes without saying, we would never have had to enter the court system if Mark was receiving the care he deserves and if we were receiving the support we need in order to keep our son with us at home. Those people who wrote very negative comments really upset me, you don't know the details of the case and reading one or two random articles is not enough. I am gutted with our result and I am also really disappointed that our story will probably prevent others, who have very genuine cases, in going down the legal route. The state is failing us all on two parts - 1. they are not providing the care that children with special needs deserve and 2. there is no free legal aid available for people to go to court.
I truely hope that none of you ever have to live with a relative with such a life limiting condition and I also hope that none of you ever have the need to take a hospital to court.

ted1

alphabeat wrote: »

dear U2 , Denis o Brien , etc

pay this bill, think of it as a karma tax.

Nonsense, the family lost a case end of. The court ruled that the hospital was not to blame. Why should someone else pick up there bill? They may just appeal it and clock up another bill.