Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
746. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health to outline the value of all claims made against the HSE or hospitals funded by the HSE which incurred a cost, broken down by the cost of the claim and legal costs for the years 2018 to 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35091/23]
View answerThe State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims on behalf of Delegated State Authorities including the Health Service Executive. I have been informed by the SCA that the information contained in the attached report has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) according to the below criteria.
Response from SCA:
• The information contained in this report has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
• HSE claims relate to claims against the HSE locations, i.e. Acute and Community settings, Section 38 service providers and the National Services and Disability sector locations. It does not contain any private scheme locations.
• Amounts include VAT.
• This report is correct as of 30/06/2023.
Definitions:
National Incident Management System (NIMS): Incidents (which include claims) are reported using the “National Incident Management System”, hosted by the State Claims Agency (SCA). An incident can be a harmful Incident (Adverse Event), no harm incident, near miss, dangerous occurrence (reportable circumstance) or complaint.
Claim: A claim refers to notification of intention to seek compensation for personal injury and/or property damage where it is alleged the State was negligent. The application may be in the form of a letter of claim, an InjuriesBoard.ie application, or a written/oral request.
Transaction Reporting Date: This refers to the date that payments were issued.
Damages Payments: Can includes both General Damages and Special Damages.
Legal Cost: This represents Plaintiff Legal Costs and Agency Legal Costs.
Plaintiff Legal Costs: Legal Costs incurred by the Plaintiff and paid by the SCA.
Agency Legal Costs: Fees paid to solicitors and barristers engaged by the SCA.
Other costs: Fees paid to experts engaged by the SCA e.g. medical experts, private investigators etc.
