When Bernie O’Reilly’s husband Tony died during elective surgery for bowel cancerHe says he couldn’t understand what had happened.

His death in 2006 left her unhappy with some aspects of his care and she asked many questions of the consultants who operated on him. After her investigation, which identified the cause of her death as anastomotic leak, which is a major complication of colorectal surgery, she still felt there were issues resolved.

It was at this point that she considered litigation. “I had to get three expert reports from England. For me, the main issue was how Tony’s operation was handled. “I spent about 10,000 euros (on the reports), but there were still no answers.”

After three years, “I didn’t feel like I was any closer to getting answers and there was no end in sight. “I never really sought compensation, I just wanted the truth,” he said.

In the end, Ms O’Reilly stopped legal action due to the enormous financial risk involved. There was, he said, the possibility that the family farm had been lost.

“Laymen have a different opinion than doctors. There needs to be a safe place to have these discussions. But I’m still sad because I never got a resolution.”

According to the Medical Protection Society (MPS), which provides indemnity cover to 16,000 doctors and other healthcare professionals in Ireland, The average cost of a medical negligence legal claim in Ireland is almost three times higher than in the UK, and cases take 50 per cent longer to resolve..

The society’s report, published in January, says that a claim in Ireland takes an average of just over four years (1,462 days) to resolve, which is 14 percent longer than in South Africa (1,279 days) and 56 percent more than in South Africa. Hong Kong (940 days), United Kingdom (939 days) and Singapore (938 days).

MPS has urged the Government to implement pre-action protocols to help speed up clinical negligence claims.

These protocols would be guidelines, established through legislation, that explain the steps a court expects parties to take before a claim can begin, with the intention of encouraging them to reach a settlement outside of litigation.

( ‘Adversarial’ approach to clinical negligence contributes to €4.1bn state billOpens in a new window )

Dr James Thorpe, MPS deputy chief medical officer, said society sees “first-hand” the impact the “painfully slow claims process” has on doctors’ mental wellbeing.

“It is clear that patients and their families are also suffering due to the current system. “No patient who suffers harm due to clinical negligence in Ireland should have to wait an unnecessarily long time for compensation, and no party involved in the claim should be dragged into a process that is longer than necessary,” he said.

“With detrimental effects on the mental wellbeing of doctors and patients, delays in compensation for patients and staggering legal costs impacting the HSE and the cost of compensation for doctors, the status quo is simply no longer sustainable.”

( Donnelly says extra €50m needed for clinical negligence cases due to rise in claims and settlementsOpens in a new window )

Scarlett O’Sullivan, senior associate solicitor at Callan Tansey, which represents patients in clinical negligence claims, said there are “many reasons” why these claims take longer to conclude in Ireland than elsewhere.

“If a client comes to me, it can take more than 12 weeks to obtain medical records from the HSE. And then when we finally have all the necessary documentation and are ready to apply to the High Court for a hearing date, there are usually no dates available for about 12 months,” he said.

“For example, I requested a date in January 2024 and didn’t get it until March 2025. It can often take two years before an initial hearing is held.”

O’Sullivan said taking on a case involves a “huge financial investment for reporting, which can cost several thousand dollars.”

“And most of the time they don’t seek compensation. They just want answers. Or they say they don’t want another family to go through this,” he said.

In recent weeks, an interdepartmental working group on the rising cost of health-related claims released a report that also recommended, among other measures, the implementation of prior action protocols and the establishment of a damage compensation plan to vaccines.

The task force found that the estimated outstanding liability for healthcare claims in Ireland increased by almost two-thirds between 2018 and 2022, from €2.8 billion to €4.6 billion, and “could increase by multiples over the next two decades if It is not controlled.”

Furthermore, research conducted with people who had pursued medical negligence legal cases illustrated the human cost, with participants describing the process as “triggering, retraumatizing, jarring, insulting, shocking, horrible, fit for purpose and a battle.”

Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly He welcomed the report and said he would set up a group to ensure the recommendations were implemented “without delay”.

Ms O’Reilly said the process of medical negligence cases is “terribly stressful”, even though she withdrew her case.

“You are disdaining money. Time is constantly ticking. There is human suffering for everyone, the family, the doctors. There has to be an easier way. “There has to be a shorter and more compassionate path.”