LCQ18: Claims of medical negligence
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     Following is a question by the Dr Hon Leung Ka-lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 6):

Question:

     Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the details of the claims of medical negligence against the Hospital Authority in the past five years, and set out the information in the tables:

(a) the numbers of various kinds of cases (set out in Annex 1);

(b) the amounts of compensation and relevant costs in various kinds of cases (set out in Annex 2); and

(c) the highest amounts of compensation in various kinds of cases (set out in Annex 3)?

Reply:

President,

     Upon receipt of a case of claim arising from a medical incident, it is the usual practice of the Hospital Authority (HA) to conduct an investigation and seek legal advice before responding and explaining its stance on the claim to the patient or his/her lawyer.  Depending on the circumstances of each individual case, HA will appoint a loss adjuster or lawyer to conduct negotiation for settlement of the case.  In the event that court proceedings have commenced, HA will appoint a lawyer to make defence, collect evidence, conduct mediation and negotiate a settlement, etc. in the light of the circumstances and development of individual cases.  For cases of claims received by HA, some of the claimants may, after learning of the explanation from HA or considering various factors, stop pursuing their claims further.

     Provided below is information about cases of claims received by HA arising from medical incidents reported under its medical incidents insurance scheme in the past five years.

(a) The numbers of various categories of cases are set out in Annex 4 (as at the end of December 2011):

(b) The amounts of compensation and relevant costs in various categories of cases (as at the end of December 2011) are set out in Annex 5 (all figures are round numbers and in million dollars):

(c) All the above compensations are in respect of cases settled out of court.  As the content of the compensation agreements for these out-of-court settlements must be kept confidential, we cannot disclose the details of individual cases.

Ends/Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Issued at HKT 13:20

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