Author Archives: Simon McGarr
The InjuriesBoard has just unwittingly warned 605 DePuy hip victims that their claims are at risk
Every six months or so, the Injuries Board issues a press release. These follow a fairly standard formula. The board praises itself for saving notional sums of fantasy money. It castigates dastardly solicitors for representing clients, even though the Constitution guarantees clients that right. It darkly suggests- without providing any evidence- that only its constant vigilance prevents dishonest claims from running riot. And then, because it probably knows that this sort of thing isn’t much of a hook on which to hang […]
Personal Injuries Claims: The State’s gift to the Defendants
How can a defendant harass a plaintiff? By bringing a motion to court. The motion will seek orders within the terms of Section 10. Under Section 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 http://www.bailii.org/ie/legis/num_act/2004/0031.html#partii-sec14 a plaintiff must swear, serve and file an affidavit of verification of the pleadings served. This implies that no insufficiency of pleading, if it exists, can be defended. After all, what was pleaded must be true. Is the plaintiff playing fast and loose with […]
DePuy Hip Recall: A Patient’s guide to what to ask your doctor
This is a reference guide to help people with defective Metal-On-Metal hip implants, specifically the recalled DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System. It deals with the information to give to your doctor that he/she needs to make a full assessment of your needs. Tell your doctor if you are having any pain or discomfort. Tell your doctor if you’ve noticed any changes in your hip(s) or your gait. Tell your doctor if you have noticed any stiffness or resistance in the […]
Faulty PIP Breast Implants, the CMO and assessing risk
We have already written critically about the Chief Medical Officer’s proposal to decide how, where and whether women with PIP Breast Implants should receive medical attention. However, this is not the only problem with the State’s medical establishment’s response to the PIP Breast Implant scandal. RTE, the Irish Times and other news organisations included a similar reassuring coda to their reports. According to the department and the Irish Medicines Board, there is no evidence of increased risk of cancer for […]
How Irish MEPs Voted on ACTA
Voted in Favour of ACTA None Voted Against ACTA Emer Costello, Paul Murphy, Liam Alyward, Nessa Childers, Pat the Cope Gallagher, Marian Harkin, Phil Prendergast Abstained on ACTA Gay Mitchell, Mairead McGuinness, Sean Kelly, Jim Higgins No Vote Recorded on ACTA Brian Crowley, Source, Pages 19-20. Update: This post originally showed Phil Prendergast as not having a vote recorded. This was my error and I have corrected it above. Sorry about that Ms Prendergast!
PIP Breasts Implants: Response to the CMO Statement
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO has today taken the unprecedented step of issuing a joint statement with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) regarding the treatment of women who were given faulty PIP Breast Implants. In that statement the CMO has acknowledged that the Department of Health will no longer accept assurances given to him by the Harley Medical Group that they will fulfill their obligations in an acceptable manner. RTE and other news organisations are presenting this statement as […]
Statement by the Chief Medical Officer on PIP Breast Implants
“Since concerns were first raised in March 2010 regarding the issue of breast implants, provided by the now defunct French company Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP), the clear priority of the Department of Health has been to try and ensure that the three treating clinics involved in the issue provide professional and appropriate care to their affected clients. However despite intensive efforts, by the office of the Chief Medical Officer, such appropriate care on the scale required has not been forthcoming. […]
Letter to UK Secretary Of State for Justice re recent case regarding extradition to the UK and indeterminate sentencing.
The Right Honourable Kenneth Clarke MP QC Secretary of State for Justice Ministry of Justice 102 Petty France London SW1H 9AJ United Kingdom RE: The Minister for Justice & Equality v GN Dear Minister, We refer to the above. Your administration reference is, we believe, Criminal Appeal Office Reference Number 200702371 A8; Indictment Number T20057096. The respondent, GN is our client. We act for him arising from a request from the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency for his extradition. […]
Reply received from Newspaper Licensing Ireland Ltd re Women’s Aid
We have received a reply today from Newspaper Licensing Ireland Ltd to our letter on behalf of Women’s Aid. We will be making reply on behalf of our clients shortly.
Letter to the Chief Medical Officer seeking further information about PIP Breast Implants’ regulatory status
The following is an open letter sent today to the Chief Medical Officer regarding the PIP breast implants issue, following up on our earlier letter of the 8th May, to which we have yet to receive a substantive response. ******* Our Ref: EMcG Your Ref; 21st May 2012 Dr. Tony Holohan Chief Medical Officer Department of Health Hawkins St. Dublin 2 Fax: 6710148 Re: PIP Breast Implants Dear Dr. Holohan, We write this as an open […]