Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ4: HA's handling claims of medical negligence
Following is a question by the Hon Lo Wing-lok and a reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (May 5):
Question :
Concerning the Hospital Authority's (HA) handling claims of medical negligence, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of HA's criteria and mechanism for determining whether to negotiate with the claimant for out-of-court settlement first, or bring the case directly to the court for its ruling;
(b) of the number of claims of medical negligence that were settled between HA and the claimants out of court, and the total amount of compensation paid to the claimants, over the past five years; of the number of cases in which the court ruled that HA had to pay compensation and the total amount thereof, with a breakdown showing whether the compensation was borne by HA or the insurer; and
(c) of the amount of insurance premium paid out by HA to cover the claims of medical negligence in each of the past five years?
Reply :
Madam President,
(a) In deciding whether to negotiate for an out-of-court settlement in medical malpractice claims, the Hospital Authority (HA) would normally act on the advice of the legal advisor appointed by the insurer of its medical malpractice policy. We understand that the legal advisor appointed by the insurer will take into account the facts of the case and the merits of the claim.
(b) The number of medical malpractice claims that were settled between HA and the claimants out of court, the number of cases in which the court ruled that HA had to pay compensation, the respective total amounts of compensation paid to claimants in out-of-court settlements and court rulings in each of the past five years are set out in the Annex.
The compensation that has to be paid out for the cases listed in the Annex has all been borne by the HA. This is because the compensation paid out are all below the retention level stipulated in HA's medical malpractice insurance policies in those years.
(c) Pursuant to the terms of the agreement between the HA and its insurers, the HA, as the insured, is obliged not to disclose the terms of the insurance policy without the insurer's consent. The insurer has not consented to the disclosure of the premium in the present case.
Ends/Wednesday, May 5, 2004
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Annex
Number of Medical Malpractice Cases against the Hospital Authority
concluded over the past five years
|
Calendar Year in which Cases Reported |
Period |
Settled Out of Court |
Amount (HK$) |
Case where Court ruled HA has to pay compensation |
Amount (HK$) |
Settled after legal proceedings commenced |
Amount (HK$) |
Total No. of Cases |
Total Amount of |
|
2000 |
01/01/2000 �V 31/12/2000 |
24 |
$14.76M |
0 |
$0.00 |
9 |
$14.6M |
33 |
$29.36M |
|
2001 |
01/01/2001 �V 31/12/2001 |
23 |
$8.58M |
0 |
$0.00 |
2 |
$1.24M |
25 |
$9.82M |
|
2002 |
01/01/2002 �V 31/12/2002 |
20 |
$4.58M |
0 |
$0.00 |
1 |
$0.12M |
21 |
$4.70M |
|
2003 |
01/01/2003 �V 31/12/2003 |
9 |
$2.08M |
0 |
$0.00 |
0 |
$0.00 |
9 |
$2.08M |
|
2004 |
01/01/2004 �V 22/04/2004 |
0 |
$0.00 |
0 |
$0.00 |
0 |
$0.00 |
0 |
$0.00 |
Note: Case reported means medical incidents reported under the medical malpractice insurance policy. A reported case may or may not result in a claim.