Health and Community Services indemnity judgements (FOI)

Request

A

I'm looking for recent indemnity judgements regarding Health. Please redirect me if this is already publicly available.

B

What was the final judgement in terms of the two patients suing Health and Community Services (HCS) for £230m earlier this year?

C

What payments / arrangement have been made in subsequent judgements regarding other significant claims related to alleged and subsequently proven medical negligence?

Response

A

All reported judgments are published on the Jersey Law website at the following link:

Jersey Legal Information Board

As such, all reported (and therefore published) judgments are already in the public domain. Accordingly, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 (the “FOI Law”) applies.

B

The case was sealed by the Court and is subject to reporting restrictions, therefore we cannot provide you with information about the ‘final judgment’. Any breach of such conditions could result in a Contempt of Court. Accordingly, Article 29 of the FOI Law applies.

C

There have been no subsequent judgments regarding significant medical negligence claims.

Information in relation to any future judgements would be located on the Jersey Law website, at the link above, and so would be exempt on the grounds of Article 23 of the FOI Law.

Articles applied

Article 23 Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Article 29 Other prohibitions or restrictions

Information is absolutely exempt information if the disclosure of the information by the scheduled public authority holding it –

(a) is prohibited by or under an enactment;

(b) is incompatible with a European Union or an international obligation that applies to Jersey; or

(c) would constitute or be punishable as a contempt of court.