Canberrans suing ACT government costing tens of millions each year as medical negligence costs rise

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The ACT government paid out more than 60-million-dollars in damages, settlements and legal fees for medical negligence claims in the last financial year. It is an expense a territory crossbencher is calling a ‘whole-of-government cost of incompetence’ – and a penalty ultimately paid by everyday Canberrans.

Transcript

00:02Prices rising, taxes increasing, it's a familiar squeeze and the ACT Government is also feeling

00:08the pinch in the form of settling medical negligence claims by citizens.

00:13Basic infrastructure like footpaths, bike paths and roads, it shouldn't be too much

00:18to ask that the Government fulfils their obligations in those areas without exposing

00:22members of our community to undo harm.

00:24Answers to questions in the Legislative Assembly about the budget show that in the last financial

00:29year, the Territory Government paid out more than $60 million in medical damages, settlements

00:34and legal costs. It's significantly more than immediate past years.

00:38What is behind the failures that's leading to this escalation in medical negligence claims,

00:44in personal injury claims related to damaged footpaths and in other liability issues that

00:49us as taxpayers have become exposed to because of what the ACT Government's done or not done upstream.

00:54The Government's not buying Mr Emerson's argument.

00:56What we've seen with the latest data is that there's a bit of a long tail of claims

01:02that have come to fruition in the past year.

01:05And the Minister says the Government isn't standing idly by.

01:08Continuous improvement, continuous reform. We've had the Walsh Review which highlights areas

01:13of systemic reform, improving our services, improving our system and improving governance

01:19requirements to ensure the safety of Canberrans.

01:21The fact that these payouts are occurring is an indication that the Government has failed

01:25its citizens and they've successfully made a case that they need compensation for that.

01:29To some, actions matter more than words.

01:32To some, actions matter more than words.

01:35To some, actions matter more than words.

01:36To some, actions matter more than words.

01:37To some, actions matter more than words.

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