According to recently filed accounts, Medlab Pathology Ltd, a Dublin-based company being sued in the High Court for alleged failings in the HSE’s CervicalCheck program, paid out €10 million in the 12 months leading up to June 2022. This payout resulted from a number of High Court actions against the firm. The accounts also reveal that the company received €4.84 million in medical malpractice insurance, resulting in a net payout of €5.16 million for the year.
As a result of the €10 million gross payout in 2022 and €2.56 million in 2021, Medlab Pathology has a remaining gross provision of €36.7 million to address ongoing CervicalCheck cases before the court as of June 2022. In its 2020 accounts, the company set aside a gross provision of €49.6 million at the start of the High Court cases to cover the cost of damages and legal expenses. The accounts also stated that the company received €31.48 million in insurance, leaving them with a net payout of €18.15 million in 2020.
The new 2022 accounts reveal that the outstanding gross provision of €36.7 million at the end of June 2022 includes an estimate for future claims based on data access requests received. The accounts note that “in relation to the small number of claims for which the insurers have not yet confirmed indemnity, we used our best judgment of the liability, based on the most reliable information available.”
According to the directors, Medlab Pathology no longer operates as a trading company. Its main focus is managing the liabilities arising from litigation related to the cervical cancer screening program in Ireland. The €10 million payout was accounted for in prior year accounts, with the gross provision of €49.6 million in place for the ongoing CervicalCheck cases. The company recorded a loss of €303,370 in the last year and had accumulated losses of €26.2 million as of June 2022.
Despite an equity deficit of €9.95 million, a note attached to the accounts confirms the company’s going concern status. The only liabilities the company has are related to legal claims arising from the cervical cancer screening program, and insurance is in place to cover these liabilities. The note also acknowledges the complexity of the cases and that the final outcome is uncertain.
The accounts state that some cases have been settled, discontinued, or remain active subsequent to the balance sheet date. In response to inquiries from Social Democrat TD Catherine Murphy, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly revealed that the State Claims Agency has received 385 claims related to CervicalCheck, including 79 psychological injury claims from family members. Of these claims, 183 are still active and 202 have concluded. As of June 2023, the SCA has paid €710,000 in damages for CervicalCheck claims. Minister Donnelly noted that most claims have been settled by the laboratories involved in the individual cases.
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