Cancer patient challenge to ombudsman fails

A WOMAN has lost her High Court challenge to the adequacy of €850 in compensation that Quinn Healthcare was ordered to pay her for distress and inconvenience arising from its dealings with her while she was being treated for breast cancer.

Jacinta De Paor argued the Financial Services Ombudsman had erred in not directing Quinn Healthcare to pay higher compensation in circumstances where mistaken information from the company about what cover she would receive caused her additional distress when she was already vulnerable and worried due to ill health.

The ombudsman argued his decision about the amount of compensation was valid as Quinn Healthcare had taken steps to address the problems created by its mistakes, given Ms De Paor additional benefits and offered her reassurance on future cover.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Brian McGovern ruled the whole point of the legislative scheme governing the ombudsman’s work was to keep the process, as far as possible, out of the courts.

While Ms De Paor was clearly given incorrect information about her level of cover, even if if she had been given the correct information she would not have been entitled to have all her treatment covered, he noted. Now, she would be covered and had been given other benefits to which she would not have been entitled had the company not made the mistakes. All of that was taken into account by the ombudsman, the judge said.

The test was not whether the court would have awarded more for distress but whether there were such significant errors in the ombudsman’s decision. In the court’s view, there were no such errors and the appeal must, “with regret”, be dismissed.

In February the ombudsman upheld several complaints by Ms De Paor, from Skerries, Co Dublin, about Quinn Healthcare, including wrong information about the treatment that would be covered and an initial refusal to cover radiation treatment.

After Ms De Paor complained to the ombudsman, the company apologised, agreed to pay for radiotherapy and chemotherapy and waived a two-year waiting period normally applied to those who switched from a personal care plan to a family care plan. It also paid €8,740 for treatment at the Mater Private Hospital, which it initially refused to pay for, and a further €989.