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Expertise

Mary is a partner and Head of the Healthcare team at Hayes solicitors, the largest dedicated healthcare litigation team in the country. She is recognised by legal directory Chamber as a leading practitioner in the area of healthcare law. She leads a team of healthcare solicitors who are expert in the defence of medical negligence claims, product liability and repercussive claims and in representing doctors and allied healthcare professionals before their regulatory bodies.

Mary has had articles published on medical negligence issues in the Law Society’s Gazette and the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association publication, the Parchment. She has lectured to clinicians and medical students in public and voluntary hospitals, has given lectures to solicitors in the Law Society on medico-legal issues and has spoken at medico-legal seminars on topics pertinent to medical negligence claims. In recognition of her expertise, Mary was the sole defendant solicitor invited to speak by the Law Society at it’s Masterclass in Medical Negligence and she frequently participates as the sole defendant solicitor on an expert panel at the Kings Inns Diploma in Medical Law. For over 20 years, Mary has specialised in the defence of medical negligence claims. She has particular expertise in cerebral palsy and high value catastrophic injury claims. She also has particular expertise in claims arising from delayed diagnosis of cancer and has dealt with several claims which have been fast tracked for hearing and case managed by the High Court. She is an experienced advocate and a skilled negotiator. She has represented clinicians in a public Inquiry and frequently at inquests without instructing counsel. She has also frequently negotiated settlement of claims without counsel. Mary has extensive experience of providing both day to day and emergency medico-legal advice to clinicians and hospitals and she provides healthcare related legal advice to charities and nursing homes. She is a CEDR accredited mediator and resolves many sensitive claims through mediation.

She specialises in professional indemnity defence litigation and in particular dealing with high value clinical negligence claims. Mary has extensive experience in civil litigation, acting for insurance companies, indemnifiers and plaintiffs.

For many years, Mary has advised public and private hospitals, medical professionals and their indemnifiers in a wide range of contentious and non-contentious medico-legal matters. These include issues relating to consent, policies, guidelines and protocols, patient complaints, Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation, retention of records and claims management.

Experience

• With over 20 years’ experience in private practice and having worked for 6 years managing clinical negligence claims in the State Claims Agency (Clinical Indemnity Scheme), Mary has unique insight into all aspects of medical negligence litigation and an in-depth understanding of clients’ needs
• Advocacy Experience - In addition to her extensive litigation experience, Mary also has considerable advocacy experience, having been the sole advocate for a leading children’s hospital in a Tribunal of Inquiry
• Coroner's Inquests - Mary also represents clients at coroner’s inquests and has served on a hospital ethics committee
• Her litigation experience also includes making applications to the High Court for orders relating to the urgent medical treatment of children
• She has particular expertise in birth injury, catastrophic injury claims and claims related to delayed diagnosis
• Mediation - Mary has a keen interest in alternative dispute resolution. She is a CEDR accredited mediator and has participated in the mediation of disputes related to healthcare and non-healthcare issues.

Qualifications/Education

• Accredited mediator, Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)
• Professional qualification as a solicitor, Law Society of Ireland, 1996
• BA (Hons) in European Studies (Law and German), University of Limerick.

Memberships

• Law Society of Ireland
• Dublin Solicitors Bar Association
• Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)
• Irish Commercial Mediators Association (ICMA).
• Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)

Other

• Mary has lectured to clinicians and medical students in public and voluntary hospitals on issues such as informed consent, mediation and claims management
• Mary has lectured to solicitors in the Law Society and has spoken at seminars on topics pertinent to clinical negligence claims
• Mary has been published in the Law Society’s Gazette and the DSBA Parchment on medical negligence issues
• Mary gives healthcare related advice to charities and has advised Hospital Boards in relation to medico-legal issues.

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