FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 19, 2002
CONTACT: Peter Carter 0414 783 542
pcarter@civiljusticefoundation.com.au

The Civil Justice Foundation today challenged doctors to see reason and abandon their push to strip Queensland children of legal rights that will see countless victims of medical incompetence bear the lifelong consequences of their negligent doctoring.

The call came in response to threats by some doctors that they will deny medical services to Qld children unless the Premier backs the removal of existing child protection laws.

Under the insurance industry proposals, people who maim kids through recklessness will escape all liability unless the child decides on legal action within three years of the injury.

"Protections currently in place allow children to reach adulthood before they are required to make legal decisions about the consequences of bad medical treatment," said the Foundation's director, Peter Carter. "This is in recognition of the obvious - children have no appreciation of legal issues and are especially vulnerable."

"Many parents are too busy for many years coping with the impact of a tragedy on the whole family before they can even consider legal measures," Carter said.

"Some parents want to sweep tragedies under the carpet or deny what can plainly be very serious consequences for the child. Others are too embarrassed to even mention a setback to their kids to outsiders or they may even blame themselves."

"If for whatever reason parents don't step up to enforce the child's position in the three years, the child will have to live with the injury and the lifelong consequences of their parents' inaction. In many cases this will result in a miserable life on social security."

"Not only do the proposals discriminate against children, they make no economic sense. Shielding doctors from accountability passes the financial responsibility for supporting injured children on to the taxpayer as in our experience, it is unlikely that their families will be able to support them without public hospital and government care."

"Doctors and insurance companies must not be placed ahead of the public interest and children," Johnston said. "Other measures to reduce insurance premiums should be taken including re-training doctors with high error rates and promoting other risk management measures. The focus must be on injury prevention to avoid catastrophes in the first place."

"All parents and grandparents should be alarmed at the doctors' proposals for what they will mean to their kids and grand-kids if the unthinkable occurs."