The Supreme Court has refused Laurence Flynn leave to appeal directly from the High Court in his medical negligence case against the Dental Hospital Committee and the Dental School and Hospital Policy Committee of the University Dental School and Hospital. The determination was delivered on 18 January 2016.
Mr Flynn wanted to appeal an order of Baker J. made on 31 July 2015 and a judgment delivered on 28 July 2015. The High Court struck out his claim because he could not produce a medical report supporting his plea of negligence, which the law requires in such cases.
Baker J. noted that Hogan J. had earlier given Mr Flynn a further twelve months to obtain a report, and that seventeen months had since passed. She held that the proceedings, then 18 years old, had become an abuse of process.
Mr Flynn argued that the case should not be dismissed until the respondents answered interrogatories, which are written questions put to the other side. The High Court held that interrogatories are not a substitute for a medical expert's report.
The Supreme Court said the case was important to the parties but did not meet the constitutional criteria. It found the established law on medical reports had been applied correctly. It also found no exceptional circumstances that would justify bypassing the Court of Appeal.