Donal McGuinness BL

• I am on the panel for clinical negligence cases of a care number  of indemnifiers and agencies.
• I have acted as defence junior counsel in multiple catastrophic obstetric injury cases; obstetric fatal injury cases; a catastrophic acquired brain injury case resulting in locked in syndrome; abdominal surgery cases; missed diagnoses cases, one involving cancer, another involving retinopathy of prematurity; a hand surgery case; plastic surgery cases; a single dermatology case; a series of cases involving alleged sexual abuse against a clinician; dental surgery cases; elective eye surgery cases; several cases brought against opticians for failure to diagnose and/or refer. I have also acted for other healthcare professional such as osteopaths and physiotherapists in alleged failure to refer and standard of care cases.
• I am currently instructed in multiple clinical related product liability claims in separate clinical industries for producers outside Ireland.
• I was retained in the defence of certain laboratories and claims arising out of alleged negligence in screening of slides for cervical cancer, two of which have been concluded following trial and settlement and in associated third party proceedings.
• I was the sole legal advisor to Judge Yvonne Murphy in her review of matters concerning surgical symphysiotomy in Ireland and assisted her in the design and drafting of a government compensation scheme. Once that scheme was established, I was later retained as Junior Counsel assisting Judge Maureen Harding-Clark in the administration of that Scheme (the Surgical Symphysiotomy and Pubiotomy Compensation Scheme).
• I have extensive experience in public inquiries and have been retained as counsel on behalf of three Commissions of Inquiry. I am also retained on behalf of An Garda Síochána in an ongoing Tribunal of Inquiry.
• I also have a significant practice in defence personal injuries acting on the instructions of  many different insurers and also act in Plaintiff personal injury litigation.
• My practice regularly involves instruction in Wardship and detention of Wards. These cases frequently include applications concerning persons who lack capacity and require surgery and cases involving withdrawal of treatment or consent to treatment.
• I appear in detention related cases which usually arise by way of judicial review or challenges involving Habeas Corpus applications brought in the High Court and sometimes arising out of issues that arise in the lower courts.
• I regularly receive instructions from the Mental Health Commission, Mental Health Tribunals and The Health Services Executive in judicial review proceedings which frequently involve matters of Constitutional law and the application of the ECHR, Habeas Corpus applications and any appeals arising to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court

Journalists and the Law

Practised as a Solicitor for 15 years before joining the Bar of Ireland in 2002.

Educated at UCD and QUB.