HSE asked to admit liability for assaults in Shine case

EXCLUSIVE by Declan Brennan

Lawyers representing dozens of men who claim they were molested as teenagers by struck off surgeon Michael Shine have written to the HSE asking it to admit liability in their cases.

The legal development in more than 80 civil actions against Shine (85) and the HSE follows the criminal conviction last week of the retired consultant surgeon. 

A jury found Shine guilty of indecently assaulting two teenage patients during medical examinations in the mid-70s at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital and at his private clinic, both in Drogheda, Co. Louth.

In 2012 more than 100 former patients who claimed they were sexually abused by Shine agreed to a settlement, believed to exceed €8m, with the Medical Missionaries of Mary, which owned Lourdes Hospital before it was sold to the then Health Board.

Galligan Johnson solicitors, which is acting for former patients of the surgeon, including one of the men the jury convicted Shine of indecently assaulting, have written directly to Shine and to solicitors for the HSE and the Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM).

They have called on all the defendants to concede liability in light of last week's conviction, the first criminal conviction against Dr Shine.

In a statement, Sam Saarsteiner, from Galligan Johnson solicitors, said that his clients have endured pain and suffering for decades.

“We call on all the defendants now to concede liability in these cases. There can be nothing gained by prolonging our clients’ long wait for justice and any continuation of a defence will only serve to increase costs on all sides,

“These letters are an invitation to do the right thing and allow our clients to start moving on with their lives,” Mr Saarsteiner said.

The former patients claim that the religious order and the HSE are liable because of a failure to properly supervise Shine or take heed of complaints concerning his behaviour.

It is understood that the HSE and MMM deny any basis for the claims and deny any liability and that Shine is also defending the cases.

Dr Shine retired in 1995 from Lourdes Hospital after three decades of working in Drogheda. He was struck off the medical register in 2008 after the Medical Council found he had abused his professional position by making sexual advances toward three patients.

Solicitors for the HSE and MMM declined to comment last night while a press officer for the HSE said the HSE will not comment on cases before the courts.

Shine, of Wellington Rd., Dublin, is due to appear for sentencing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on December 1 next.