The Gazette 1958-61

Medical practitioners. Disclosure of infor mation concerning patients The Council considered a report from a committee on correspondence received from a local bar association bringing to the notice of the Society the question whether medical practitioners who treat or attend injured parties should be at liberty after wards to submit reports on their patients to insurance companies acting against the patients' interests. It was stated in correspondence from the association that a County Council employee who consulted a member of the Association was treated in a County Hospital for injuries. When the patient's solicitor asked for a report from the acting surgeon in the hospital it was refused on the ground that a report had already been furnished to an insurance company. It was pointed out to the doctor that the patient had not consented to the report being sent to the insurance company and it was then learned that the instructions for the furnishing of the report to the insurance company came from an official of the County Council, the injured man's employers. The association asked the Society to take the matter up with the Irish Medical Association. It was decided that a communication should be sent to the I.M.A., for the observations of that body. Lectures by solicitors A member enquired whether there would be any professional objection to his delivering a lecture on the Constitution in connection with an adult education course promoted by a local parish guild of Muintir na Tire. It would be advertised by a poster with member's name displayed outside the parish hall. A committee whose report was adopted by the Council stated that they had considered the following statement printed in the GAZETTE, April, 1944. Any activity on the part of a solicitor of a self-advertising nature designed to attract business is clearly not permissible. Lectures delivered or articles published by a solicitor contrary to this principle therefore necessarily involve a breach of professional etiquette. The report of the committee went on to state that there is no objection to the publication of the name of the solicitor as lecturer, even if the lecture is on a legal topic, if it is given to members of an associ ation provided that the literature relating to the lecture is circulated only to members of the association. If there is a newspaper report of the lecture in the local press there would not be any objection provided that the solicitor does not invite or instigate publication and that the lecture is not

delivered with a view to the unfair attraction of business but is given on the invitation of the association bonafide for the benefit of its members. Insurance company filing defence inconsistent with position represented during negotiations A committee reported on correspondence with an insurance company on the matter mentioned in the Society's GAZETTE of July, 1959. A member had acted for plaintiffs in proceedings against a company in respect of an accident in which a motor vehicle the property of the company was involved. The vehicle was being driven by an employee of the company under a hiring contract with the company. Member had assumed, and the insurance company had not denied, during negotiations that the car was being driven by the employee as such and the existence of the hiring contract was not disclosed until after proceedings had been instituted against the company. It was then found that by virtue of section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, 1934, the driver and not the company was to be regarded as the owner and accordingly proceedings had been wrongly instituted. The insurance company con cerned have now agreed that in future cases of this kind the company will notify the plaintifFs solicitor if the car is driven under a hiring agreement so that his attention may be directed to section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, 1934. The Council, however, think it advisable to inform members that it would be prudent to make an enquiry as to the possible existence of a hiring contract in such cases before assuming that a motor vehicle is driven by an employee in pursuance of his contract of employment and instituting proceedings on that basis. If there is a hiring contract the driver and not the company hiring out the vehicle is to be deemed the owner for the purpose of proceedings. Claims of Irish nationals on foreign estates The Council approved the following report from a committee : 1. An Irish solicitor should not act on behalf of an American or other foreign agent for the purpose of obtaining the execution by an Irish citizen in favour of any other person of a power of attorney dealing with the interest of that citizen in an estate situate abroad unless the agent is a lawyer acting either for a beneficiary or for the duly appointed personal represen tative. 2. An Irish solicitor acting on the instructions of a foreign agent should in no case obtain the signature of an Irish citizen to a power of attorney as mentioned above unless the Irish