This opinion piece is about the ludicrously high legal costs claimed for in a medical negligence claim.

The only facts I have to work with are those set out in a recent judgement handed down by the Supreme Court of South Australia, so I have had to assume a few things along the way.

The claim itself was a brain-damaged baby case, and was apparently settled by court-annexed mediation, with terms not to be disclosed.

I will come back to my views about mediation in due course. However, readers should know that I have not been involved in medical negligence litigation for decades, and I have no inside knowledge about this case.