When your child is referred to CAMHS, you expect a plan. You expect to be contacted, followed up with, and taken seriously. But for many families in Clare and across the country, the experience has been anything but structured or safe.
When your child is referred to CAMHS, you expect a plan. You expect to be contacted, followed up with, and taken seriously. But for many families in Clare and across the country, the experience has been anything but structured or safe.
The Mental Health Commission’s 2023 review laid bare just how unstable parts of the system have become. Files were lost. Medication went unmonitored. Care plans—where they existed—were sometimes so vague they were described as meaningless. In some areas, care was consistent and safe. In others, it was disorganised, under-resourced and unaccountable.
At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we have spoken to parents who had to chase the service for answers, who were never told what their child was prescribed or why, or who found out too late that key reviews had never happened. These failings affect real children and real families trying to do the right thing while the system falters around them.
If your child was affected by delay, inaction or unsafe decisions within CAMHS, we can help you examine what went wrong—and whether it crossed the line into negligence.
Contact Crimmins Howard Solicitors today for a clear, confidential assessment. We’ll listen first, then guide you through your legal options.
Negligence happens when a medical or mental health professional fails to meet an acceptable standard of care—and that failure causes harm. In CAMHS, negligence can arise when a child or teenager is misdiagnosed, left without appropriate follow-up, or placed on medication that’s not properly monitored.
In some cases, the harm is physical: side effects from inappropriate prescriptions, worsening of untreated conditions, or even hospitalisation. In others, the harm is psychological: the erosion of trust, a sense of being ignored, or distress caused by being over-medicated or mislabelled.
CAMHS negligence doesn’t mean a service was imperfect. It means a service caused avoidable harm by failing to do what another professional would reasonably have done in the same situation.
Examples of CAMHS negligence may include:
These are not just administrative issues. If the result is that your child suffered avoidable harm—physically, emotionally or developmentally—you may have grounds to take legal action.
At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we don’t make assumptions. We review the facts, consult with independent medical experts, and help you understand whether what happened meets the legal test for negligence.
In South Kerry, more than 1,300 children were reviewed after it emerged that a single non-consultant doctor had been diagnosing and medicating young people without proper oversight. At least 46 children were found to have suffered significant harm. Dozens more were exposed to serious risk.
Children were placed on multiple medications without confirmed diagnoses. Some were kept on medication long after it should have been reviewed. Side effects included weight gain, extreme tiredness, emotional numbing, and stunted emotional development. In some cases, normal childhood behaviours were medicalised and suppressed rather than supported.
What’s striking is how many of these children simply disappeared from the system. Follow-ups didn’t happen. Files went missing. Parents were not kept informed. And crucially, the service lacked the safeguards needed to prevent this kind of harm.
While the South Kerry situation triggered national concern, families elsewhere have described similar experiences: referrals that led nowhere, overreliance on medication, and no continuity of care. Families affected by the recently announced North Kerry CAMHS compensation scheme can read more about that process on our dedicated page.
From a legal point of view, these cases often meet the test for negligence. It’s not about whether mistakes were made—it’s about whether the level of care fell so far below expected standards that harm could have been avoided.
The legal threshold is high—but where a child was misdiagnosed, overmedicated, or left without appropriate support, it may well be crossed.
At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we don’t make assumptions. We look closely at what happened in your child’s case, and we help you understand whether the system’s failure amounted to a breach of its duty of care.
To bring a medical negligence claim in Ireland—whether against CAMHS or any other healthcare provider—three things must be proven:
The strength of each case depends on evidence. That includes your child’s records, your own observations, and an expert medical opinion.
At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we help parents and guardians understand whether these three legal conditions apply. We’ll give you a straight answer—whether the case can proceed or not—and if it can, we’ll guide you through every step.
Every child’s experience with CAMHS is different, but across the country, certain failures have appeared again and again. If your child’s mental health deteriorated while in the care of CAMHS, and any of the issues below apply, it may point to medical negligence.
These are the types of service failures we most commonly investigate:
Not all of these issues will amount to legal negligence on their own. But when a combination of these failings results in actual harm, a strong legal case may exist.
At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we look at the full picture. If something was missed, ignored or done poorly—and it had serious consequences for your child—we’ll help you find out if it crossed the legal line.
To bring a successful CAMHS negligence claim, the case must be based on solid, factual evidence. At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we handle the evidence-gathering process for you. But it helps to understand what types of records are most important.
You may need:
If any records are missing or hard to access, we’ll help you get them. We liaise directly with hospitals, clinics and GPs to obtain the full file and ensure nothing important is overlooked.
Our role is to build a complete picture of what happened—and whether that care amounted to negligence in the eyes of the law.
Compensation in a CAMHS negligence claim is not about putting a price on your child’s health. It’s about providing support for the impact the negligence has had—and will continue to have—on their life.
If your claim is successful, the amount of compensation will depend on the specific harm your child has suffered. This may include:
Every case is assessed individually. There are no fixed sums or automatic payments. At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we work with specialist medical and financial experts to calculate what a fair settlement should look like for your child and your family.
Our goal is not just to secure compensation—but to make sure it reflects the full impact of what happened.
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. It is operated by the HSE across Ireland and provides specialist mental health support to young people under 18. This includes psychiatric assessment, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, often involving a team of clinicians such as psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers.
Not necessarily. A legal claim requires proof that CAMHS breached their duty of care and that this directly caused harm. A delay, disagreement, or unsatisfying experience doesn’t always reach that legal threshold. We’ll assess whether what happened was simply poor service—or actual negligence under Irish law.
It could be, especially if the medication caused side effects or long-term harm. However, we’ll need expert medical evidence to confirm that the prescription was inappropriate and that it caused damage that could have been avoided.
Yes. In most cases, the two-year time limit starts when your child turns 18. That means they typically have until age 20 to begin a claim. If the harm was only recently discovered, the timeline may be extended—but legal advice should be sought without delay.
Not always. Many CAMHS negligence claims are resolved through negotiation before reaching a courtroom. However, if the HSE denies liability or disputes the harm caused, a hearing may be needed. We prepare every case thoroughly from the outset in case that becomes necessary.
That depends on the complexity of the case and whether the HSE admits fault. Straightforward cases can resolve within 12 to 18 months. More complex claims may take longer, especially if they involve detailed psychiatric evidence or long-term care projections.
Not usually. In many cases, your child’s medical records and expert reports will form the basis of the claim. If the case proceeds to court, we work to ensure minimal disruption and emotional impact, particularly where the child is vulnerable.
Yes. In Ireland, the general rule is that the losing party pays the other side’s reasonable legal costs. If your claim is successful, most or all of your costs may be recoverable from the defendant.
We’ll review the entire care history. If harm resulted from failings in both systems, we’ll determine how liability may be split or whether a single provider was primarily responsible.
If your child was let down by CAMHS, you’re not alone—and you’re not powerless. At Crimmins Howard Solicitors, we offer clear, compassionate advice to help you take the next step. Contact our team today for a confidential consultation. We’ll listen, we’ll guide, and we’ll help you understand where you stand.
