Millions of dollars in payouts will be offered to the victims of rogue surgeon Jayant Patel in a push by the Queensland Government to prevent an avalanche of compensation claims in the courts.

Premier Peter Beattie yesterday detailed the “generous” mediation process as he dismissed suggestions any possible extradition of Dr Patel from the US had been jeopardised by the collapse of the Morris inquiry into the surgeon’s activities at Bundaberg Base Hospital.

“If the police can put a case together, and they are working really hard to try and do it, then he will be extradited and face trial,” Mr Beattie said.

The inquiry was shut down last Friday after the Supreme Court found commissioner Tony Morris guilty of bias.

The Government has refused to appeal against the decision and has instead offered a six-point plan led by a Crown law team to find and refer “uncontaminated evidence” to five agencies still investigating the case.

Mr Beattie confirmed that some alleged victims of Dr Patel, whom he met on Saturday night in Bundaberg, wanted the Government to appeal against the decision or launch a new inquiry.

“We have to find a way to move ahead. The six-point plan has done that, and I explained that very clearly to everybody,” he said. “Quite a lot of people accepted that and some didn’t and I understand how they feel.”

Mr Beattie said the establishment of the mediation process was designed to “bring justice as quick as possible” to alleged victims.

Under the settlement process, which will cost $3 million alone in legal costs and medical assessments, the state Government will not admit or deny liability. “I don’t know the amount of money (in settlements), that will depend on the medical advice, but I expect it to cost the state millions,” Mr Beattie said.

Successful claimants will be offered payouts in out-of-court settlements unrestricted by the statutory injury scale.

Mr Beattie said it was up to others to decide whether the more flexible parameters of the payouts was “a carrot” to encourage alleged victims not to go to court.

“This is a very generous approach, it’s speedy and it’s designed to try and alleviate some of the pain,” he said.

The plan is based on a compensation process set up by the NSW Government for victims of the 2003 Waterfall train disaster. That scheme drew criticism from victims over year-long delays in the mediation of settlements.

Lawyer Ian Brown, who represents many of Dr Patel’s former patients, indicated he would be seeking more from the mediation process during a meeting tomorrow with Attorney-General Linda Lavarch. “There are several issues, but it is too premature to comment on,” he said.