…but it might be keeping you alive The myth We know it has, we have heard it down the pub, on the bus, in the shops. “‘ealth and safety has gone mad mate”. Can’t have a conker fight in school, can’t put up hanging baskets in the park, can’t blow...

A time for reflection, a need to re-focus It is hard to believe that almost 3 years have passed since we began to look at the influx of gross negligence manslaughter cases being brought against doctors, in our blog “A dark approach to clinical responsibility”. 2015 saw prosecutions brought against...

“None for the road” The Department for Transport (DfT) has published new figures for the number of drink-drive fatalities for 2016, and commentators are saying there is a major cause for concern with deaths numbering 230, which is a 15% increase from the previous year. Drink-drive statistics The DfT figures...

How The Rehabilitation Code works and when a Case Manager becomes independent What is The Rehabilitation Code? Brain Injury Case Managers will be familiar with “The Rehabilitation Code” – which is designed to promote co-operation between the parties to litigation and to maximise the chances of an injured person receiving...

What is the problem in Black Country Hospitals? Marguarita Tyne, a clinical negligence expert at Clarke Willmott, is supporting calls for a rigorous investigation into worrying statistics about unexpected deaths in hospitals across the Black Country. Marguarita has been reviewing the emerging evidence in recent reports issued. Figures from NHS...

How prevalent is sepsis? On 10 July 2018 we published a blog which considered the recent sepsis storyline in Coronation Street. We considered in that blog the increasing role that soap operas played in imparting public health information and also set out the early symptoms of sepsis. In the Coronation...

The trend for popular soap operas to run storylines with a theme drawing attention to a serious social or medical issue is growing. From Stacey’s postpartum psychosis in East Enders to Dee Dee being affected by encephalitis in Hollyoaks, writers are challenging perceptions and raising the profile of conditions that...

A very English scandal The news that an independent panel has established that the lives of 456 patients at Gosport War memorial had their lives shortened by over prescription of pain relieving medication and that a further 200 more may have suffered the same fate may come as a surprise...

The EU has set a target of halving the number of road deaths in the decade to 2020, but the latest statistics suggest the United Kingdom is not making enough progress to make our roads safer by reducing fatalities caused by road traffic accidents. The 12th Road Safety Performance Index...

A mixed crew of gnarled old hands and fresh faced novices (really fresh in one case, making his debut at 17 weeks of age) gathered on the banks of the River Tone on a warm and humid Summer’s morning, prepared to give their all for the honour of Clarke Willmott...