This morning the press is full of condemnation for lawyers like myself. Lawyers who represent individuals making claims against the NHS. With headlines like “medical negligence lawyers handed half a billion pounds in a year” it would be very easy to assume that these huge sums are being paid out to unscrupulous lawyers making overblown claims against the NHS. However, this could not be further from the truth.
While I agree that this is an “jaw-dropping” sum of money, over 80% of this sum represents damages being paid out to individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries at the hands of the NHS. These injuries have changed lives such that Claimants are often unable to work, require professional carers and aids and equipment just to allow them to complete simple tasks like washing and dressing themselves. Any Claimant would give back their damages in a heartbeat for a chance to go back to how they were before the negligence occurred.
The injuries these individuals have suffered were avoidable and have only occurred as a result of failings in the care provided to them by the NHS. The professional accounts committee criticised successive governments for failing to address the issues in patient safety within the NHS which lead to such claims. The reality is that the only way to significantly reduce these costs, is to improve the care being provided to patients.
If you have a claim you would like to discuss, contact our medical negligence team.
The NHS’s total liabilities for medical negligence have hit an “astounding” £58.2bn amid ministers’ failure to improve patient safety, an influential group of MPs have warned.