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The Costs Of Medical Negligence Claims

Is The Cost Of Settling Medical Negligence Claims Too High?

The cost of settling medical negligence claims have ‘spiralled’, according to findings released by the Medical Defence Union. The MDU, which is the UK’s leading medical defence organisation, has revealed that the average claimant’s legal costs have increased by three times the rate of inflation since 1981. The MDU has said that the average claimants’ costs paid by them on behalf of their doctor members in 2010 was £44,500, compared with just £1,300 in 1981.

Medical Negligence Claims Under The Spotlight

Once again, the spiralling costs of medical negligence claims has come under the spotlight, and the MDU has called for action to be taken against what it calls ‘aggressive legal costs’. They are not calling into dispute the amount of compensation paid out to victims of medical negligence. Rather they are targeting what they see as the excessive costs claimed by some solicitors for bringing ‘no win no fee’ medical negligence claims, claiming they are disproportionate to the actual awards.

The report has once again got the legal industry talking, particularly on the back of Lord Justice Jackson’s report on the issue of legal fees. “We see this subject being raised time and again, particularly when it comes to complex medical negligence cases,” comments Nicolas Jervis, Managing Director of specialist claims matching company 1stClaims. “With any luck, Lord Justice Jackson’s report will do a lot to redress the current situation, but without the wholehearted support of the legal system it could flounder. Fees are always an emotive issue, but medical negligence claims are by their very nature far more complex. This means that greater time and effort has to be invested by the legal team to make a successful case. The talk of capping fees has to be one that takes into account the true cost of pursuing a medical negligence claim,” he adds.

Costs Outweighing Compensation Awards

The MDU’s research has found that over the last five years, legal fees represented 40% of the damages paid and in many cases were significantly greater than the final compensation amount awarded to the victim. They concluded that it is not in the interests of either the victim or the doctor for legal costs to be so high. “I agree with their conclusion in principle,” comments Nicolas Jervis, “but there has to be some kind of middle ground that can represent fairness to everyone involved. The argument over legal costs is a perennial one that seems to rear up every so often. Rather than constantly haranguing the legal profession over costs, perhaps it was time we were consulted more and asked how much it actually costs us as professionals to pursue a medical negligence case on behalf of a client. By talking directly to those concerned, we might start to see some accurate figures rather than just mean averages,” he adds.

Medical negligence compensation claims are notorious for their complexity and how long it can take to resolve a case. But medical negligence claims should represent the amount of personal suffering involved for both the victim and their family and will inevitably result in higher legal costs than, for example, a simple case of whiplash. “What everyone needs to keep sight of is that it is the victim who is the most important person in a medical negligence case, not the solicitors,” comments Nicolas Jervis. “We have to ensure that their suffering is sufficiently compensated if blame is shown to lie at the door of the medical profession, regardless of cost. In amongst all the headline grabbing figures about solicitor’s charges and legal fees lies some real suffering and real financial hardship. It is this that needs to be the focus of attention, not simply how much some solicitors are charging,” he concludes.

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