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Is media coverage of medical negligence making patients reluctant to claim?

Media coverage of the number of instances of medical negligence may be making victims reluctant to pursue compensation claims against NHS hospitals. A report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed that it believes around a quarter of a million cases of medical negligence remain unreported. Compounded by revelations from the Legal Services Commission that only one in three compensation claims are successful, these figures could be deterring the public from seeking recompense in the face of medical negligence.

According to the figures released by the PAC and the British Medical Journal, around 10 to 11% of all hospital admissions end in an ‘adverse outcome’, due to a medical accident. The Institute for National Statistics shows that around 620,800 cases of negligence were reported in 2009/2010, but the PAC believes that there could be a further 250,000 more that have gone unreported. Figures provided by the NHS Litigation Authority suggest the number of claims remains steady at around 6,000 annually and, according to a Legal Services Commission survey, roughly one third of claims are successful. If the PAC beliefs are correct, then only 0.6% of those involved in an adverse outcome commit to making a compensation claim and only 0.2% of the estimated figures are successful in their pursuit.

Just another statistic

Part of the problem seems to be that the media is awash with figures concerning instances of medical negligence. However, rather than encouraging the public towards litigation it seems that many are reluctant to seek hospital treatment, for fear of becoming another statistic. With many newspapers reporting that the figures for instances of medical negligence are closer to 1 million cases per year, it is understandable that some would rather not seek NHS care. In addition, the press is often reporting the various complications with and changes to the laws for public litigation laws. The proposals made by Lord Justice Jackson, concerning the restructure of the way personal injury lawyers operate may be perceived as an obstacle to those seeking to make a personal injury claim of this nature.

Putting up more barriers

In addition, reports surrounding the Government’s reforms to the legal aid system seem to be presenting another barrier to those seeking to make a medical negligence claim. Kenneth Clarke was reported as saying that he proposed: “to introduce a more targeted civil and family scheme which will discourage people from resorting to lawyers whenever they face a problem and instead to encourage them to consider more suitable methods of dispute resolution”. The public perception of this seems to be that legal aid will no longer be available to those who cannot afford it and the reforms seem to be working in opposition to Lord Jackson’s proposals. Without the facility for legal aid, many of Lord Jackson’s reforms would be practically impossible to implement.

Whilst the media has a duty to report legal changes to the NHS and the legal systems, the penchant for scare-mongering, attention-grabbing headlines seems to be having a negative effect on the number of compensation claims that are made. If the figures released by the PAC are accurate, then there are a significant number of cases that have not achieved the recompense that they are legally entitled to.

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