Changes For Fixed Fees In Clinical Negligence Claims

It has been well documented in BC Disease News that the government initially intended to introduce fixed fees for clinical negligence claims worth at least £100,000 from 1 October 2016 with a consultation on the plan being due since autumn 2015. Whilst this deadline for implementation has been and gone and we are still awaiting the publication of the consultation (which is said to be imminent), it has been revealed this week that the Department of Health (DoH) has amended its position.

The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) held a meeting in July, the minutes of which have recently been released,[i] and they reveal that the DoH now only intend to introduce fixed recoverable costs for those clinical negligence cases worth up to £25,000.

Amanda Stevens, chair of the CPRC sub-committee, reported the news and noted that these claims comprised approximately 60% of all clinical negligence claims. She said:

‘The material worked up by the subcommittee on a draft protocol and illustrative rules would be amended accordingly. The date of publication of the consultation was unknown’.

Organisations such as, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), the Law Society and the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers have been lobbying the government since these proposals were announced in August 2015, accusing the DoH of being irresponsible. It is thought that this change in approach will be seen as a significant win for them.

APIL president, Neil Sugarman stated:

‘…it would show that the government has listened to arguments that a quarter of a million pounds is not a low-value case, and that cases of such magnitude do not suit a fixed process. A fixed-fee system for cases up to £25,000, however, could be workable. The fees would have to be fixed at a level which makes the work viable, and the process itself must also be fixed’.

He continued:

 ‘Other conditions, such as admission of liability and requirement of just one medical report would need to be met for such a scheme to be effective. This would give the Department of Health the opportunity to reduce costs for the NHSLA, control defendant behaviour and secure representation for injured patients by specialist lawyers at a fair rate of pay’.

Whether or not the government will actually implement this new limit for fixed fees in clinical negligence claims remains to be seen and will not be known for certain until the publication of the consultation paper which we await with anticipation.