Managing Expenses Arising from Clinical Negligence: Retrieval and Negotiating

Costs Associated with Clinical Negligence

Clinical negligence claims pose significant complexities, demanding a higher burden of proof, such as the Bolam Test, for successful litigation. Consequently, pre-issue investigations are thorough, resulting in considerable legal expenses for clinical negligence cases.

Given the emphasis on proportionality by paying parties and the courts, along with its integration into the overriding principle, engaging a specialist in Clinical Negligence costs becomes imperative to maximize recovery during detailed assessment.

In clinical negligence cases, it's typically expected that the NHS (or private trust) will cover the costs of successful claimants. NHS Resolution administers the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts, funded by voluntary contributions from NHS organizations, to address such claims.

How Can We Help

We highly advise providing input at the inception of your claim. Our team will offer guidance on structuring your retainer appropriately and estimate the hourly rates likely to be recoverable during the assessment of your clinical negligence litigation costs.

Continuous input will be essential throughout the claim process, especially during the preparation and negotiation of your Costs Budget. This step is pivotal to achieving maximum recovery during assessment. Upon conclusion, subsequent to preparing the Bill of Costs, we will aid in negotiating the recovery of your outstanding fees. With a well-prepared Costs Budget, you can potentially recover up to 100% of the costs claimed.

Why Choose DMD Costs?

With extensive experience supporting various specialized Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence departments, DMD Costs has cultivated an in-house team of proficient costs draftsmen and costs lawyers dedicated to expediting cash flow and optimizing costs recovery.

Clinical Negligence costs claims often entail substantial amounts and are frequently hotly contested by paying parties. DMD Costs specializes in securing interim payments amounting to at least 50% of your costs in the initial stages of dispute resolution. Moreover, the majority of costs claims are typically resolved within 1 – 2 months following the service of the Bill. In instances where the claim proceeds to a detailed assessment hearing, we generally secure interim payments on account totaling 70% of the costs claimed, ensuring uninterrupted funding for your other cases.

The Outlook for Clinical Negligence Costs

The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health have proposed the implementation of fixed costs for Clinical Negligence claims, a matter also addressed in the October 2019 CJC Working Group Report. The rationale behind this proposal is to curtail the expenses associated with such claims. NHS Resolution, in its annual report, has expressed apprehensions regarding the escalating costs of Clinical Negligence claims.

Concerns have been raised that these measures might inadvertently jeopardize patient safety and pose a risk of numerous law firms facing closure as a result of these alterations. Furthermore, there are apprehensions that access to justice could be hindered in several claims, particularly those involving intricate and challenging medical negligence cases.

Steve Webber, chairman of the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers, has endorsed this viewpoint, emphasizing the importance of challenging a culture of "deny, delay, and defend" within the NHS. He asserts, "Criticizing Claimant lawyers might be easy, but a culture of 'deny, delay and defend' can and must be challenged by the NHS if overall costs are to fail; legitimate cases must be settled as early as possible and this must be achieved without unnecessary and dangerous changes to the law."

Our Approach to Achieving Your Desired Outcomes

Our leadership team consistently oversees the caliber of our work. We attain our objectives by prioritizing the excellence of our output rather than the volume produced monthly.