CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE LAWYERS

Victims of medical mistakes can seek help from a group of specialist clinical negligence lawyers operating in the UK. All solicitors within the network are members of the Law society panel of experts. The Law Society is the legal profession’s official regulatory body in England and Wales. The medical negligence panel is an accreditation scheme.

The Law Society awards membership of the panel to lawyers considered proficient in medical cases. The laws enabling victims to claim compensation in the UK are specific to the field and specialisation is a vital qualification. These cases are distinct from compensation claims for general personal injury cases and require in-depth expertise to pursue.

This type of claim inevitably involves complex medical discussion. Lawyers fighting these cases must have a sound understanding of the issues. The knowledge and confidence to grapple with such complex matters are fine skills, specific to this area of law. These abilities are not necessary in other areas of legal practise. Only a specialist is properly equipped to handle these claims.

The Legal Aid Board published proposals for the future in response to the Government's consultation paper Access to Justice in 1998. The Board set out an intention to improve the success rate of these claims. It aimed to ensure only clinical negligence lawyers with adequate skills and experience should carry out such cases.

“The Board considers that the “relatively low success rate” of legally aided claims is because cases are being pursued by lawyers who are insufficiently experienced in the field. It “strongly supports” the Government's position that cases should be restricted to those clinical negligence lawyers who have demonstrated expertise in the area. Its main proposal is to establish a specialist franchise and, within a short period of time, to restrict legally aided work to firms holding such a franchise. In addition to this, the supervisor standard for the franchise would in future only be met by a solicitor who is a member of an approved specialist panel.”

A number of changes has taken place to ensure the success of these cases by adhering to these intentions. The Legal Aid Board became the Legal Services Commission. The new status enabled the implementation of many of the necessary changes identified by the Legal Aid Board.

An important result of the review is the way Legal Aid is made available to claimants in these cases. Funding is now available where it can be demonstrated there is a wider public interest. This is a new possible funding option for when a case does not qualify for legal aid on normal grounds. These public interest cases include test cases to possibly establish liability for harm done by dangerous products.

If you would like to discuss your potential claim with an experienced solicitor, the network will give you free qualified advice without any further obligation. Complete the contact form and you will be given a call as soon as possible by one of the team.