WGPlus (Archive)
| Ban ‘Ambulance Chasers’! |
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The government intends to impose a new, fixed cap on all clinical negligence cases up to £25,000 to prevent rising litigation costs within the NHS. There are numerous examples of lawyers who profit from the NHS by charging more than 80 times the amount awarded to the victims in minor claims. In one case, lawyers claimed £83,000 in legal costs for a case in which the patient was awarded £1,000. These costs contributed to a total bill for the NHS of £1.5bn in financial year 2015 to 2016. Currently, there is no limit on legal costs that can be recouped and the money claimed by lawyers takes vital funds away from NHS trusts. It is expected the new cap will help the NHS save up to £45m a year. |
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DH: Plans for fixed cap on legal costs for medical negligence cases Halving avoidable harm and saving up to 6,000 lives No Evidence that Health & Social Care Services are Safer for Patients than a Decade Ago |
