Small clinical negligence claims

The six-month pilot project to deal with small clinical negligence claims out of court within six months has now finished, without any immediate proposal for its continuation. It was a joint venture between the NHS litigation authority and the resolution service, Resolve, for claims worth £15,000 or less, and was intended to be quicker, cheaper and less emotionally fraught than traditional methods. The scheme operated on a fixed cost basis, with solicitors doing 10 hours’ work for a capped fee of £1,500. Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, of Russell Jones £ Walker, said that the project enabled firms to take on cases that would otherwise not have run, but the level of cost and strict timetables gave solicitors little leeway. It was very easy to run over £1,500 and claimant’s solicitors did not get paid for cases that were not successful. This meant it was difficult to do the work profitably. Nevertheless, she thought any problems with the pilot could have been ironed out ‘with a little tweaking’. She continued: ‘It seems a shame that it wasn’t allowed to continue so that everyone would be in the right mindset if, or when, a fast-track scheme is introduced as part of the Government’s reforms.’ Roger Wicks, of Gadsby Wicks, also supported an extension, although he added: ‘I don’t think it is beyond claimant lawyers to devise other small claims procedures for clinical negligence cases themselves now.’ Brian Raincock, managing director of Resolve, said the £1,500 fee would work if firms took on more cases, because it was volume not size that counted. He also thought the pilot should run for at least another year.