Qamar Anwar Comments on Fixed Costs of Lower Value Clinical Negligence Claims

Our MD Qamar Anwar comments on the consultation launched for fixed recoverable costs of lower value clinical negligence claims:

“This all has a very familiar ring to it, mirroring what has already happened in personal injury for so called ‘lower-value claims’, where, despite the best efforts of the government, claimants have shown they still need legal help but are severely limited by the number of law firms able to help them.

“It is true that legal costs have risen in recent years. However, this is only in line with the overall increase in all costs associated with medical negligence claims. Furthermore, NHS Resolution’s accounts for the year 2020/2021 show, in fact, that while its own legal costs went up, those of the claimants came down.

“The government should focus on finding out what is causing negligence in the first place rather than attacking the system that supports innocent victims when things go wrong.”