University of Birmingham: A perfect storm in clinical negligence litigation is brewing and reforms are on the horizon

Major changes are on the horizon for our tort based clinical negligence compensation system. The government are currently looking into reform as John Hyde writing the Law Society Gazette reports. Significant changes are afoot with likely caps on some clinical negligence claimant solicitor costs. The Department of Health and Social Care have recently closed their consultation,’Fixed recoverable costs in lower value clinical negligence claims’ and the changes are going to prove controversial.

The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee have recently reported on their review of NHS litigation reform and have put forward radical reform proposals in their ,’NHS litigation reform’, inquiry report.

Their proposals may or may not inform the current government review thinking into the system.

Taken all together, there is a perfect clinical negligence compensation system storm brewing which will impact on all those concerned with this area of legal practice.