BMJ  2004;328:417-418 (21 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7437.417

Editorial

Making amends for negligence

Current system operates well, but reforms are still needed

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

That doctors are more likely to be sued for negligence now than they have been in the past is undeniable. In particular, in the 1980s and 1990s the number of claims steadily increased, relative to the number of treatment episodes. The reasons for this are by no means clear but probably include elements of a cultural shift in attitudes to the medical profession and the growth of the legal services "industry." More contentious, however, is whether this change represents a good or a bad thing, and what if anything needs to be done about it. The chief medical officer's consultation paper, "Making Amends," starts from a premise that something does need to be done, and it puts forward suggestions for reform, including fast track arrangements for smaller cases, but stopping short of a full no fault scheme for all patients.1 Two contributors to this issue have reacted to the chief . . . [Full text of this article]

Paul Fenn, professor of insurance studies

Nottingham University Business School, Nottingham NG8 1BB (paul.fenn@nottingham.ac.uk)

Alastair Gray, professor of health economics and director

Health Economics Research Centre, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF

Neil Rickman, reader in economics

Department of Economics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH

Adrian Towse, director

Office of Health Economics, London SW1 2DY


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

The future of clinical negligence litigation?
Brian Capstick
BMJ 2004 328: 457-459. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Litigation and negligence: distant relatives
Anthony C Barton
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2004 [Full text]
Making amends;the solicitors' way
Jay Ilangaratne
bmj.com, 23 Feb 2004 [Full text]
First Party Insurance would serve better than third party insurance
R Merlyn Wilcox
bmj.com, 1 Mar 2004 [Full text]
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ