BMJ  2004;328:457-459 (21 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7437.457

Education and debate

The future of clinical negligence litigation?

¹ Capsticks Solicitors, London SW15 2TT jbc@capsticks.co.uk

The UK's proposed reforms of claims for clinical injury risk fuelling a compensation culture

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

About 7500 clinical negligence claims are brought each year in England.¹ The current system has been criticised by some as complex, inequitable, and expensive in terms of time and legal fee. However, the cost of negligence claims in 2001-2 was £446m,² less than 1% of the budget for the NHS. Last year, the chief medical officer published a consultation document, Making Amends, which set out proposals for a NHS redress scheme that would provide adjudication for certain clinical negligence claims without the need for legal proceedings.² It draws on experience in the United States, New Zealand, France, and Scandinavia, which have similar problems. So how will the proposals work, and what will they mean for the NHS?

The proposed NHS redress scheme will provide an administrative rather than a judicial route for claims up to £30 000 (43 640, $54 420) and claims arising from severe neurological impairment . . . [Full text of this article]

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