Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Reviews SOUNDINGS

Tort

BMJ 2005; 330 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7487.371-a (Published 10 February 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;330:371

Rapid Response:

Legal aid: the oxygen of medical litigation

Legal aid is the oxygen of medical litigation; most cases are legally aided. It is available only to a limited population so it does not ensure access to justice - most negligence is probably uncompensated. Legal aid provides access to lawyers, who get paid win or lose. It provides incentives to give over-optimistic legal advice and to seek out expert opinions to sustain improbable cases. The success rate in clinical negligence is modest. In pharmaceutical litigation it is minimal. Scarce resources for patient care are diverted to lawyers' fees - all in the name of justice and funded by the public.

Competing interests: Solicitor and doctor specialising in clinical negligence and pharmaceutical litigation

Competing interests: No competing interests

14 February 2005
Anthony C Barton
solicitor
London N1