Using a Genuine Specialist
When Legal Aid was available to pursue all types of clinical negligence claims (also known as medical negligence claims) it was only available to firms with a proven specialism but now that Legal Aid has been narrowly restricted most claims are funded by insurance or using Conditional Fee Agreements (so-called "no win, no fee" agreements). As such, there is no real quality control of the firms who undertake these complex claims.
The body that handles litigation claims on behalf of the NHS, the NHS Litigation Authority, has reported an ‘unprecedented’ level of new claims which it says is due to personal injury solicitors branching out into clinical negligence after seeing profits from other areas of work squeezed.
The report says: ‘[The authority] is dealing with more than ever new claimant solicitors. We have also seen an increase in poorly investigated claims and claims where the care clearly was not negligent being brought by lawyers who do not specialise in clinical negligence work.’
Wolferstans regularly recover compensation for clients who have previously been advised by personal injury solicitors that they didn’t have a claim; recovering £4.8 million for a client with Cerebral Palsy whose parents had been advised by his previous solicitor there was no claim and £2.8 million for a client who experienced a delay in diagnosis and treatment of cancer, despite her previous solicitors advising they were unable to pursue a claim due to insufficient evidence.
Bringing a clinical negligence claim requires a lawyer with specialist expertise that encompasses both legal and medical knowledge. If you do decide to bring a claim, using a firm of solicitors with a specialist clinical negligence team of accredited experts, rather than using a generalist personal injury lawyer, could make all the difference.
Wolferstans have had a separate clinical negligence department for over 25 years, the members of which spend all their time exclusively investigating medical claims. This experience means that our success rate is very high; over 90% of the cases which we investigate and then pursue result in a payment of damages to our client. If you have a claim you would like to discuss or are unhappy with your existing solicitors and would like to have a free initial discussion-without any obligation- please contact Jodie O’Connor on 01752 292360 or email her by clicking here. or come to our free legal clinic.