Medical legal costs 'excessive and should be capped'

The authorities intends to set strict limits on the "excessive fees" roughly lawyerspretense inwards medical negligence cases against the NHS inwards England.

Officials desire a defined bound on legal costs inwards cases where thepretenses are below £100,000, proverb that roughly lawyers submit bills that accuse to a greater extent than than patients have inwards compensation.

But solicitors warn the act could deny patients access to justice.
Figures demonstrate the NHS was charged £259m inwards legal fees forpretenses inwards 2013-14.

The NHS did recoup £74m past challenging roughlypretenses made inwards 2013-14, but the Department of Health says taking these cases to courtroom is costly as well as time-consuming as well as believes farther savings could live made.

Officials order their proposals, which volition live opened upwardly to world consultation inwards the autumn, would ensure lawyer's fees are to a greater extent than proportionate as well as reverberate the sum of compensation patients receive
They reach equally an illustration in one lawsuit instance where a patient received £11,800 inwards damages but the legal fees, which the NHS had to recompense, totalled £175,000.

Health Minister, Ben Gummer, said: "Safe, circuitionate attention is my upmost priority as well as to accomplish this, the NHS must brand certain every penny counts.

"Unscrupulously, roughly lawyers accept used patientpretenses to charge obscenely excessive costs onto the NHS as well as accuse far to a greater extent than than the patient receives inwards compensation."
But a leading clinical negligence solicitor, Terry Donovan from the police force house Kingsley Napley, said costs are sometimes driven upwardly past delays inwards the NHS admitting liability.

He added: "This sounds similar roughly other massive set on on access to judge for everybody.
"Fees are already tightly controlled, amongst the courts managing costs carefully equally a effect of recent reforms. Costs are already capped as well as limited.

"These so-called depression esteem cases nether £100,000 withal involve cases where people accept had serious injuries as well as lives accept been destroyed.
"Costs tin live really proportionate if the NHS volition acknowledge liability promptly when it's appropriate.
"But defendants campaign upwardly costs if they don't acknowledge liability early as well as the instance ends upwardly inwards court."

Meanwhile, the Medical Defence Union, which offers doctors guidance on medico-legal issues, supported the move.
Dr Matthew Lee, professional person services manager for the MDU, said: "Patients oft take to come across function or all of these costs themselves but the organization must render access to judge where patients accept been negligently harmed.

"Legal fees must, therefore, live affordable as well as proportionate.
"If it was decided to innovate a well-thought-out, fixed-cost construction for legal costs inwards clinical
negligencepretenses that could alone live a proficient affair as well as should effect inwards legal fees becoming to a greater extent than affordable as well as proportionate to the compensationpretenseed past the patient."

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