Department Of Health
Detail of outcome
This response sets out the way forward for implementing a fixed recoverable costs scheme for lower damages clinical negligence claims. The aim is to facilitate faster resolution for claimants and defendants at a lower, more proportionate cost than under the current system.
The response sets out further detail on the fixed costs, the new pre-action process for these claims and the safeguards we have in place to protect claimants access to justice. Changes to the original proposals, informed by the consultation, include:
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increased fixed costs at all stages of the process
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increased bolt-on amounts for claims involving protected parties and children
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giving defendants responsibility for neutral evaluation costs
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excluding certain claims from the scheme on grounds of complexity
We are also conducting a further short consultation on the issue of disbursements under the scheme.
Original consultation
Consultation description
This consultation proposes a new scheme to enable claimants and defendants to achieve faster resolution of lower value clinical negligence claims (claims valued up to and including 25,000) at a lower, more proportionate cost than under the current system.
This includes:
- a new streamlined process for claims
- limits to the amount of legal costs that can be recovered by claimant lawyers for lower value clinical negligence claims
The proposals would only affect the amount of legal costs that claimant lawyers can recover following a successful claim, not the compensation that a claimant could receive.
