Personal Injury/Clinical Negligence
Counsel’s fees to be excluded from clin neg fixed fees regime
Fees for counsel’s advice in lower-value clinical negligence cases will not be recoverable under the fixed recoverable cost regime unless a child or protected party is involved.
Claimant representatives furious at clinical negligence reform
Claimant representatives have reacted angrily to the government’s decision to press ahead with fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence cases that settle pre-issue for less than £25,000.
Fixed costs for lower-value clinical negligence claims to go ahead
Fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims that settle pre-issue for up to £25,000 will come into force next April, the government announced today – but it has increased the costs on offer.
Partner who lied to clinical negligence victim’s mother struck off
A partner lied to the litigation friend and mother of a medical negligence victim, telling her repeatedly over two and a half years that a pre-action protocol letter had been sent when it had not.
Law firm fined for dealing with CMC and not its clients
A personal injury firm which did not deal directly with clients referred by a claims management company over six years has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
APIL issues JR over shortcomings in new fixed costs rules
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has issued judicial review (JR) proceedings challenging aspects of the new rules to extend fixed recoverable costs.
Scottish court refuses costs recovery because claimant used English firm
A woman who lives in Scotland but chose to instruct an English law firm to conduct her personal injury case, using a Scottish law firm as agents, cannot recover the English firm’s fees.
Claimant who lied about minor injury not fundamentally dishonest
A claimant who lied about having a minor head injury, which did not feature in his pleaded claim or medical report, was not fundamentally dishonest, the High Court has ruled.
Personal injury market showing “little signs of recovery”
The personal injury market is showing “little signs of recovery”, with some – mainly larger – firms posting good results and having expansion strategies, new research has found.
PI almost a CMC-free zone as overall number continues to fall
The number of claims management companies has fallen by 83% from its high point of 3,213 in March 2011 to just 546 now, new figures have revealed.
Blog
The SRA needs to admit it got it wrong about SLAPPs
The High Court judgment in Ashley Hurst v SRA in January raises serious questions about the regulator’s approach to allegations of SLAPP-like behaviour.
Why menopause support belongs on every law firm’s agenda
Progression in the law slows significantly as women approach senior leadership. Most will be at the height of their careers around the average age menopause symptoms begin.
Law firms need to go beyond document checks
At the root of every failed compliance review is a familiar phrase: a calm assertion of “but we did a document check”.
