Personal Injury/Clinical Negligence

Those harmed by the NHS will “have to pay again by losing access to justice” as a result of government plans to introduce fixed costs, campaigners have claimed.

The government has finally published its proposals for fixed costs in low-value clinical negligence cases. Going with fees proposed by defendant representatives, it expects to save £454m over 10 years.

The number of motor injury claims reported to the Compensation Recovery Unit fell by nearly 20% last year, new figures have shown. However, the volume of clinical negligence claims increased.

A leading insurance law firm has mined its historic claims data to create an app for clients to improve estimates of how much cash to set aside at an early stage in volume personal injury claims.

The body that operates the Official Injury Claim portal is to investigate why unrepresented litigants are not using the service. They are bringing fewer than 10% of claims made through the service.

Affiniti Finance – which lent money to thousands of law firm clients – went into administration late last year after a breakdown in the relationship with its ultimate backer, which is now owed £43m.

Making claims against the NHS can be “a difficult, and in some cases inhumane, experience”, with the worst cases seeing staff trying to “proactively cover up” errors and even fabricating medical records.

The pandemic hit Slater & Gordon hard, with a £12m profit turning into a £20m loss in 2020, newly published accounts have shown. Its turnover for the year fell 8.6% to £111m.

The latest battle between Slater & Gordon and Checkmylegalfees.com has seen the law firm refund £4,000 it deducted from a client’s damages where he was signed up to a CFA 97 seconds after receiving it.

Multiple factors contributed to the demise of one-time personal injury giant Hampson Hughes, including the whiplash reforms and the directors disagreeing on its future direction.