New attack on access to justice

Published: 27 Jun 2017

AvMA has reacted with surprise and disappointment to proposals launched by the Medical Protection Society in its report “The Rising Costs of Clinical Negligence: Who Pays the Price“.

The report makes a number of recommendations to save money by preventing patients injured through clinical negligence from receiving the full compensation they need and deserve and preventing claimant lawyers from being able to recover the actual costs of winning cases for their clients.

AvMA Chief Executive Peter Walsh said:

“These proposals ignore the main reasons for the high cost of clinical negligence to the NHS.

“These are firstly, the unacceptable number of negligent mistakes being made that ruin people’s lives, and secondly the inappropriate denials and defence of claims which should have been recognised as valid much earlier. Collectively, they amount to either an ignorant or cynical attack on access to justice for injured patients.

“We hope that the Government will recognise them as such and concentrate on preventing these mistakes in the first place and preserving access to justice for the victims of clinical negligence.”