We are delighted to announce that our popular Clinical Negligence: Law, Practice & Procedure Conference will be returning to Shoosmiths, Birmingham on the 10-11 December 2024.

This is the course for those who are new to the specialist field of clinical negligence. The event is particularly suitable for trainee and newly qualified solicitors, paralegals, legal executives and medico-legal advisors, and will provide the fundamental knowledge necessary to develop a career in clinical negligence. Expert speakers with a wealth of experience will cover all stages of the investigative and litigation process relating to clinical negligence claims from the claimants’ perspective.

Please note we will also be holding a raffle at the Conference, with two great prizes available: A Practical Approach to Clinical Negligence and A Practical Approach to Fixed Costs in Clinical Negligence by Geoffrey Simpson-Scott.

PROGRAMME

Day 1: Tuesday 10 December 2024

Chair: Gemma Roberts, Deputy Head of Clinical Negligence, No 5 Chambers

09.00    Registration & Refreshments

09.30    Chair’s Introduction
Gemma Roberts, Deputy Head of Clinical Negligence, No 5 Chambers

09.35    Pre-Litigation Essentials steps for Clinical Negligence Solicitors to consider

• Complaint’s procedures
• Fitness to practice procedures
• The PSIRF process
• The Duty of Candour
• Early Notification Scheme
• Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB)
• Maternity Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI)

Lisa O’Dwyer, Director Medico-Legal Services, Action Against Medical Accidents

10.10 The operation and impact of Fixed Recoverable Costs

• What the FRC proposals for FRC are, what the process will look like including the risk of ignoring the Early Neutral Evaluators estimate of damages and going to trial.
• What the costs on the proposed FRC grid looks like
• How will the increased sums for complexity be secured.
• What FRC means for client damages – include the risk of client damages being wiped out and client end up owing their lawyer.
• How to make sure you can demonstrate that your client has been properly informed to be able to enter CFA with you Messaging to client ie you may want to shop around for better CFA terms; clear messaging around what the client will recover by way of damages eg some firms say you will recover ¾ of your damages no matter what.

Dominic Woodhouse, Advocate & National Training Manager, Partners in Costs

10.50 Refreshments

11.05 Breach of Duty and Causation in Clinical Negligence Cases

• Basic legal principles and case law
• Bolam, Bolitho
• The importance of linking breach of duty to causation
• Montgomery
• Material contribution
• Secondary Victim Claims – Paul, Polmear, Purchase

Geoffrey Simpson-Scott, Partner & Solicitor, Hodge Jones & Allan & Ramune Mickeviciute, Solicitor, Hugh James

12.30 Lunch

13.20 Selecting and instructing your experts

• How to select the right medical experts
• Experts previously criticised by the courts and credibility
• Instructing the expert (common problems arising from working with experts)
• Enclosures – documents to be sent
• Single vs joint expert – pros and cons, and use of in quantum
• Part 35 CPR – issues to be aware of under practice directions
• Dealing with sensitive issues arising from reports

Punam Sood, Legal Director, Fieldfisher

14.15  Analysing reports

A practical session using anonymised reports from a real case and considering the necessary research upon and critique of those reports necessary to advance the claim

Chris Bright KC, Barrister, No. 5 Chambers 

15.45 Break

15:55 Legal Update
David Tyack KC, Barrister, No. 5 Chambers 

16.55 Chairs Closing Remarks

17.00 Drinks Reception, kindly hosted by Shoosmiths LLP

Day Two – Wednesday 11 December 2024

Chair: Richard Bannister, Principal Associate, Shoosmiths LLP

08.45 Refreshments

09.00 Chair’s Opening Remarks
Richard Bannister, Principal Associate, Shoosmiths LLP

09.05 Civil Procedure – Pre-Issue

• Pre-action protocol – its aims and requirements
• Initiating attempts to settle
• Drafting a letter of claim
• The Letter of Response
• Evaluating your claim
• Pt 36 offers

Kashmir Uppal, Partner, Shoosmith LLP

09.55 Commencing proceedings to directions

• Issuing proceedings
• Identifying the right Defendant
• Service of proceedings (including pitfalls)
• The Particulars of Claim
• The Defence
• CCMC (exclude specifics on cost budgeting).

Aneurin Moloney, Barrister, Gatehouse Chambers

10.45  Refreshments

11.00  Introduction to budgeting

• What is Costs Budgeting?
• Pitfalls
• Current case law

Ben Petrecz, Costs Lawyer, Advocate & Senior Costs Consultant, Partners in Costs

11.35  Expert’s Meetings

• Drafting the Agenda
• Instructions to Experts
• The format of the agreed statement
• What happens when experts don’t agree

Stuart Jamison, Barrister, Parklane Plowden Chambers

 12.25 Lunch

13.10 – Preparing for Trial

Emma will give her insight from Counsel’s perspective as to the key steps to take to be as trial ready as you can including:

• Reviewing prospects
• Protecting the client
• Listing for Trial
• Sorting out your witnesses
• Experts
• Pre-Trial Conferences
• PTR
• Bundles and skeletons
• Trial

Emma Zeb, Barrister, Gatehouse Chambers

14.25 Alternative remedies

• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Mediation
• Round Table Meetings (RTM)
• Arbitration
• Neutral Evaluation

Andrew Hannam, Director & Mediator, Trust Mediation

15.05  Refreshments

 15.15 Damages

• Introduction on how to use ogden tables, life expectancy, average earnings
• Investing in your client’s claims for damages
• Working with counsel
• Identifying heads of loss
• Gathering evidence in support (self employed v employed, pension loss)
• Calculating special damages, including life expectancy and effects of discount rate
• When to consider periodical payments
• When to ask for provisional damages
• When to ask for interim payments

 Janine Collier, Executive Partner, Medical Negligence, Tees Law

16.20 Closing Comments – End of Conference

* Conference programme and timings subject to change

View delegate testimonials from our 2023 LPP Conference below:

Testimonial 1

Testimonial 2