I write in response to your recent news item headlined ‘lawyers blamed for negligence fees rise’ (see [2008] Gazette, 18 September, 2).

I recently settled a clinical negligence claim for costs on behalf of a claimant’s solicitor. My solicitor opponent was firmly of the view that our claim for costs should be reduced by 80% because that percentage was incurred after the opponent had made their first offer, which was not accepted. Ultimately an extra £1,500 in damages was recovered for the claimant.

I explained to my opponent that they had gambled by trying and failing to buy the damages case off cheaply. The claimant was compelled to relive her ordeal and forced to endure litigation.

Of course the NHS Litigation Authority’s chief executive blames conditional fee arrangements, but perhaps he should focus on how claims are handled when they are received. A little more scrutiny will reveal that, more often than not, costs escalate not because of the dreaded success fee but because of an inherent desire to short-change claimants at every opportunity.

Guy Platt-Higgins, Law Costing Ltd, Birkenhead.