EVIDENCE: £200 per hour limit but solicitors complain defence not subject to same restraint


Expert witnesses are refusing to act for the claimant side in clinical negligence cases because of a cap that has been imposed on the amount they can be paid for their services, solicitors warned this week.



The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has set a limit on the hourly rate it will pay for experts - but solicitors have complained that the defence side is not subject to the same constraints.



Linda Lee, Law Society Council member and lawyers' service manager at Action against Medical Accidents, said the LSC is refusing to sanction payments of more than £200 - or in some cases £150 - per hour for expert's services. However, Jon Mead, senior technical claims manager at the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), confirmed to the Gazette that it does not have an equivalent cap.



Ms Lee said: 'The LSC won't pay more than £200 per hour, but an expert paediatric radiologist charges £400 an hour. The NHSLA has no such restriction. Experts are saying they can do the work privately or act for the defence, so why should they act for the claimants? Some are saying they can't afford the LSC's rate because of their overheads.'



David Marshall, managing partner of Anthony Gold in London, added: 'You can understand that there has to be a measure of control from the LSC... But if you have to ask experts to act at a cut rate, but the NHSLA will pay the proper rate, it is reasonable for experts to say they will not act for claimants... It is public money on both sides.'



Derek Keegan, director of high- cost case contracting at the LSC, said £200 per hour was one of the highest rates paid by the LSC, and 'it is possible to obtain the services of experts within this limit', though it would carefully monitor the rate for some sub-specialisms. He added that the LSC had 'declined' recent increases in cost rates from medical experts.



Mr Mead stressed that although the NHSLA has no cap, it always negotiates a rate with experts and it would be 'very unusual' to pay more than £200 per hour. He added that there can be a shortage of experts in some esoteric areas.



Rachel Rothwell