Fixed recoverable costs are on course to be introduced for lower-value clinical negligence claims from October, it has been confirmed.

Minutes from last month’s Civil Procedure Rule Committee meeting, published this week, show that the intention is now to finalise rule changes before the summer, in time for implementation in October.

The sub-committee handling the reform still needs to resolve issues before being in a position to present draft rules and a proposed pre-action protocol, the meeting heard.

The intention had previously been to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims up to £25,000 this month, but meeting that deadline was not possible. Instead, officials will hope to have ironed out the outstanding issues that prevented implementation with the additional six months.

Politics may yet intervene: an autumn election could see FRC extension put on hold again.

The government announced in September 2023 that it would introduce FRC and a new streamlined process for clinical negligence claims valued under £25,000 in England and Wales. A further consultation would be launched on how disbursements will work under the proposed scheme, with the resulting proposal that expert report fees and ATE premiums covering the cost of expert reports would be separately recoverable. Counsel fees and court fees for claims involving protected parties or children would also be separately recoverable.

The government’s objective is to provide faster resolution of cases and legal costs that are proportionate to the value of compensation.

Explaining the rationale for intervention, the Department of Health and Social Care said clinical negligence was one of the last remaining areas of personal injury where claimant solicitors could recover fees on an hourly basis.

Average recoverable claimant costs were more than four times higher than defence costs in 2020/21 for claims valued up to £25,000.

The Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers has said the FRC proposals are ‘fundamentally flawed’, as they misunderstand the nature of compensation and do not prioritise learning and patient safety.

 

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