DAMAGES: £110 million paid in costs for 6,261 claims, says health service legal body



The National Health Service Litigation Authority (NHSLA) has voiced concern at the high legal costs incurred in clinical negligence claims, in its tenth annual report, which revealed that 44% of damages paid out last year went on legal fees.



The report from the authority responsible for handling negligence claims against NHS bodies showed that almost £246 million was paid out in the 6,261 claims closed in 2005/06, with almost £110 million going to pay legal costs.



It highlighted a disparity in the costs incurred by the parties - defence costs accounted for 16% of the total damages paid out, while the costs paid to claimants' lawyers accounted for 28%.



Last year, the NHSLA succeeded for the first time in getting a capping order in an individual claim to limit the costs paid to the claimant's legal representatives, and the report said it would continue to seek to do so where appropriate.



An analysis of all clinical claims handled by the authority over the past ten years showed that 38% were abandoned, 43% settled out of court, 4% settled in court and 15% remain outstanding.



Steve Walker, NHSLA chief executive, played down the issue of fee disparity. He said: 'Defence costs have always been lower than claimant costs and there are justifiable reasons for that. The courts allow higher rates than we would ever contemplate paying our panel solicitors.'



Anne Winyard, joint head of the clinical negligence department at London-based law firm Leigh Day & Co, said: 'The main reason that claimant's costs in clinical negligence cases are higher than defence costs is that the claimant's lawyers have far more work to do than the defence lawyers.'



It is far harder to build a case than it is to pick holes in one and the claimant lawyer's job is made more difficult when the defence does not make early admissions, she said.



Kevin Grealis, head of clinical negligence at London law firm Stewarts, added that generally the NHSLA needs to take a more pragmatic view in bringing cases to a conclusion and to look at cases economically as well as legally.



Catherine Baksi