The government is putting the NHS ‘above the law’ with its proposed legal aid reforms and changes to the ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements, the Gazette has been told.
Paul Rumley, clinical negligence partner at Withy King’s Swindon office, said the legal aid cuts and reform of conditional fee arrangements (CFAs) will make it impossible for patients injured through clinical negligence at the hands of the NHS to seek redress.
Without legal aid, clients would need to use CFAs, but law firms will not be able to risk the huge upfront costs needed to bring clinical negligence cases under a CFA, Rumley said.
Rumley said there is a ‘major conflict of interest’ for the government, which funds the NHS, to bring in reforms that will reduce the number of claims brought against the body.
‘By making it impossible for all but the wealthiest patients to sue the NHS by withdrawing public funding, the government is in effect putting itself and the NHS above the law,’ he said.
‘The government has said it will protect the most vulnerable in society, but its reforms will deny access to justice for some of the most vulnerable.’
He called on ministers to retain legal aid for clinical negligence cases affecting children, for all who lack capacity and for the relatives of patients who have died due to NHS mistakes.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said it is important that victims of clinical negligence have access to legal representation in order to claim compensation.
He said the government is aware of concerns in relation to the funding of expert reports in such cases, and is discussing with the NHS Litigation Authority how joint reports could be commissioned.
‘For those cases where a joint report cannot be commissioned, the government proposes having tightly drawn powers which allow after-the-event insurance premiums to be recovered in clinical negligence cases,’ he said.
source: lawgazette.co.uk
Withy King Solicitors
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