"The current rate of
increase in the number of claims for compensation for clinical negligence and
referrals to the regulatory bodies is unmatched in the company's 126 year
history', wails the annual report of the Medical Defence Union.
The plan to tackle this sort of
statistic, which actually represents ruined lives of people who put their
trust in an expert?
Well, apparently it's to lobby
ministers to cut the cost of damages awards.
This comes hard on the heels of
our Supreme Court beginning to consider how we will implement one of the recommendations
of the Jackson report that awards be increased by 10% across the board to
balance the forthcoming bar on recovery of success fees.
No doubt encouraged by the
success of liability insurers it seems the MDU now wants a piece of the action.
Presumably they’ll be heading round to Downing Street for beer and sandwiches -
or rather tea and cakes.
Head of Claims at the MDU, Jill
Harding, denies that clinicians are to blame, explaining that "the
increase in claim numbers is not, we believe, driven by deteriorating standards
of care'.
Rather, "it seems likely
that the continuing availability of no-win, no-fee arrangements to fund cases
is a factor'.
Look, it's very simple. There's
no fee unless there's a win, and there's only a win if there’s a cock-up.
Yet again we see an unhealthy preoccupation with - rather
than eradicating errors - trying to silence and sabotage the victims and their
solicitors.
And if you think that's bad, get this. In the same report
the head of claims boasts that “the MDU continues to rebut 70% of medical
claims notified to us"
Well, give yourselves a big pat on the back, won't you?
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