Rise In Patients with No Choice But To Make Medical Negligence No Win No Fee Claims
More NHS patients than ever before are expected to be left with no choice but to launch medical negligence no win no fee claims this year. This increase follows media reports of significant numbers of errors leaving patients injured and unable to work, whether in the short or long term. As a result compensation awarded in medical negligence no win no fee claims is a patient’s lifeline, paying for mortgage repayments whilst patients are unable to work and for ongoing care where necessary.
Now, new regulations which came into effect at the beginning of April this year state that NHS trusts must register with the Care Quality Commission and report its errors anonymously to a central database. Patient groups state that the regulations are not strict enough. They fear that deaths caused by negligence are being recorded as natural causes or untreatable injury. They also state that the families of patients who die as a result of negligence are kept in the dark about what happened.
According to Department of Health figures, half a million patients a year are harmed because of negligence, including during NHS operations. The figures show that each year there are 30,000 complaints and only 6,000 medical negligence no win no fee claims. This fact appears to indicate that a relatively small proportion of patients are fully aware of their rights to make a medical negligence no win no fee claim. According to patient groups, this is because many patients are left unaware that any mistakes were even made during the course of their treatment.
Last year ?870 million of compensation was paid following medical negligence no win no fee claims, paying for ongoing care of injured patients and supporting those that needed time off work. However, the NHS litigation authority estimates that it could face as much as ?10 billion of compensation payouts based on accident reports from hospitals.
Unfortunately, lack of funding means that the errors are unlikely to be illuminated. This means it is likely that some patients will continue to suffer injury, loss of independence and financial hardship. Medical negligence no win no fee claims can help them get justice, but it is to be hoped that care improves.