By Matthew Best, Director – ATE Partnerships, Head of Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
(Estimated reading time: 2 minutes 54 seconds)
The Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement (“CNCA”) has come into effect as of 26 August 2024. It supersedes the earlier Covid-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol.
The Agreement is designed to promote collaboration and to encourage positive behaviour between the NHSR and Claimants involved in Clinical Negligence disputes. It is said that the Agreement will be reviewed every 26 weeks and any party who is a signatory to it has to give 4 weeks’ notice of termination.
The main points to take away are;
- This agreement supersedes the Covid Protocol Agreement which has now come to an end;
- Only members of either SCIL, AvMA’s Lawyer Service and/or an AvMA Panel member are entitled by right to rely on the provisions of the new Agreement;
- Any extension of the limitation period under the CNCA must be made in writing, in advance of the primary limitation period expiring;
- The CNCA only applies to claims indemnified under schemes operated by NHS Resolution;
Key Features:
- Emphasis on early disclosure of relevant documentation to help narrow issues and reduce investigation costs;
- Improved communication protocols, including ongoing acceptance of electronic correspondence and service of documents;
- Encouragement of pre-action discussions and dispute resolution to avoid unnecessary litigation.
The CNCA also includes some useful references to costs:
– Interim Payments
The CNCA states that parties ought to adopt a reasonable approach to interim payments for both damages and costs. Notably, it states that all requests should be responded to within 28 days.
– Conduct
It is proposed that parties can refer to non-compliance to the CNCA in disputes relating to costs. This goes both ways with either side able to report conduct issues which the court could take into account when considering what order for costs to make and also when assessing costs.
– ADR
The CNCA states that along with the fact that consideration should be given, wherever possible, to ADR, the Defendant should have instructions, where appropriate, on any payment on account of damages or costs they prepared to make at any settlement meeting.
-Budgeting
The CNCA recommends that parties exchange costs budget in good time.
– Early Disclosure
NHSR should provide early disclosure which should help reduce the cost of investigating claims.
– Limitation
The CNCA states that limitation extensions are to be dealt with on a case by case basis. It states a reasonable limitation extension would be up to 6 months. It is beneficial to parties to seek limitation extensions to save the costs of proceedings and where one is not requested it could lead to arguments about costs recovery. Where the NHSR is the indemnifying organisation and is not yet on notice of the claim, the CNCA stipulates any limitation extension request be sent to a dedicated e-mail – .
– Extensions of Time
The CNCA states that reasoned and reasonable requests to extend deadlines to comply with court directions or for the Defence should not be opposed saved in exceptional circumstances.
The agreement will be reviewed every 26 weeks to ensure it remains effective and responsive to the needs of all parties involved in clinical negligence cases.
It is clear that the agreement encourages apologies as well as trying to ensure that similar errors are avoided in the future. I also believe that this is the first time that a litigation process has put the emphasis on trusts to demonstrate to injured and/or grieving parties what has been learned. This is a positive step forward and one that Temple Legal Protection welcomes.
If you would like to discuss matters around the Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement or simply ATE/disbursement funding matters then you can give me a call on 01483 514804 or email me at
Matthew Best Cert CII
Head of Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
Matthew Best Cert CII
Matt has an insurance background and joined Temple in 2011 having worked for 4 years in a leading insurance company where he was dealing with personal injury work. Matthew was promoted to Underwriting Manager and subsequently Senior Underwriting Manager taking on overall responsibility for Temple’s personal injury and clinical negligence underwriting department.
In 2022 Matt joined the board of directors as Director of ATE Partnerships. Matthew has cultivated fantastic relationships with our business partners for many years. His ability to build a clear understanding of their requirements and more importantly what is required to fulfil such requirements means he is ideally placed to support the strategic direction of the company.
Matt remains the head of the personal injury and clinical negligence department and is committed to all Temple’s business partners in order to deliver the highest level of service they expect. He is also responsible in making sure that Temple’s ATE and disbursement funding products remain competitive, but most importantly that they are fit for purpose for solicitors and their clients.
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