By Matthew Best, Senior Underwriting Manager
(Estimated reading time: 2 minutes 29 seconds)
This is the big one. The one that will have a significant impact on the great work we all do, in whatever capacity we work in… Jeremy Hunt’s mission to reform clinical negligence litigation. I’ve read through the Health and Social Care Committee transcript.
I’m sure we all have heard the latest developments from the most recent Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) meeting, chaired by Jeremy Hunt. The Committee is concerned by the fact that last year £2.2bn was paid out in new litigation claims; whilst over £8bn has been incurred for future claims.
One of the questions asked at the meeting was whether this is the best way to spend our very precious health resources. Well, clearly that answer is no, but the Committee might want to look at the behaviour of the NHSR in how they conduct litigation. So often a protocol letter of claim is sent and eventually a denial makes its way back. The case will rumble on, resulting in vast amounts of costs being incurred; only for an admission to be made within the trial window.
Approximately, 80% of claims that go to proceedings (where proceedings are issued) end up settling in favour of the claimant. That tells us there must have been opportunities for the NHS to recognise fault and that lessons need to be learned. So, perhaps the HSCC shouldn’t just delve into what is being spent/incurred; the question that really needs to be considered is ‘Why and how can this be improved?’
Nobody turns to litigation lightly. People want to know what has happened, rather than receiving one denial after the other. People find litigation, particularly in this country, a very stressful and costly process. What the government figures don’t show is just how many individuals do approach a lawyer. AvMA estimate less than 10% of the people that approach them seek legal advice; that is around 3,000 people a year.
The costs of implementation will be huge
Mr Hunt appears to have an initial attraction towards a Swedish style non-fault system; but what I do not think is appreciated is the realistic cost of implementing one. There appeared to be a conclusion that the non-adversarial nature of the Swedish system was responsible for significant improvements. That is not exactly what Professor Gustafson said – there are about 10.5m people in Sweden, compared to about 60m in England and Wales alone.
I am eagerly awaiting the next instalment, but the time to make our point is now. There are challenges for each side – for claimant lawyers this includes being responsible in their views and actions.
I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts on these issues
To facilitate this, Temple will be hosting a number of events this year in which we can all have our say on the important subjects. I will be inviting special guests/speakers to come along; to register
your interest or share your thoughts please drop an email to me at or call 01483 577877.
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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