Latest News
NHS receives extra £185m for negligence claims
13 January 2012
An additional £185 million has been injected into the budget to pay for clinical negligence compensation claims made against the NHS, the government has revealed.
Over recent years, the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA)- which is currently chaired by Professor Dame Joan Higgins - has faced an increased volume of legal action following alleged mistakes by medical professionals.
Indeed, figures obtained by The Times have shown that awards faced by the body should they lose all such cases rose to £16.85 billion in March 2011 in comparison to £5.31 billion ten years earlier.
Consequently, health secretary Andrew Lansley - who is also MP for South Cambridgeshire - has announced that a further £185 million will be made available to the NHSLA to deal with cases before April 2012.
Health minister Lord Howe commented: "We want to strike the right balance between access to compensation claims and ensuring that costs are proportionate, sustainable and affordable."
Contact our clinical negligence solicitors on 0800 916 9049 or email enquiries@rjw.co.uk if you would like advice on any medical negligence matter
Posted by Trusha Vyas
Comments (0)