Pardoes urges medical negligence victims to come forward

July 6, 2012 - PRLog -- Leading South West solicitors firm, Pardoes, is warning that the controversial Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which is set to become law in April 2013, will seriously affect a person’s ability to bring a claim for personal injuries suffered as a result of medical negligence.

The new legislation removes access to public funding for the majority of clinical negligence claims, therefore Pardoes is urging individuals who have suffered as a result of substandard medical treatment to come forward now, so that investigations can commence before legal aid is withdrawn.

Justin Goodman, Partner and Head of Medical Negligence at Pardoes, says, “The new rules represent a significant impediment to access to justice in a complicated area of law, which is not just about monetary compensation, but involves very serious wider issues. Claimants often suffer extremely severe injuries, and are seeking compensation to enable them to support themselves in the future. Some claimants will be children and vulnerable people who are suffering very debilitating illnesses as a result of their condition, caused by medical negligence.”

Under the existing regime, successful claimants are entitled to recover an amount of money, which places them in a similar position to where they would have been, had their medical treatment been of an appropriate standard, as well as compensation for their pain and suffering. Additionally, successful claimants are entitled to recover their legal fees from their opponents, which ensures that the compensation can be used purely to compensate the victim.

The effect of the new legislation is that successful claimants will not be entitled to have their legal costs paid for by their opponents, and will have to fund this themselves. This could mean that compensation that was intended to buy the injured person a much needed wheelchair, provide for appropriate nursing care or replace the income that they can no longer earn, will instead have to be used to pay for the costs of pursuing their legal claim.

Justin continues, “In many cases within the new regime, victims may struggle to find a solicitor to represent them at all, or will be unable to afford the costs of the insurance or medical reports needed in order to conduct a full and thorough investigation. We condemn the new rules as illogical and unfair, as well as being bad for both the NHS and for access to justice. There is, however, time to act under the old system, which will not be abolished until April 2013, by seeking the advice of a specialist clinical negligence solicitor now.”

Pardoes has a leading clinical negligence department and is one of a handful of firms still currently able to offer Legal Aid to its clinical negligence clients. Pardoes also offers its clients the option of funding their claims under a Conditional Fee Agreement, and will continue to do so once the new legislation is in place.

Pardoes is a well-established South West legal firm, with 15 partners and 95 staff across its Bridgwater, Yeovil and Taunton offices. It offers a full range of legal services and has expanded many of its specialist sectors in the past two years. During that time new partners have been appointed to head up its core business divisions in the fields of private client, family, property, litigation and commercial and employment work.