A recent High Court decision highlights the critical importance of expert witnesses in clinical negligence cases having a sound understanding of the “Bolam” test. While the test is not strictly determinative, a lack of familiarity can significantly undermine the credibility of their evidence. 1. What is this new pilot scheme? In Tarrant v Monkhouse [2025] EWHC 2576 (KB) the claimant brought a negligence claim following complications from bariatric surgery. Shortly before tri

A musician tragically died from a traumatic brain injury after a fall in hospital following a 30-hour A&E wait, an inquest has heard. An inquest in Truro heard yesterday that Luke Raggatt's girlfriend pleaded with medical staff at the NHS Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske for a brain scan following the fall in October last year, but was told it wasn't necessary. Speaking before the inquest, an emergency department consultant described not prescribing medication to preven

A solicitor was “quite wrong” to advise his personal injury client to make a covert recording of testing undertaken by their opponent’s medical expert, the High Court has ruled. This was particularly the case as the parties had agreed not to record each side’s testing, which the solicitor said he had forgotten. His Honour Judge Shanks, sitting as a High Court judge, was ruling on an application in a £3.25m claim by a passenger in a road traffic accident. There was no issue t

MPs have pressed NHS England and NHS Resolution on what concrete steps they are taking to tackle the rising cost of clinical negligence, warning that longstanding system failures — including poor complaints handling, maternity safety issues, and slow case progression — are driving avoidable spending. Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the focus must shift from describing the scale of the problem to delivering action.  Future liabilities for clinical negligenc

The potential for clinical negligence claimants to effectively ‘win twice’ through care awards is coming under scrutiny from parliament as a way to slash costs. The National Audit Office last month raised concerns that claimants who receive statutory funding for private health treatment as part of their compensation may access free NHS services and pocket the money. It was confirmed by health officials at the Public Accounts Committee evidence session on Thursday that this is

Hospital leaders missed 32 opportunities to act over safety concerns about a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon accused of botching children’s operations, an independent review has found.  The investigation said that failures by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust allowed Kuldeep Stohr to continue operating at Addenbrooke’s Hospital for years, putting patients at prolonged risk. Experts highlight how “actions could have been taken to reduce harm to patients”. Comp

Erica Flatley, 53, from Balby, underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung in September 2020 following a diagnosis of suspected lung cancer. It was only after the procedure that doctors confirmed the mass was caused by pneumonia, not cancer, meaning the surgery had been unnecessary. She said: “At my two-week review, the surgeon told me I was in the one percent of people who didn’t have cancer, and that it was likely to have been an infection. “I was just as s

A highly-respected pathologist died from an overdose after he was given the wrong drug by staff at the NHS trust where he worked. Prof Ray McMahon, 68, suffered a cardiac arrest after he was given medication which was three times too strong, his inquest heard. The father-of-three, who was president of the International Academy of Pathology, died at Wythenshawe Hospital on February 18, four days after he had been admitted with a fever. He had been poorly for many years with i

APIL has laid bare the ‘irrefutable prejudice’ against personal injury claimants and ensuing erosion of their right to redress, in evidence to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee’s access to justice inquiry. “In the last 15 years, a series of policy decisions has profoundly undermined access to justice for injured victims of negligence, the rule of law, and the well-established principle of 100 per cent compensation,” said APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyer

For 16 years, Charles Cullen worked as a nurse across multiple hospitals , secretly killing patients by administering fatal overdoses of medication into their IVs. It's estimated that Cullen may have murdered up to 400 people, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history. Cullen had a difficult childhood. His father died when he was an infant, his mother was killed in a car accident while he was in high school, and two of his siblings also passed away

A firm has failed in its appeal against the dismissal of its counterclaim after its evidence was found ‘not sufficiently compelling to justify’ allegations it was misled by a former client. Cheshire-based firm Harrison Bryce Solicitors Limited was instructed by Abdul Shamaj after his car was involved in a collision with another vehicle. The firm accepted instructions on a conditional fee basis. While preparing for trial, Harrison Bryce wrote to Shamaj in March 2022 recording

The government is seeking 'expert opinion, data and evidence' on the reforms which ushered in fixed tariffs for soft-tissue injury ‘whiplash’ damages. Announcing a post-implementation review of the whiplash reform programme, Sarah Sackman, justice minister, said the review would investigate the impact of raising the small claims track limit from £1,000 to £5,000 for road traffic accident-related personal injury claims. 'The reforms reduce the cost of making a claim, while ens

The cost of settling clinical negligence claims has more than tripled over the past two decades, according to a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO).  Annual costs rose from £1.1 billion in 2006-2007 to £3.6 billion in 2024-2025. The government’s estimated liability for future claims has quadrupled over the same period, reaching £60 billion. The NAO said that it had repeatedly warned about the rising costs of clinical negligence, but “so far, no government has succ

Audit finds average childbirth injury case costs more than £11m to settle as watchdog urges stronger safety measures The NHS’s total liabilities for medical negligence have hit £60bn, driven by a jump in childbirth injury cases that cost more than £11m each on average to settle. The total sum of money the health service in England may have to pay out to settle lawsuits for mistakes by staff has quadrupled from £14.4bn in 2006-07, amid more claims and rising legal costs. The c

As more traditional investment sources dry up, litigation funders are seeking to tap the private credit market. But the industry will have to adapt if such capital flows are to endure. The evolving nature of funds flowing in and out of the litigation finance sector came under the spotlight at Brown Rudnick’s packed European litigation funding conference last week. Many traditional investors, such as pension and endowment funds, are pulling back from investing in litigation be

NHS Resolution (NHSR) should investigate the level of fees claimant clinical negligence lawyers deduct from clients’ damages as part of efforts to control the cost of claims, the public spending watchdog has recommended. The National Audit Office (NAO) said the Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC) has accepted the recommendation from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that it needs to manage the costs of clinical negligence more effectively, “including a mechanism t

The worst hospital trust in the country paid out more than £51m to 10 families The NHS trust running Cornwall's largest hospital has paid...

Researchers have raised their estimate for the value of the UK’s medico-legal market in 2024 to £677m, an increase of 4.5% on the...

T he onward march of mandatory mediation continues, with plans to refer more cases automatically taking effect this week.  The Ministry...

A vascular surgeon who carried out hundreds of amputations before having his own legs removed to allegedly claim insurance cash has been...