New Proposals To Curb Negligence Claims Don’t Go Far Enough Says Dental Protection
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- Published: Monday, 25 April 2022 10:37
- Written by Chris Tapper
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New Government proposals to limit the legal costs that lawyers can recover for clinical negligence claims have been welcomed by Dental Protection.
But the dental indemnity company believes more could be done to ensure the scheme benefits dentistry.
The proposal only covers ‘lower value clinical negligence claims.’
A consultation document issued by the Department of Health and Social care is proposing tackling “increasing and disproportionate legal fees” by introducing fixed recoverable costs as well a new streamlined process for claims up to the value of £25,000 in England and Wales.
In its response to the consultation, Dental Protection said it fully supported the introduction of a fixed recoverable costs scheme but said the scheme could be made more meaningful for dentistry if it considered cases up to the value of £250,000.
The leading indemnifier cited one case of an alleged failure to diagnose a palatal cyst (UL3 area), where damages were agreed in the sum of £15,000.
Dental Protection said “The original Bill of Costs submitted was for £93,043.65. Costs were substantially reduced by negotiation to £30,000 however, this figure was twice the amount of damages paid.
Steven Davies, Head of Legal Services at Dental Protection said “It is not unusual for the costs awarded to claimant lawyers to be significantly higher than the damages paid to the patient – sometimes it could be two or three times higher. This happens even where claims are settled at an early stage. This cannot be right, and we have long called for a fixed recoverable costs scheme to be introduced.”
“It is important however that any scheme is designed to benefit dentistry where this is a significant issue.”
“While a scheme for claims up to the value of £25,000 would be a positive step, it does not go far enough. We believe that a fixed recoverable costs scheme should be applied in claims up to the value of £250,000, providing a more cost-effective scheme fit for the future of the profession.”
“Given the impact that legal costs have on the price that dental professionals pay to protect themselves against claims, it is vital that any fixed costs regime introduced has a positive impact and is not a wasted opportunity.”
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