First rate healthcare is the primary objective for all health providers. But if patients are dissatisfied and claims are brought, this can be a source of great stress for everyone involved. We understand the challenges you face and provide expert but pragmatic solutions, resolving claims quickly, efficiently and sensitively. We act for NHS and private providers (and their insurers and indemnifiers) across England and have been members of the NHS Resolution and MPS panels for many years.
All of our lawyers are trained on, and experienced in, mediation. We work collaboratively with many leading claimant firms so that we can resolve genuine claims swiftly, minimising distress. We’ve set up a number of ADR schemes where there are multiple claims relating to the same clinician.
We work closely with our in-house counter fraud specialists and have considerable experience of detecting and preventing fraudulent claims against healthcare providers and recovering costs for them on this basis. Our reported fraud cases include Elder v George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, where we established that the Claimant’s claim for £2.3m was “fundamentally dishonest”, subsequently obtaining a contempt of court conviction against her, which received much media coverage. We also represented the Defendant surgeon in Payne v Simpson, where a fundamental dishonesty finding was upheld on appeal.
We have a dedicated maternity team, which specialises in obstetric claims and related issues. We have more than 25 years’ experience in dealing with claims and investigations involving cerebral palsy and maternal and baby deaths. We also represent diagnostic ultrasound providers and independent midwives. Our team has been working closely with a number of healthcare providers to support their implementation of the Ockenden recommendations.
Our dedicated dental negligence team deals with claims arising from a range of dental specialties, including general dentistry, conservative dentistry and endodontics, periodontology, orthodontics, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery. We have many years’ experience advising on such claims and have been a key advisor to one of our clients on vicarious liability and non-delegable duty of care, which have been at the forefront of all practice owners’ minds as well as changing the scope of insurance and indemnity.
“In the wholly unexpected and very fast moving developments during last week - you had to take on board an exceptional turn of events which I suspect most lawyers will never encounter during their career. From my perspective, your support and understanding of the changing landscape was both reassuring and a clear indication of your abilities...”
“Thank you so much for … everything you and your team have done to achieve success in this case. Your tireless efforts and work are an inspiration … I would like to thank you for your "personal touch" to the case, your support and understanding.”
On Saturday 15 October a wave of light swept the internet when thousands of people flooded social media with pictures of candles to remember the babies that they have lost. This event signifies the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week which aims to break the silence that is associated with baby loss in pregnancy and infancy.
In our latest Shared Insights session, Focus on Emergency Medicine, chaired by Jennifer Fagin and Amelia Newbold, we were pleased to be joined by: Dr Alex Crowe, Deputy Director Incentive Schemes & Academic Partnerships, NHS Resolution and Consultant Nephrologist and Miss Susie Hewitt MBE, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.
HSIB published its report on Maternal deaths during the first wave of COVID-19. The report takes a closer look at the impact that COVID-19 had during the initial period of March to May 2020.
In this session, our speakers discussed the final Ockenden report, the Midwifery Perspective, the Board Perspective, and the Wider national initiatives - Monitoring May.
Every year a high number of patients attend Emergency Departments (EDs) in England, often presenting with complex and wide-ranging symptoms. Many of these challenges were explored in the Getting It Right First Time Emergency Medicine Report, published in 2021.
The much anticipated final Ockenden report was published on 30 March 2020. The final report sets out the findings of the review into care provided to 1,486 families, and sets out a blueprint for safe maternity care.
The Court of Appeal has given judgment on three cases where close relatives claimed compensation for psychiatric injuries suffered as a consequence of witnessing the collapse of their loved ones.
We were delighted to be joined by Dr Nigel Sturrock, Regional Medical Director for the Midlands at NHS England and NHS Improvement. He gave an overview of the pressures placed on the NHS by the pandemic, including the impact on urgent and emergency care, elective procedures and staffing.
It is important to bear in mind the legal framework when planning discharge and conveyance plans but practicalities are also key.
Given the ongoing scrutiny of maternity services following publication of the Ockenden preliminary report in December 2020, it is timely that World Patient Safety Day on 17 September 2021 has a focus on safe maternal and newborn care.
In this Shared Insights session we provided an overview of the implementation of the Ockenden Immediate and Essential actions.
Consent is often a key issue in obstetric claims and if it is relevant to the facts of the death, its likely to be an area explored by a coroner.
This video illustrates some of the issues that can arise when a witness is poorly prepared.
This film highlights the importance of creating an open and transparent culture where staff feel able to speak up will help Trusts to identify problematic practise before significant issues arise.
This shared insight is on indemnity issues stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and looks the issues that Trust legal teams have faced over the last 12 months during the pandemic.
This shared insight looks at the NHS Early Notification team and helping Trusts with cases where babies have died following birth or where mothers have sustained severe injuries during childbirth, speaking of the consequences of these claims and the current focus on safety in maternity services.
Insights were shared on procedure, witness statements, withdrawing admissions and taking screenshots and photos in remote hearings.
On 12 November 2020, the HSIB published its latest national investigation report on maternity safety - what are the likely implications for maternity services?
This health newsletter talks about the focuses on topics relevant to the resolution of healthcare disputes.
In this article we explore some recent changes to claims arising from death and provide a brief refresher on how these are calculated.
As a national law firm, Browne Jacobson works with healthcare organisations across the country, helping resolve patients’ disputes efficiently, fairly and with integrity.
Sian Brown is one of Browne Jacobson’s Partners and the head of the Early Notification Team. Find out more about Sian here.
Focused on effective triangulation of data and learning from claims.
In Simpson v Payne, the Defendant Applicant (Defendant) was successful before His Honour Judge Murdoch in their application for a finding of fundamental dishonesty against the Claimant resulting in an enforceable costs order against the Claimant directly.
The second victim and supporting clinicians through investigations, complaints, claims and inquests.
Mediation is an effective forum for claims resolution by providing injured patients and their families the opportunity to receive face-to-face explanations and apologies and a platform to articulate concerns that would not ordinarily be addressed in other forms of dispute resolution.
Lord Burnett handed down Judgement at the RCJ on 10 June 2020 of the following case which is the latest in a line of authorities to explore the engagement of Article 2 at Inquests concerning medical care/treatment, reaffirming the point that such cases will not ordinarily trigger the need for an Article 2 inquest.
Sarah Stork, Senior Associate, provides an update on how the courts are dealing with litigation during the Covid 19 pandemic.
In Magee v Willmott Browne Jacobson successfully appealed on behalf of the Defendant a lower court decision to allow the Claimant relief from sanctions to rely upon expert evidence served after the deadline had passed for exchange and not to strike out part of the Claimant’s case which was unsupported by the Claimant’s breach expert and where no case on causation had been pleaded.
Given the significant challenges and resource implications of the coronavirus on all NHS staff, how should Trusts manage and respond to complaints and Serious Incident Investigations? Do the relevant time limits still apply?
In SSP Health Ltd v NHS Litigation Authority [2019] EWHC 3291 (Admin), Browne Jacobson LLP successfully acted for NHS England in relation to a judicial review challenge brought by SSP Health Ltd (“the Claimant”) following a decision made under the NHS Dispute Resolution Procedure not to award the Claimant interest in relation to a breach of the terms of 22 Alterative Provider Medical Services (“APMS”) contracts.
Charles Bagot QC and Browne Jacobson LLP, instructed by NHS Resolution on behalf of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, secured the strike out of two secondary victim claims.
NHS Resolution has released a report on the first year of the innovative Early Notification (EN) Scheme. The Early Notification scheme progress report: collaboration and improved experience for families draws together key themes and recommendations from an analysis of cases from the first year of the scheme (2017/2018).
The fact that the focus of this year’s International Patient Safety Day on 17 September 2019 is ‘Safety culture at all levels’ illustrates the vital role culture has to play in the provision of safer care across all healthcare settings.
Carl-May Smith provides an enforcement and prosecutions update including looking at recent prosecutions of Registered Managers.
In May 2016 an inquest into the charity’s care was opened following the death of Sophie Bennett.
The recent judgment of R (on the application of Maguire) v Her Majesty's Senior Coroner for Blackpool and Fylde [2019] EWHC 1232 (Admin), reaffirms that individual acts of medical negligence are not sufficient to engage State responsibility under Article 2 ECHR.
In one of the most significant fraud findings for the NHS, Lesley Elder, 51, was handed a 5-month custodial sentence for contempt of court for dishonestly claiming in excess of £2.3 million in compensation.
