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COURT AWARDS OVER £16.5 MILLION

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Our clinical negligence solicitor, Julie Hardy, has settled a claim for a 14 year old client after he suffered brain damage at the age of 2. This is the highest settlement at Barratts Solicitors to date. Julie Hardy, solicitor at Barratts

After a routine operation to remove his tonsils, at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, Julie’s client became severely dehydrated. It was known that he was at risk of dehydration because of a congenital kidney problem.  Due to hospital errors, Julie’s 2 year old client suffered permanent brain injury.

The boy’s parents are now faced with a lifetime watching their son rely on others with no prospect of working or living a healthy life. No sum of money can ever compensate him but the award does provide long term security to meet the future costs of looking after someone with brain damage.

Why is the award so high?

There are several reasons:

  • The Government changed the figure used to calculate the “discount rate” in 2017. This is used to assess future costs, such as care, therapy, equipment and other lifetime needs. The change has significantly increased the compensation awarded for future losses. It can increase a claim for future care by millions of pounds.
  • The annual costs for a client with severe brain injury are very high. They often need several carers every day just to wash and dress and provide overnight care. There is often a need for adapted accommodation so the injured person can access all the rooms; they also need the right technology to help them communicate and be as independent as possible.
  • The age of a client and their life expectancy also makes a difference. If you are young and have many years ahead of you, the cost to support you is much higher than someone with only a few years to live.
  • Education for children and young people with special needs is also expensive. Local authorities are reluctant to pay for suitable specialist schools and colleges which cost more to attend.

How is the money paid?

For many clinical negligence clients with high future costs, it would be usual to receive a combination of a lump sum and annual periodical payments.  The lump sum will pay for housing and immediate needs. The rest is then paid on an annual basis for the duration of the claimant’s life. . The advantage is that if a client lives longer than expected they will still receive annual sums for care and some other costs. It takes away the problem of trying to protect money when the Investor does not know how long money is needed for.  This can also benefits the NHS who do not continue to pay if the client dies earlier than expected.

Who Gets the Money?

Whilst it sounds like a huge amount of money for a client, in reality only the lump sum is paid up front, with a small sum paid out to cover the family’s expenses up to the date of trial.  The largest part of the award is held by the NHS and paid out on an annual basis. The lump sum is supervised by the Court Of Protection who look after the needs of vulnerable clients with the appointment of a Deputy. The annual payments are then paid direct to the Deputy.

Summary

Ask an Expert

If you need advice about a complex case or know someone who has a brain injury and might be entitled to compensation please contact our Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence departments. They are supported by the Court of Protection team during and after the claim settles. We can now also offer Special Education Needs legal advice for our younger clients.

The Government is looking into the discount rate. We do not expect this to remain at the same level for much longer. This change will not benefit lawyers but could make a real difference to the value of your case and how you invest future compensation.

Our departments remain in the top ranking for legal advice for injured clients. We have settled numerous multi-million pound claims. Call us to ask about our expertise which has helped to secure the future for our most catastrophically injured clients.

Can Duty of Candour Avoid Another Gosport Hospital Incident?

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In contrast to the vast majority of doctors and nurses who go unheralded for the exceptional and caring treatment which they provide to patients on a daily basis, heavy publicity and notoriety falls upon the relative few whose sub-standard treatment has such devastating effect on patients.

The Gosport Inquiry

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has recently become the latest focus following the publication of a damning report concerning treatment provided to elderly patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1989 and 2000.

The families of deceased relatives have struggled for two decades to obtain answers relating to the unexpected deaths of their loved ones whilst under the care of Gosport Hospital.

Proposed Duty of Candour

Trust dial set at "high"

The Gosport report comes at a significant time within the legal realm, following the publication in October 2014 of a joint statement by Chief Executives of 8 Healthcare Regulators establishing guidelines for a consistent ‘duty of candour’.

The duty of candour requires healthcare providers to be open and honest with patients “when something goes wrong with their treatment or care which causes, or has the potential to cause, harm or distress”.

Almost 4 years later, the Gosport report has now come to light which again raises the profile of the duty of candour and its importance to patients in maintaining a high level of trust. At a time in which the news is regularly peppered with negative stories and the positive outcomes go generally unreported, how can this openness about mistakes change the NHS and medical care?

Our Views

Barratts Solicitors were recently asked, as part of a survey for APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) to share their thoughts on the duty of candour and the changes which have occurred since 2014 – a summary of our response can be found below:

“…we have not noticed any tangible change in professionals’ attitudes to candour. The Regulations and guidance suggest that there should also be a commitment to being open and transparent at board level or level of governing body which continues to be lacking.

Despite the proposed increase in transparency we have not noticed any evidence to suggest that (where patients have suffered harm during treatment) they are consistently informed of the next steps in their treatment or referral process, or what safety measures or enquiries will be carried out…

…Professionals should to be encouraged to alert their relevant organisation/Trust as a matter of course in the event of harm without fear of repercussion and without any immediate implication of negligence or litigation. Practitioners need to be assured that mistakes are allowed and understood to occur even with the greatest of care.

Training should be implemented regarding the frustrations of injured patients who undergo further referral or whom are advised to expect a prolonged recovery. They should also be made aware of the positive impact on patients of early acknowledgment and communication of errors. We consider it would be highly beneficial for patients to be allocated a key contact at their healthcare organisation, to whom they can direct any further concerns and discuss remedies rather than feel they are being passed between departments and left closed off from any internal investigation.

…It is without a doubt that increased transparency and acknowledgment by doctors, together with clear treatment and/or referral plans would result in a significant reduction in the number of clinical negligence enquiries, especially those which would not meet the legal test for negligence. Similarly, we maintain that effective compliance with the duty of candour would help to resolve those claims which do have merit at a much earlier stage and without the need for prolonged litigation and inflated legal costs…”

The Future

Straight road with future dates

2017 coming soon

Can better openness about mistakes and concerns in medical care make a difference? We know from experience that when mistakes are identified and corrected future mistakes are less likely. It is vital that all staff are properly trained to know about avoidable incidents.

Sadly, Gosport Hospital is not an isolated incident. Staff must be supported to raise concerns. Another Inquiry is of no benefit if it does not result in positive long term action.

 

 

What Is Conductive Education?

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It is #conductiveeducation awareness this week. For those in the dark about Conductive Education this is a very specialist and unique approach which was established in Hungary to help children with Cerebral Palsy. The original Peto Institute was set up in 1950 by Andras Peto, a doctor and neurologist who said:

‘ASK ME NOT WHAT I CAN DO FOR CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY, BUT ASK ME WHAT THEY CAN LEARN TO DO FOR THEMSELVES’

The approach is based on a belief that brains still have capacity to learn, even if badly damaged, and a proper teaching and therapeutic approach could help children achieve their full potential.

Alison Brooks, lawyer at Barratts Solicitors

Alison Brooks is trustee of a local charity, School for Parents, in Nottingham where Conductive Education is available on a daily basis for pre school children. There is also a Saturday gym club for older children. Alison recalls clients having to travel to Hungary in the 1980’s for help for their child with cerebral palsy. We are relieved that centres now exist around the UK which means #conductiveeducation is more accessible.

Perhaps the best known example of Conductive Education in action was a BBC documentary presented by Bob Hoskins entitled “Standing Up For Joe”. We witnessed 1st hand the remarkable development of Joe after his journey to Hungary.

Despite this publicity in  the 1980’s , many are still unaware that Conductive Education exists and how it might help their child with special needs. This may be, in part, because it does not fit into just one model, covering both medical and educational approaches to maximising potential for those with special needs. It is even being used for some adult services such as Parkinson’s disease.

If you are interested in a career, you can find out more about the degree course in Birmingham at the CEPEG website. https://www.cepeg.org.uk/ You can also become an assistant conductor via a new course set up by School for Parents.

#ceawareness this week is an ideal opportunity to raise the profile. Please do all you can to spread the word. There are still a few tables available for the Charity Cherub’s Ball for School for Parents on Saturday 28th April. Footprints Conductive Education Centre (formerly School for Parents)

You can also join Conductors, families and other professionals interested in #conductiveeducation at the annual CEPEG Conference on 12th May. This is in Nottingham and will be hosted by School for Parents. Paralympian Richard Whitehead will be giving the Welcome Speech! http://www.footprintscec.org/

 

Raising Money for MIND.

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Julie Hardy has just completed the RED (Run Every Day) January challenge for the mental health charity MIND.  It is an initiative run by the charity to raise funds, but more importantly to raise awareness about the positive effect of exercise upon mental health.  Julie is one of the lawyers in our clinical negligence team, and sadly she deals with many claims concerning failures in relation to psychiatric treatment.  MIND is a charity close to her heart.  We understand that over 20,000 people took part in RED January and at least £500,000 was raised for the charity.  

 

Talking about the challenge Julie said:

“I have taken part in many running events including half marathons, but RED January was the most challenging!  It has been a cold, dark and wet month so staying motivated to put on my trainers and run every day has not been easy.  The low point was early on in the month when I was suffering from a cold and sore throat.  I arrived home from work feeling terrible, looking at the rain and howling wind outside. I only managed to run half a mile to and from the local shop to pick up some lemsips! 

Surprisingly though I felt much better for it and I am sure this is testament to the positive mental effects of exercise.  By the end of the month I had run over 72 miles and had certainly kick-started my good intentions to exercise more in 2018.  Mind you- I’m glad it’s February now!”

 

We know our clients can suffer from mental health issues after serious injury. Sadly, Julie has also acted for families who have lost a loved one from suicide which was preventable. Help support Mind and read about their invaluable work at:

https://www.mind.org.uk/

New Scheme to Settle Maternity Claims

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We recently tweeted news of the Government’s plans for maternity claims against the NHS. Here’s more detail about the proposals and how it might affect some of our clients.

Cerebral Palsy Cases Now

If you think that your baby has been injured because of poor medical care during the pregnancy or in labour, you can have a long wait before any compensation is awarded. Medical experts take  years just to report, which means several years before the case is  ready for court proceedings to begin.

The Courts in England are also under more pressure with less money spent. This means it can take a long time to get hearings and for a trial date to be set.

If you have a successful claim, most often a child’s condition, such as cerebral palsy, cannot be fully assessed until they are older. We do make claims for some money in advance to meet immediate needs, like housing, care and equipment. However, the case will not finally settle until the child’s full prognosis can be identified. This can be over 10 years from the family 1st making contact with a solicitor.

Background To A New Redress Scheme

The Government have recognised the cost of birth injury cases is rising and the number of cases which should have been preventable is also on the rise. To resolve this, professionals were contacted to see if there was a better way to stop medical negligence birth claims.

More than 200 unique responses were received to a consultation held earlier this year on the issue, almost half from midwives and 33 from legal professionals.

The vast majority of respondents agreed the scheme should include early investigations, conducted by professionals independent of the trust involved.

The proposals also asked professionals about who should run the scheme. Many lawyers, ourselves included, said the NHS ought not to run the scheme. We felt there was a real conflict when the same organisation would be paying the compensation bill.

Another part of the scheme will consider NHS Trusts paying less money if their maternity and neonatal safety records improves. Coroners will most likely now investigate deaths of babies stillborn at 37 weeks or more. This should give a better picture of cases nationally which can identify general problems at a Trust or around England.

The New Scheme

From April 2019, the new scheme for maternity compensation will be in place. Whilst details are not yet available, when introduced it will speed up payments to the child. By agreeing fault much sooner, a child will have earlier access to money; this can be used to rehouse the client as well as pay for much needed therapy. This has to be a good thing; we all know that children benefit from early intervention and this is certainly the case for our young disabled clients.

Most importantly, the new scheme should look more closely into outcomes during labour. For far too long, the same mistakes are repeated and long term, life changing damage occurs. This devastates the whole family. Improving patient safety must be top of the list.

The rapid redress scheme is considering admitting fault sooner which also has an impact on legal costs. Cerebral palsy cases are expensive and some of the highest cost cases to pursue. If some of those costs reduce,because liability should be admitted, more money can go back into the NHS to further improve patient safety.

An early upfront payment, likely to be between £50,000 and £100,000,when avoidability can be established, has been considered. We have seen many clients who need significantly more than £100,000 to meet immediate needs. We hope this figure will increase.

Jeremy Hunt MP stated “‘Really when people go to the law, we have failed. If we get this right – if we can be more open, honest and transparent with families earlier on – it will, I hope, mean many fewer legal cases”. We do not think it will mean fewer legal cases because children with cerebral palsy,or other injuries sustained at birth, will always need legal advice. It does, in our view, mean that clients will have access to compensation sooner. We also hope it will mean fewer injuries by preventing more claims which would reduce the number of legal claims.

Conclusion

All our clients, without fail, want to stop others being injured.  A scheme which genuinely prevents negligence and injury is in everyone’s interest. We hope the new scheme will live up to our expectations.

The government has set an ambitious target to halve the rates of  stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths by 2025, having brought forward this target by five years.

 

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) state they support promises of early investigations, apologies, and shared learning in the proposed rapid resolution and redress scheme for severe birth injury, but the approach to damages is crude when compared to the proper assessment of a child’s needs which comes with litigation.

‘The original proposed scheme would only pay 90% of an average court settlement. ” We agree that full compensation is needed to care long term for severely damaged babies.

Why The Law On Bereavement Compensation Needed to Change

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Ed Myers has been helping clients for over 30 years who have been injured through no fault of their own. This has included cases where a client has died. For many years claimant lawyers have argued that couples who were not married, when their partner died, should be treated the same way as married couples. The surviving partner should not face the added trauma of being told the loss of their relationship is compensated differently to a married couple.

Finally we now have something to celebrate. Ed reports in more detail on the recent case which we mentioned in social media last week.

Bereavement Allowance Entitlement for Unmarried Couples

Congratulations and thanks to Jakki Smith from Chorley in Lancashire. She has successfully changed a law which allowed only the survivor of a married couple to claim a bereavement allowance after their partner died.

This law was still in place despite recommendations from committed law firms, such as Barratts, and the Independent Law Commission. No Government has been prepared to change a law even though it reflected society’s values in 1917 rather than 2017.

When Jakki claimed a bereavement allowance of £12,980.00 this was refused by the High Court. She therefore took her case to the Court of Appeal. Her claim was that the English law was in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights. Jakki persuaded the court that the previous law was wrong and that it discriminated against unmarried couples.  The court accepted her argument. This now opens the way for other unmarried partners to claim such damages when their partner dies.

The result is a testimony to Jakki’s willingness to take on, and defeat, a clearly unfair law. All that is now needed is for the Government to introduce new legislation so this decision can be implemented  as soon as possible. We hope the wait will not be too long.

Interview with a skydiver!

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Debra Morris is our skydiving specialist brain injury solicitor at Barratts!  She is also Chair of Headway Derby and has spent the last few weeks recovering after her fundraising skydive on 26th October. Debra gave us this interview:

Not every specialist brain injury solicitor would choose to go skydiving. Where did the idea come from?

  • My daughter, Katie, had it on her bucket list. I foolishly said I would join Katie and skydive if it was for a really good cause. I never really thought it would ever happen!

Who did the skydive?

  • Alison Wright is a case manager who works with patients who have suffered a brain injury. Alison was intending to skydive for her 50th birthday; she told one of my clients whom she helps with care and support, they told me and the rest, as they say, is history.

Why did you decide to skydive?

  • Alison Wright had already agreed to skydive to raise funds for Headway, the national brain injury charity. My work involves helping injured clients with brain injury to secure compensation to help improve their lives. However, I also see many people who cannot claim compensation and rely on the services of brain injury charities. This was the reason I became Chair of Headway Derby. The chance to raise a lot of money for Headway Derby was too good to miss.

What was it like to skydive?

  • I was very nervous on the day. We had decided to skydive in September when the weather would be better but we were cancelled 3 times before we got the go ahead. By then I was even more scared but we hardly had time to worry as we got the call on the same day that the plane could take off. I was relieved not to have another sleepless night!
  • I have posted my video to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lhcg5l_z_Y
  • Katie and Alison really enjoyed themselves but my experience was not the same! Hanging out a plane thousands of feet above the ground has to be the scariest thing I have ever faced.
  • Whilst I did survive it in one piece (with no aches or pains afterwards) I absolutely hated every moment.  I knew it would be scary but didn’t realise how bad until the moment I stepped out of the airplane into a void below – going face down at 120 m.p.h.  We were 13,000 feet up and as it was a cloudy day we couldn’t see anything until the parachute opened (fortunately!).

How will Headway Derby Benefit?

  • We are almost at our £3,000 target and there is a possibility we might even raise more money. The funds will be used to set up mobile support and advice hubs around Derbyshire to broaden our area of support to those with a head injury.

What’s your next adventure?

  • My feet are staying firmly on the ground. I am working hard with staff at Headway Derby and we continually look for ways to improve the service.
  •  We have been on Headway’s list of solicitors for Nottingham for many years. This involves independent evidence that the solicitor’s firm has experience acting for clients with brain injury. Since the skydive I have been told that we have also now been accepted for the Derby area. As I head up Barratt’s Derby office, this will keep me busy.

Any Last Words?

I would encourage anyone thinking about an activity to give a thought to the many charities around the UK who support those most in need. Whilst my skydiving days are definitely numbered, I do not regret my decision. I have been passionate about helping clients with head injury since I began my legal career, which makes it all the more satisfying to raise money for Headway Derby.

Why Choose Barratts Solicitors?

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We recently announced our top ranking in Legal 500, an independent legal guide, which described us as “one of the best” law firms in the country. Less than a month later Chambers Legal Guide has been published. This places both our Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence teams at the top for our litigation work. Our 5 partners are all “notable practitioners”, an accolade that is limited to only a few solicitors in the UK.

What Chambers Say About Our Personal Injury Department In 2017:

Why Is A Review By Chambers Important?

Chambers is a legal guide which asks clients, barristers, solicitors in other firms, medical experts and other professionals to provide a confidential analysis of the best law firms around the world. Only a small percentage of law firms are named each year. The ranking is based on the feedback from these referees; this means it is the most reliable source to find the best solicitors in the UK.

Barratts have consistently been named as one of the best Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Solicitor firms since appearing in Chambers. The fact that  our 5 partners are also ranked as “notable” means that within the best firms all of our partners are at the top of their profession. We are extremely proud to have retained our number 1 ranking; clients can instruct us knowing that our reputation is built on independent reviews by those who truly know how we work.

Barratts are “one of the best in the country”

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Excellence shown on a compass

The Legal 500 is an independent guide which ranks the best legal firms in the UK. Barratts Solicitors are proud that the firm is not only ranked by Legal 500 but is consistently placed in the top 1st tier every year. To achieve this accolade every year is testament to the firm’s commitment to have experienced lawyers handling compensation claims.

The Legal 500 entry gives more information about our lawyers and some examples of cases that we have been involved in for 2016/17:

‘Fantastic niche firm’ Barratts Solicitors is ‘one of the best in the country’, advising solely on personal injury and clinical negligence cases of maximum severity, such as cerebral palsy and birth injury, spinal and brain injury, and delayed diagnosis and treatment. The clinical negligence department, led by Alison Brooks, is currently investigating quantum of a wrongful birth claim for a child born with severe microcephaly and suffering from cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other health complications. In Peppard v Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the team claimed damages for paraplegia resulting from delayed diagnosis and treatment of cord compression and venous thrombophlebitis. Emma Zukowska represented a patient of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in a trial contested on liability arising from delayed diagnosis of appendicitis followed by peritonitis. The ‘intelligent, tactically astute and hardworking’ Julie Hardy, praised as a ‘model solicitor’, settled claims for delayed diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, glaucoma and ectopic pregnancy. Court of Protection specialist Julie Greenwood is claiming delay in delivery and resuscitation resulting in dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Personal injury practice head Ed Myers handled litigation proceedings arising from a fatal road traffic accident of a British citizen in France and represented two healthcare workers claiming assault in the workplace against their employer. Other work on the personal injury side included serious road traffic accidents and asbestosis claims. David Tomlinson is also recommended, as is associate Debra Morris, who heads the Derby office. Malcolm Goff has retired.

All our lawyers who were working at Barratts in 2016-17 are personally named.  We think this is unique to our firm. We know that our clients need advice they can trust from lawyers who know what they are talking about. The 8 lawyers share nearly 200 years expertise between them.

Our commitment to helping injured clients was praised by other solicitors, medical experts, barristers, professionals working with those affected by spinal or brain injury, and, last but not least, our clients.

Ed Myers was also named as a leading individual. We could not be more proud of our latest entry in Legal 500.

To find out more about Legal 500, you can also go to their website at http://www.legal500.com.

Insurer Profits Remain High

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Three insurance companies have posted healthy profits in their 2017 first half interim results. Has this also led to a reduction in the cost of car insurance premiums charged to drivers?

The Results

Aviva’s half year results for 2017 show that its overall operating profit rose by 11%, and that UK motor insurance premiums increased by 9% (from £530 million to £580 million). The dividend paid out to shareholders went up by 13%.

AXA also reported strong half year performance with a 4% increase in underlying earnings, and a 6% growth in revenue from UK motor insurance.

Direct Line reported a 9.5% increase in operating profits in its interim half year results for 2017. In early 2017, Direct Line increased its motor insurance prices to its customers by 6.6%, compared with the same time in 2016, blaming the increase on proposed plans to adjust the Discount Rate and on an “anticipated increase in claims inflation”.

However, in its interim results paper, the Direct Line Group has said that “bodily injury claims continued to trend more favourably than expected”, meaning that it has paid out less than expected. The insurer also said that its motor line continued to grow gross written premiums, which was up 10%, with Direct Line driving the growth.

Do Drivers Benefit from Insurer’s Profits?

Claimant lawyers have asked insurers to justify profits  at a time when the average cost of comprehensive car insurance cover is at a record high of £690 – an increase of 19.6% in a year. Insurers do not detail how they calculate premiums but a need to be more transparent is gaining momentum; in particular The Daily Telegraph investigation eerlier this month revealed that repair costs were being inflated by insurers as much as 100%. Their report showed that some insurers were doubling the actual cost of car repairs in exchange for financial kickbacks.

The Government  is under pressure from insurers to change the law to make it more difficult for those injured on the roads or at work to make a claim for damages. They  argue that this was the only way to lower prices for motorists, but behind the scenes insurers are not passing on profits to car drivers.

We know that last year road accident claims dropped by 7% and workplace accident and disease claims by 21%. Insurers have stated that a recent increase in the way that future damages are calculated will impact their profits and suggest that savings will be passed on to drivers. We wait to see if this will happen, especially as the Government are set to again reduce the calculations for future damages for injured clients. Will this saving be passed on to drivers if that happens?