Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp explains how children’s negligence claims could be better managed
The issue of how children’s clinical negligence claims can be handled to best effect remains uncertain, particlularly in the wake of the government’s recent green paper on the future of legal aid funding. In the main these claims relate to still births and catastrophic brain injury. In both instances the effect on the family is devastating.
First steps
These cases are taking too long to resolve, which is detrimental to both the families concerned and the public purse, yet experts and stakeholders agree that making small improvements in each stage of the claims process should be possible and could cumulatively make a big difference to the outcome in terms of time and cost.
Feedback from our recent conference, Claims Involving Children—How Could We Do It Better? showed that the starting point should be earlier letters of claim as this would give defendants a better opportunity to investigate and respond fully. Consideration at the outset as to what format is going to be used to resolve a dispute would also be a major benefit
