David Locke believes a new ADR protocol could resuscitate the Jackson proposals
In 2007 a consultant urogynaecologist was suspended by an NHS Trust on Merseyside when concerns about his practice came to light. A detailed clinical review followed, initially conducted by the trust and subsequently with independent assistance. Perhaps inevitably, towards the end of 2009 the first legal claims were intimated. The numbers increased exponentially and within a few months more than 200 claims had been notified.
Importantly, the notification of these claims coincided broadly with the publication of Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Civil Litigation Costs and the pervasive sense that something innovative needed to be done to reform the system. In that context, a comprehensive and therein unique protocol for resolving the cases and managing costs was devised.
It is hoped that the protocol may provide a blueprint for the management of similar litigation in the future, although there is no reason why this should be restricted only to the field of clinical disputes. Additionally, at a time when in
