Issue 15
June 2004

S.J. Edney solicitors were established in 1996 and are a niche Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Practice. Seamus Edney is a member of the Law Society's Personal Injury Panel, Action Against Medical Accidents and he is also a member of the Law Society's Clinical Negligence Panel. The firm holds a Legal Aid Franchise in Clinical Negligence.

As a firm we are committed to acting for victims of accidents and Seamus Edney has 15 years experience of Clinical Negligence work.

'COMPENSATION CULTURE' myth exploded in new report

Reporting directly to the Cabinet Office, the Better Regulation Task Force was asked some time ago to examine the regulatory aspects of compensation and litigation.

The resulting report exploded the long-standing myth that a compensation culture exists, and said the perception of a compensation culture is "largely, though not entirely, perpetuated by the media". It also slammed "senior commentators" for fuelling the myth, and said it would be helpful if those in "positions of influence could resist talking about the compensation culture," - statements which we publicly welcome.

But other sections of the report, including the suggestion that more personal injury claims should be heard in the small claims court, and that contingency fees should be introduced for personal injury claims, are a cause for concern.

In a press statement, president Colin Ettinger of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers argued that personal injury claims involve complex evidence which almost always demands legal guidance, and that the cost system of the small claims procedure does not allow for this. He said the playing field will be unfairly tilted away from claimants, as they will inevitably be up against big business or an insured defendant, who can afford legal representation. He also urged caution about contingency fees, warning the way damages are calculated would have to be changed if legal costs were to be deducted from compensation.

NEWS IN BRIEF

DVT ACTIONS An appeal in an action involving seven passengers of British Airways who died or claimed that they were severely injured when they contracted deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after travelling on long haul flights is to go to the House of Lords after the airline decided that it would waive its legal costs if the lawsuit failed. The Court of Appeal has dismissed the Claimants' appeal on the issue whether the DVT was an "accident" qualifying for compensation under the Warsaw Convention 1929.

AUTOPSY FEARS The Royal College of Pathologists estimated that autopsy requests by hospitals had dropped by over 20% in the last decade to around less than 10% of all autopsies that take place. Hospital-requested autopsies work, vitally important to keep an audit of the success of treatments and diagnosis, are no longer requested because of legal fears.

HEALTH CLICK Millions of patients, according to the Dept of Health, are set to become health experts at the click of a mouse, as comprehensive health information from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has been launched on NHS Direct Online. The Department of Health has been working with the BMJ to make available BMJ Best Treatments, which provides information on the most common health conditions including explanations of the pros and cons of elective surgery procedures, details of other treatments available, and advise on pre and post-operative care. It also offers information on the choice of possible treatments for 60 chronic conditions, ranking them according to effectiveness and highlighting the risks and benefits of each. Best Treatments will equip the public with evidence-based information on common surgical procedures, put into language and formats which are accessible, clear and jargon-free. To date this information has only been available to US patients. This new resource provides patients with the same evidence-based information as their doctors, which will support them to make informed choices about their healthcare.

MRSA CLAIMS Many patients affected by MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus - the so-called "superbug") in hospitals are considering taking legal action against the NHS. MRSA affects about 5,000 people each year with an estimated 800 deaths in 2002 (51 in 1993). Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, said that preventing and reducing hospital infection rates was a key priority. One of the reasons the bug spreads is because of bad hygiene by hospitals such as staff not washing hands between patients and dirty wards. MRSA is resistant to antibiotics such as methicillin.

 

Legal Fight on Embryos

A woman left infertile following treatment for cancer failed on the 25 June 2004 to overturn a legal ruling that she cannot use her own frozen embryos to try for a child. Natallie Evans, 32, has been battling for the right to have another child since Howard Johnston, her former partner, withdrew his consent for IVF treatment. The current fertility act, which governs IVF treatment, rules that consent from the man and woman must be given at every stage of the process. Although Mr Johnston was in favour of IVF when the eggs were fertilised with his sperm in 2001 the couple later parted and he changed his mind. His refusal means that the eggs should be destroyed under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, High Court judge Mr Justice Wall ruled last year. But Lord Justice Thorpe, dismissing the appeal at the Court of Appeal, said destruction of the embryos would be stayed to give Ms Evans a chance to lodge an appeal at the House of Lords. In his ruling he said: "For Ms Evans, this is a tragedy of a kind which may well not have been in anyone's mind when the statute was framed.

 

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This newsletter was produced by S J Edney, solicitors at Alexander House, 19 Fleming Way, Swindon, Wiltshire. SN1 2NG – e-mail sjedney@supanet.com
Telephone 01793 600721