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| NHS Compensation Claims - C4F News Archive |
In response to the huge burden the rising personal injury claims market has placed on the NHS, plans are now in place to allow the NHS to fight back by recouping it's medical costs from the insurance companies of those who caused the injuries in successful compensation payouts.
Oliver Letwin, the Dorset West MP, in a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies quoted figures of over £400million having already been paid out in 2003 by the NHS in compensation for clinical negligence claims with a further £5billion more in cases waiting to be settled. This is a huge demand on the already thinning resources our National Health Service relies upon.
Recently it has been suggested that legal aid be removed as an option for those seeking compensation for clinical negligence to be replaced by solicitor's no win, no fee arrangements. This will place the burden of paying for fraudulent and "time-wasting" claims on the shoulders of the solicitors themselves who up till now have been receiving nearly 40% of the total compensation costs the NHS is struggling to find.
More dramatic, though, is the recent draft produced by Health Minister Rosie Winterton for a new, expanded NHS Injury Costs Recovery (ICR) scheme. Meaning the NHS can recover the costs of treating a patient who has made a successful compensation claims.
For years hospitals have been able to recover the costs of treating people injured in road traffic accidents where the injured party has successfully claimed compensation for their injuries. Within the past five years the NHS has recovered on average around £105million per year from third party insurance companies. The move to expand the current Injury Costs Recovery scheme is estimated to recover an additional £150million per year to cover the treatment of those who were injured due to someone's negligence in any type of personal injury claim.
The Health Minister stated: "This policy will encourage employers to take steps to prevent employees being injured and when implemented should increase the total recouped each year to around £250million for the NHS - equivalent to 53,000 hip operations and 11,000 newly qualified nurses ... It is unacceptable that taxpayers have to pay for the medical treatment of someone injured at work simply because employers fail to take adequate steps to protect their workforce. Individual hospitals will now be able to recover the costs and decide where they want to reinvest that money to improve services they want."
In response to this a spokesperson for the Institute of Directors said: "Businesses pay tax which pays for the NHS, so why should it pay again for treatment? In road accidents it is normally someone's fault but it is not so clear cut with personal injury. It could mean that businesses are left fighting costly and lengthy battles against claims. That may just be too much for some, especially small businesses."
But despite these concerns TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber stated: "We welcome this consultation. It is important that negligent employers pay the full cost of their actions rather than expecting the taxpayers to subsidise their failures to protect workers. However it important that this is not just seen as another cost to be added to insurance premiums and instead is used by the insurance industry as an incentive to improve the measures that employers take to prevent injuries at work."
The stiff regulations self-imposed on motor insurance policies by insurance firms has always been lacking in other areas. Whereas a motor insurance customer will have to declare age, current employment, years holding a license, any previous accidents, yearly mileage, motoring convictions, registration number, type of license, other users of the car, any other cars owned plus a multitude of other questions - public liability insurances consist of much less confirmation. Hopefully this move will be more of a wake-up call for insurance companies than another reason for them to push up premiums. Sadly the The Association of British Insurers are not convinced that insurance firms will respond in the way hoped for by the Health Minister, predicting the scheme would force insurance premiums up by 8%. - Written 24/09/04*
Other Archived Articles:
> The Meaning of the Word Accident?
> Claims: The Rising Cost to the UK?
> Compensation Claims Pros & Cons
> The Claims Management Company
> Fraudulent Claims in the UK
> Is there a Huge Rise in the Number of Claims?
*Disclaimer: This article has been marked as "archived" because, although most of the information may still be relevant, the article was written more than two years ago which may mean that some information may be outdated. Although this site is updated as often as possible the information provided may not accurately reflect the current laws, procedures and/or facilities available to you. To ensure that you get the most up to date information make sure you consult an actual solicitor before pursuing any action. The articles on this site are for informational purposes only and are not intended to advise any particular action or inaction. Please read our terms of use for more information.
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