Clinical negligence is a very specialist area of law and consequently there are a small body of dedicated solicitors dealing with these types of claims.  Jacqueline Hardaway, Director at Dawson Hart solicitors, is one of these specialist solicitors who has been fighting for victims of medical accidents for over 30 years.  Jacqueline says ‘Clinical Negligence claims are reliant on expert medical opinion to prove negligence and in acknowledgement of the intense pressure on medical staff during the pandemic, a new ‘protocol’ has been agreed between all interested parties which aims to keep the ball rolling in these claims, whilst protecting medical staff’s time’.  

So, the new protocol encourages innovative ways to progress and settle claims, including on-line medical examinations and ‘virtual’ settlement meetings.

Settlement meetings, such as mediation, usually take place face to face, where the parties get together in one meeting room for discussion and then break away to their own room to discuss their case with their legal team, before coming together again to negotiate.

However, ‘virtual’ mediations allow claimants to participate from their own home where they are more comfortable, more easily able to take a break whenever needed, but also available to ‘virtually’ meet with their legal team and participate in the mediation via video.  

In one of Jacqueline’s recent cases, which successfully concluded at a ‘virtual’ mediation, all the documents (over 2000 pages) were incorporated into an online bundle, accessible by everyone, and all the claimant’s medical examinations were done in the comfort of their own home, via video conferencing.  Jacqueline commented, ‘Such use of technology meant that the settlement was reached swiftly, without the claimant having to leave their own home’.  

Hopefully, this practice will continue post pandemic, as it has certainly proved successful for many clients during these exceptionally challenging times.

If you have suffered injuries from a medical or other accident, please contact Jacqueline Hardaway for expert advice on:  jmh@dawson-hart.co.uk or 01825 747133.

Dawson Hart Solicitors: 01825 762281 | www.dawson-hart.co.uk | churchstreet@dawson-hart.co.uk