The impact of removing legal aid for cases of clinician negligence
01 | 09 | 11
Mari Rosser, partner in the
clinical negligence team at Hugh James, has today spoken to the BBC
giving her reaction to a case involving a teenage girl
from Newport who has recently recovered damages for medical
negligence. The teenager (ST) was left paralysed from the
waist down after undergoing surgery to remove gallstones. ST, who
was 14 at the time , underwent surgery at the Birmingham Children's
Hospital. After the procedure she developed numbness in her
legs and feet. An MRI scan later indicated damage to the
spinal cord membranes resulting in permanent paralysis. The damage
had been caused by an epidural anaesthetic which was mistakenly
left in place for more than two days.
Mari Rosser said " This case is an
example of how legal aid supported this family through a very
difficult and complicated claim for damages. If the government's
plans for removing clinical negligence from the scope for legal aid
are implemented, patients like ST may not be able to access
justice. The government envisages that cases will fall under a
reformed "no- win no-fee" system. There is a danger,however, that
lawyers will not be in a position to take on the more complicated
cases under this system, leaving some of the most vulnerable people
in society, including brain injured children, with no access to
justice."