Fixed recoverable costs: the doctors’ view

Fixed recoverable costs should be introduced for clinical negligence claims valued at up to £250,000, the Medical Protection Society, which represents doctors and other medical professionals, has said. It called on the government this week to be ‘bold’, about ‘disproportionate legal fees’, given that legal costs account for 34% of the NHS’s annual £1.5bn clinical negligence bill. Claimant solicitors say fixed costs will restrict access to justice. A government consultation on fixed costs for claims up to £25,000 recently took place. Lord Justice Jackson is due to conclude his own review into fixed recoverable costs at the end of July.