Personal Injury: Paying The Price
The common principle that 'the guilty party pays' is frequently challenged when a local authority is in the dock over cases of medical negligence and large value claims. Jill Greenfield explains why
July 05, 2006 at 08:03 PM
7 minute read
One of the most difficult issues that personal injury and medical negligence lawyers currently face on large value claims is attempts by defendants to force claimants to accept a reduction in their claim value to reflect the availability of local authority care. In the main, we are talking about those who have suffered a severe brain injury or spinal cord injury and who will require a significant level of care.
The principle of 'the guilty party pays' is being challenged on a very regular basis. When it is considered that a substantial part of the damages at this level will, of necessity, be for future care then these challenges can be worth millions. Only two weeks ago, the High Court was preparing to consider such arguments raised by a defendant in a case, White v Eastman, worth several million pounds. The case settled with an undertaking from the claimant to make reasonable endeavours to use local authority funding if and where available and to reimburse the defendant if obtained. The case therefore settled reflecting the cost of the private care package.
The problem derives from the National Assistance Act (NAA) 1948 and the duty of a local authority to provide residential care and care services in a person's home. The provisions of the Act were described by Mr Justice Munby in 2002 as "some of the worst, if indeed not the worst-drafted, and most confusing subordinate legislation it has ever been my misfortune to encounter".
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Trending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: For Big Law Names, Shorter is Sweeter
- 2Wine, Dine and Grind (Through the Weekend): Summer Associates Thirst For Experience in 'Real Matters'
- 3'That's Disappointing': Only 11% of MDL Appointments Went to Attorneys of Color in 2023
- 4What We Know About the Kentucky Judge Killed in His Chambers
- 5'I'm Staying Everything': Texas Bankruptcy Judge Halts Talc Trials Against J&J
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250