Clinical Negligence Costs - Key Caselaw & Practical Issues Explored

Introduction

Clinical negligence is a vocation for claimant’s solicitors and like personal injury, has seen access to justice eroded by persistent changes in litigation funding. The landscape has shifted considerably over the past year, with the introduction of mandatory ADR powers, changes to the personal injury discount rate, and the ongoing uncertainty around fixed costs proposals for lower value claims. The anticipated sub-£25k fixed costs regime remains stalled following the change of government, though the broader fixed costs regime continues to evolve.

The ‘day-job’ of running a profitable practice, while providing the necessary and vital resources to prosecute claims, remains an evergreen challenge, while the cost to the public purse in both damages and costs in clinical negligence cases continues to attract political and media scrutiny, with NHS Resolution reporting claimant legal costs rising 14% to £621 million in 2024/25.

This webinar is for all clinical negligence lawyers dealing with claims in the multi-track and will provide an update of all the key case law and practical issues covering the headline subjects around legal costs, including the new ADR regime and its costs implications, the impact of the revised discount rate, costs budgeting developments, and the Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• ADR mandatory powers and costs sanctions - Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil implementation
• Personal Injury Discount Rate changes - impact of the move to +0.5% from January 2025
• Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024 - interim costs payments and conduct obligations
• Proportionality and clinical negligence in the current climate
• Costs management and budgeting challenges - with the latest case law
• ATE premiums and recoverability
• Funding arrangements and profitability strategies, plus what is to come with the Civil Justice Council’s review of litigation funding
• Interim payments on account of costs - updated approach
• Detailed Assessment practice - recent developments
• Status of sub-£25k fixed costs proposals
• Tactics for maximising profit in the evolving costs landscape

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Wednesday 1st April 2026

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 1,900+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.