Exit PI Service for solicitors

On the last day that firms can continue to practice under an emergency extension to their professional indemnity insurance PII, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has identified 176 firms at risk of closure as a result of failing to secure a qualifying insurance policy.

The extended indemnity period expires at midnight tonight (30 October) and firms that have been unable to obtain alternative insurance cover will then enter a period of 'cessation' where they have just five days to notify the SRA that they have ceased practising.

Any firms unable to continue to practise can access EXIT PI which has been launched for solicitors looking to exit the personal injury profession and/or administrators of firms.

EXIT PI can be accessed at www.exitpi.co.uk

EXIT PI is owned and managed by JMP Solicitors who are experienced in providing a smooth transition of service to the client in all accepted claims and have offices in Grantham, Warrington and London.

Lewisham Hospital: Appeal Court overrules Jeremy Hunt

The Court of Appeal has ruled Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt did not have power to implement cuts at Lewisham Hospital in south-east London.

During the summer, a High Court judge ruled Mr Hunt acted outside his powers when he decided the emergency and maternity units should be cut back.

The government turned to the Court of Appeal on Monday in an attempt to get the decision overruled.

Mr Hunt had previously claimed the move would improve patient care.

'Vital services'

Following the ruling, Mr Hunt said: "I completely understand why the residents of Lewisham did not want any change in their A&E services, but my job as health secretary is to protect patients across south London - and doctors said these proposals would save lives.

"We are now looking at the law to make sure that at a time of great challenge the NHS is able to change and innovate when local doctors believe it is in the interests of patients."

At the High Court in July, Mr Justice Silber said Mr Hunt's decision was unlawful as he lacked power and breached the National Health Services Act 2006.

It was said the cuts would also mean local people having "to travel a long, long way further to get access to vital services".

Under government policy Mr Hunt had appointed a trust special administrator (TSA) to the South London Healthcare Trust, which went into administration after losing more than £1m a week.

To help ease the problem, the TSA recommended cuts at the Hospital.

At the Court of Appeal on Monday Rory Phillips QC, for the Health Secretary and the TSA, argued they had not acted outside their powers.

They challenged Mr Justice Silber's findings that the TSA was not entitled to recommend the changes and that Mr Hunt was not entitled to implement them.

Referring to the 2006 Act, Mr Phillips said its "wording, statutory context and purpose" should have led Mr Justice Silber "to conclude that they were entitled so to act, consistently with Parliament's evident intention".

The challenge against the government was brought by Save Lewisham Hospital and the London Borough of Lewisham.

'Squandered' money
 
Rosa Curling, who represented the campaign group, said: "We are absolutely delighted with the Court of Appeal's decision.

"This expensive waste of time for the government should serve as a wake up call that they cannot ride roughshod over the needs of the people.

"The decision to dismiss the appeal also reaffirms the need for judicial review, a legal process by which the unlawful decisions of public bodies, including the government, can be challenged by the public."

Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow health secretary, described the decision as a "humiliation" for Mr Hunt that "raises major questions about his judgment".

He said: "Instead of graciously accepting the first court ruling, he has squandered thousands of [pounds of] taxpayers' money trying to protect his own pride and defend the indefensible.

"Today, the secretary of state must accept this decision, apologise unreservedly to the people of Lewisham and give an unequivocal commitment that their A&E will not now be downgraded."

The Department for Health is yet to comment.

Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock said: "This is a great result. I was confident of our case but I am still very relieved.

"This is another victory for each and every individual who signed a petition, who wrote to the secretary of state and who marched through the streets of Lewisham."

The decision was made by Lord Dyson, Lord Justice Sullivan and Lord Justice Underhill.

(source: bbc.co.uk)

£1.5m compensation awarded for hospital blunder

John Halliday was a patient of Bradford Royal Infirmary and is now confined to a wheelchair due to failures of doctors within the Yorkshire hospital.

The patient was left with devastating injuries after the hospital failed to diagnose a serious infection which spread throughout his body and into his spine.

The delay in diagnosing and treating septic arthritis enabled the infection to spread.

Delays in diagnosis can be as serious as a misdiagnosis and can lead to significant medical complications.

JMP Solicitors help individuals who fall victim of medical accidents with a personal compensation service taking into account claims for pain, suffering and loss of amenity in addition to ongoing care needs and loss of earnings.

Use Skype to hire lawyers outside London

Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, has said the public should use Skype to hire lawyers outside London to avoid paying the large legal bills levied in the capital and drive down the cost of going to court.

 

He said he wanted to see a "truly national market" in which litigants used internet technology to opt for cheaper lawyers from cities such as Leeds and Manchester.

 

Lord Thomas said that would force lawyers in the capital to cut their fees and produce a "benefit for society as a whole".

 

His comments, in a speech at Gray's Inn, came as he warned that legal costs were still "far too great" despite a succession of reforms. "London has no monopoly on skill or experience," he said. "In the age of the internet, of tele-conferences, Skype and Facetime there is no reason why a litigant should not or could not properly instruct a lawyer from outside London to work for them at a cost significantly less than in London."

(source: Evening Standard)

Accredited medical panels to verify whiplash

Under proposals announced by the MoJ panels of "accredited" doctors are to be set up to vet all whiplash claims. The process of approving doctors for the panels will begin soon, in order to enable the system to start next year.

 

According to the ABI, whiplash is now costing motorists £2bn a year, adding an average of £90 to each premium. Chris Grayling said: "We are turning the tide on the compensation culture and helping hardworking people by tackling high insurance premiums and other motoring costs. It's not right that people who cheat the insurance system get away with it while forcing up the price for everyone else - so we are now going after whiplash fraudsters and will keep on driving premiums down."

 

Independent doctors' panels were welcomed by experts. James Dalton, the ABI's head of motor and liability, commented: "We have long called for more robust medical assessment of whiplash claimants.

 

Setting up independent panels of accredited experts will help the UK shake off its reputation as the whiplash capital of Europe." Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, added: "Bogus whiplash claims create a grinding financial burden on millions of honest motorists. These proposals are to be welcomed if they manage to weed out fraudulent claims in a fast, cost-effective manner."

(source: the times)

Whiplash targeted in car costs drive

A package of measures aimed at bringing down motoring costs, including insurance premiums, have been announced by the government.

Ministers have pledged to crack down on the "compensation culture" on claims for whiplash injuries.

And there are plans to pilot fuel price comparison signs on major roads and freeze the cost of the MoT test.

The statutory maximum price of the MoT test for a car will be pegged at £54.85 until 2015.

 

Medical report

The inflated cost of fuel on major roads is among the most common complaints among drivers.

In some areas petrol and diesel can cost 10p per litre more at motorway service stations.

The government wants to install a series of price comparison signs which will show the cost of fuel at all petrol stations along any given route.

Ministers are also promising to save motorists money by tackling what they call the compensation culture.

Independent medical panels will be set up to identify exaggerated or fraudulent claims for whiplash.

Currently insurers can make an offer to claimants without a medical report.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We are turning the tide on the compensation culture and helping hard-working people by tackling high insurance premiums and other motoring costs.

"It's not right that people who cheat the insurance system get away with it while forcing up the price for everyone else - so we are now going after whiplash fraudsters and will keep on driving premiums down."

Mr Grayling later told BBC Radio 5 live he wanted any cost reductions from clamping down on whiplash payouts to be used to lower drivers' premiums, rather than boost companies' profits.

 

'Shake off reputation'

Labour MP Louise Ellman, who chairs the Commons Transport Select Committee, said she welcomed the package of measures announced, particularly when it came to whiplash claims.

"The Transport Select Committee has looked at this over a long time and very recently we recommended that insurance companies shouldn't pay out for whiplash claims without a medical report and that those medical reports should come from independent medical practitioners," she said.

"So I'm very pleased that the government have now accepted one of our key recommendations."

GP Dr Rosemary Leonard told BBC Breakfast that the UK has a rate of whiplash that is "way higher" than the rest of Europe and "it is thought an awful lot of them are bogus".

"If you had a genuinely nasty shunt in your car and you went to your doctor and you said 'Well my neck's aching a bit,' and the doctor just said 'Well actually I don't believe you,' you would quite rightly be very annoyed.

"So as GPs we're in this position where we have to go along with what the patient says, because if we don't and it's a genuine case we could be sued."

Roads minister Robert Goodwill said: "The costs of owning and running a car are felt by millions of households and businesses across the nation. The government is determined to help keep those costs down."

Statistics from the AA show that motor insurance premiums are falling at the fastest rate since 1994 - 12.3% for an average comprehensive policy in the year to October.

James Dalton, Association of British Insurers head of motor and liability, said: "We have long called for more robust medical assessment of whiplash claimants.

"Setting up independent panels of accredited experts will help the UK shake off its reputation as the whiplash capital of Europe."

The moves have been welcomed by the Institute of Advanced Motorists, and motoring organisations the RAC and the AA.

 

(source: bbc.co.uk)

Personal Injury Solicitors - Are you looking at getting out of personal injury work?

Solicitors throughout the UK are looking at walking away from providing their clients with personal injury services due to the ban on referral fees, reduction of fixed fees and the introduction of the wider claims portal.

 

Some of the larger personal injury 'factories' are swallowing up smaller firms or providing them with a commission based incentive to pass over their personal injury claims.

 

Whilst this may be favourable to the referring law firm in the short term, the client often suffers from having to deal with inexperienced claims personnel, computer focused systems, frequent changes in respect of their claims handling personnel and distance from their legal adviser.

 

At JMP Solicitors, we place our clients at the very heart of everything we do and encourage regional law firms to liaise with us thereby ensuring a personal legal service in the provision of specialist legal advice in personal injury, medical negligence and industrial deafness claims.

 

The firm also has considerable experience in taking over personal injury files from other solicitors having taken over hundreds of files following the closure of Blakemores Solicitors and their legal marketing brand 'Lawyers2You'.

 

To discuss the option of creating a 'personal injury file transfer' scheme that allows you to instruct us online and to discuss any terms that you require in order for us to work with you, please contact Ian Howard, JMP Solicitors' Managing Director or visit our dedicated website
EXIT PI

 

Medical accidents causing hundreds of deaths every month

Government figures have revealed that more than 300 patients are dying each month because of medical mistakes.

 

Detailed figures from NHS England showed that of 683,883 cases reported during the six months from October 2012 to March this year, 1,834 patients died. A total of 3,479 suffered severe injury due to blunders and more than 40,000 suffered impermanent injury. A further 470,000 were put at risk but suffered no harm.

 

The new figures represent a 6.4% increase on the same period the previous year, when there were 665,859 cases, including 1,593 deaths.

 

Peter Walsh, chief executive of the charity Action Against Medical Accidents said: "These figures are terrible and show four years after Stafford the NHS has still got a long way to go in protecting its patients from error."

 

Meanwhile, Dr Mike Durkin, NHS England's national director of patient safety, claimed that the chances of a patient coming to serious harm or dying while being treated by the NHS were "tiny".

(source: Sunday Express)

Hospital payout over woman's suicide

The family of Diana Mager, a bank executive who killed herself at a psychiatric unit after suffering post-natal depression is to receive a 'substantial' pay-out after Oxleas NHS Trust admitted failings in her care.

(source: Evening Standard)

Tasmania quad bike crash victim compensated

A Lancashire woman who suffered brain damage in a quad bike accident in Australia has been awarded about £175,000 in compensation.

Holly Raper, of Chorley, was working on a farm on King Island, Tasmania, when she came off the bike in December 2011.

Her father Chris Raper said the award, the maximum amount allowable under Tasmanian legislation, was for her injury not her medical costs.

He said the accident had "taken Holly's life away".

'Never talk again'
 
Mr Raper said his daughter was travelling in Australia and working on a dairy farm when the accident happened.

He said he believed she was herding cattle for the first time when she fell off the vehicle.

The intention of the award was to compensate her for her injury not pay for her round-the-clock medical costs, Mr Raper said..

He added it may seem a lot of money but said it was not "when you consider it has taken Holly's life away".

"Holly will never walk or talk again probably. She is confined to a bed or wheelchair, fed through a peg in her stomach and breathes through a tracheotomy," Mr Raper said.

"She was a vibrant, intelligent young woman."

Mr Raper said: "Holly needs 24 hour care by two trained people so in effect that is six people a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

"If you add up that you can imagine how much it comes to and that is not counting physiotherapy and occupational therapy."

At a Tasmanian Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Tribunal, Chief Commissioner Stephen Carey said Ms Raper, who was 21 at the time of the accident, had sustained "catastrophic neurological injury".

Farmers David and Jocelyn Bowden were ordered to pay Ms Raper's mother the sum of about 290,000 Australian dollars within seven days.

Ms Raper remained in a coma for a number of months after the crash before being flown back to the UK in March.

Her return to the UK was delayed as the insurance company said her policy did not cover work injuries.

The Tasmanian government's Workers Compensation Scheme eventually paid for her return.

(source: bbc.co.uk)

Pedestrian dies after Leicestershire M1 lorry crash

A pedestrian has died after being hit by a lorry on the M1 motorway.

It happened at junction 21a of the northbound carriageway, close to where the motorway meets the A46 in Leicestershire, on Monday evening.

Police said the pedestrian, a man, suffered serious injuries in the collision and subsequently died.

The motorway was closed at junction 21 to 22 for several hours, causing severe tailbacks. It reopened in the early hours of Tuesday.

Any witnesses to the collision are asked to contact police.

(source: bbc.co.uk)

APIL launches 'Back Off' campaign

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has launched its 'Back Off' campaign to reduce whiplash injuries by educating motorists about the dangers of tailgating.

The campaign reflects one of the association's key objectives of working to prevent needless injury and sits alongside APIL's other campaign activities which include lobbying to prevent an increase in the small claims court limit, providing written and oral evidence about whiplash claims and producing a report to dispel the myths associated with whiplash injury claims.

Vauxhall Insignia claims service

JMP Solicitors has launched a UK wide claims service for the owners of Vauxhall Insignia cars who experience a loss of power and their car bursting into flames.

The problem was initially highlighted in a BBC Watchdog programme in May 2012 featuring Martin Webb who purchased his Vauxhall Insignia as a new car in April 2010. Just over a year later the car caught fire as a result of engine failure.

Vauxhall initially instructed a forensic engineer who could not find any fault with the engine, however according to the BBC Watchdog report, the vehicle manufacturer has now identified a fault in some Insignia models which could result in fire.

The BBC makes the claim on the basis that it obtained a 'Technical Service Bulletin' which is distributed internally to mechanics and refers to the pipe carrying the power steering fluid might crack/leak due to insufficient design.

Car expert, John Dabek comments that in such circumstances where a pipe cracks it will result in loss of power to the power steering leading to the potential for power assisted steering fluid to spray onto the hot part of the exhaust system causing smoke, and in some circumstances leading to fire.

JMP Solicitors received an equiry in September 2013 from a family in Leicester where this sequence of events took place, fortunately resulting in the family getting out of the vehicle before it then burst into flames.

The BBC Watchdog webpage includes a full statement from Vauxhall linked from here.

Anyone experiencing a similar problem with their Vauxhall Insignia should contact JMP Solicitors or visit their Insignia Claims webpage for further information.

England's mental health services 'in crisis'

The mental health service in England is in crisis and unsafe, says one of the country's leading psychiatrists.

Dr Martin Baggaley, medical director of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, spoke out as an investigation by BBC News and Community Care magazine reveals more than 1,500 mental health beds have closed in recent years.

 

Many trusts have all their beds filled.

Care Minister Norman Lamb said the current situation was "unacceptable" and provision must improve.

While there was a drive to treat more people in the community, he said beds must be available when patients needed them.

 

System 'inefficient, unsafe'

Freedom of Information requests were sent to 53 of England's 58 mental health trusts, by BBC News and Community Care, and 46 trusts replied.

The figures show that 1,711 mental health beds have been closed since April 2011, including 277 between April and August 2013.

 

This represents a 9% reduction in the total number of mental health beds available in 2011/12.

Three quarters of the bed closures were in acute adult wards, older people's wards and psychiatric intensive care units.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust has cut its inpatient beds by 157, while St George's and South West London has removed 155 beds.

Behind the statistics lie the consequences for staff and patients.

On the morning Dr Baggaley spoke to the BBC, he said a severely distressed patient had been transferred from Croydon to Hertfordshire as there were no beds in London.

He has 50 patients in beds outside his trust, some as far away as Somerset.

He said: "We are in a real crisis at the moment. I think currently the system is inefficient, unsafe.

"We're certainly feeling it on the front line, it's very pressured, and we spend a lot of our time struggling to find beds, sending people across the country which is really not what I want to do."

Increased demand

 

Lucy Bowden ended up in the back of a police van due to a lack of beds after voluntarily seeking help.

The 33-year-old, who self-harms, was left wandering around the grounds of her local accident and emergency unit after being told there were no psychiatric beds available after she'd been treated following an episode.

Eventually the police were called, who had to section her to force her local psychiatric hospital to provide her with care.

She recalls: "They couldn't find anywhere so they were saying I'd have to go in to police custody, in a police station which would mean I'd have to go into a cell. Eventually they found a bed and I had to go into the back of a police van, in the cage in the back. It was horrible."

The bed closures are only part of the problem.

There is also increasing demand for mental health services, according to Dr Baggaley.

"There seems to be a genuine increase in demand," he said. "That's partly explained by a reduction in beds, by resources coming out of the health system, the squeeze on social services budgets, and by the general economic situation."

Average occupancy levels in acute adult and psychiatric beds are running at 100% according to the FOI figures from 28 trusts.

Half of these trusts had levels of more than 100%; all of them had occupancy rates above the 85% recommended by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The problems of running at capacity are highlighted by the tragic case of Mandy Peck. The 39-year-old told psychiatric staff she was feeling suicidal but her local mental health service centre said they had no beds available. A day later she jumped to her death from a multi-storey car park. A subsequent investigation found that a bed had actually been available.

Care Minister Norman Lamb said: "Current levels of access to mental health treatment are unacceptable. There is an institutional bias in the NHS against mental health and I am determined to end this.

"More people are being treated in the right settings for them, including fewer people needing to go into hospitals. It is essential that people get the treatment they need early and in the community but beds must be available if patients need them."

Dr Geraldine Strathdee, National Clinical Director for Mental Health from NHS England, said the key was to strike the right balance between providing sufficient hospital beds and helping patients to be treated at home, or in the community.

"We need to make sure the people who are commissioning services have the information they need about the level of need in their area. We have to get this right for people."

 

(source: bbc.co.uk/news/health)

Complaints about doctors 'double in five years'

The number of complaints against doctors in the UK has doubled in the past five years, figures show.

The data from the General Medical Council showed there were more than 8,100 complaints in 2012, compared with just under 4,000 in 2007.

About a third of complaints led to a full investigation by the regulator.

But doctors' leaders said the figures still represented a small proportion of the amount of care given in the NHS - there are 250,000 doctors in the UK.

Nonetheless, the rise in complaints - and the subsequent investigations - are still causing concern.
Sanctions and warnings
The upward trend has happened during a period when there has been mounting concern about NHS care following the Stafford Hospital scandal.

And research released last week by the patient watchdog Healthwatch England suggested that, if anything, problems were going unreported.

Its survey showed half of those who had experienced a problem failed to report it.

Healthwatch England chairwoman Anna Bradley said: "We all have a right to safe, dignified and high-quality care."

Of the 8,109 complaints made last year, 2,673 were taken forward for an official investigation.

A total of 179 sanctions and warnings have already been made, while nearly 900 cases remain open.

The GMC said it was important to learn from the trend, but the regulator believes there may be an issue with patients not knowing to whom they should direct their complaints.

The majority of complaints - nearly two-thirds - came from patients, but just a fifth were deemed within the GMC's scope to follow up.

GMC chairman Prof Sir Peter Rubin said: "Overall the standard of care that patients receive in the UK is good and doctors continue to deserve the trust and respect of the public.

"What our report shows is that some patients don't know where to go to raise a concern about their treatment and more needs to be done to help them raise issues."

British Medical Association leader Dr Mark Porter added: "It is encouraging that the number of overall complaints is very small given the hundreds of thousands of appointments, operations and other patient interactions that occur every day in the NHS."

(source: bbc.co.uk/news/health)

National Minimum Wage Increase

The UK National Minimum Wage increased on 1st October 2013 to:

 

21+ : £6.31 per hour

18-20yrs : £5.03 per hour

Under 18yrs : £3.72 per hour

Apprentice : £2.68 per hour 

 

 

If you are on the national minimum wage then your employer should have increased your salary in accordance with the above pay scales on 1st October 2013 in accordance with the law.

Only self-employed, volunteers, voluntary workers and company directors are not entitled to the national minimum wage, however further exemptions apply to students doing work as part of a course, workers on certain training schemes, residents of certain religious communities, prisoners, the armed forces and share fishermen.

If your employer fails to increase your wage in accordance with the rate approved by the Low Pay commission then you should contact JMP Solicitors to discuss your situation.

Our employment law specialist solicitors will be delighted to help you receive the correct scale of pay and recover any overdue payment owed to you.

 

 

 

 

 

Grantham solicitors move into town centre

Leading Grantham law firm, JMP Solicitors recently opened for business at the Autumn Park Business Centre on Dysart Road in Grantham having outgrown their previous premises.

 

The move is a result of continued success in achieving compensation for personal injury accident victims and providing an increasing range of legal services for both individuals and business clients.

 

Commenting on the decision to locate nearer to Grantham town centre Ian Howard, Managing Director of JMP Solicitors, said: “Our continued expansion has led to the need for larger premises. We have been based at a nearby business park for over 10 years and the move is a result of ongoing growth and business success.”

 

 “We have been specialists in complex and higher value personal injury matters for some time, in addition to advising on Wills and Probate matters” he adds. “In these cases, the ability to meet face to face with clients can be invaluable. Likewise, our new location is more convenient for meeting with our commercial clients, for whom we are extending our services in employment law and debt recovery advice.

The firm has also recently invested in rebranding and developing a comprehensive website facility providing information on services provided by the firm, providing clients and potential clients with an option to sign up to their regular legal briefing newsletter.

JMP’s commitment to the local community is also reflected in their sponsorship of the Lincolnshire Vulcans Swimming club and Grantham-based Kesteven Rugby Club.

Professionally, the Grantham office of JMP Solicitors has been awarded with corporate accreditation by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) while Ian Howard has also been recognised by APIL as a Senior Litigator, an acknowledgement of his many years experience on the front line of personal injury litigation.