Schools to face compensation claims

The Supreme Court has made a landmark ruling meaning local authorities could be held liable for any abuse or injury caused by independent contractors they have hired.

 

The new ruling involves a 10-year-old girl left severely brain-damaged during a school swimming lesson in Essex.

 

(source: Sunday Express)

NHS negligence bill could be cut

The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has suggested that the NHS's multi-billion pound negligence bill could be cut by apologising to patients and mounting a vigorous defence against bogus claims. The minister was commenting after the NHS Litigation Authority, the body that oversees claims made against the health service, released figures disclosing that half of the cases it faces are rejected because they are "without merit", a figure which has risen by a third in two years. The number of claims faced by the NHS this year is expected to rise by a fifth to about 12,000.

(source: The Daily Telegraph)