At the time of writing this, The Times newspaper front page lead concerns the necessity to top up the NHS Litigation Authorities legal compensation fund to the tune of ￡185 million, with the astounding statistic that clinical negligence payments by the NHS have risen by 500% over 10 years.1 The article goes on to discuss the causes of this escalating cost, concentrating on changes in compensation practice (notably to allow life-long support of brain-damaged babies when negligence is an established cause) and legal practices such as the 'no-win, no-fee' basis for many cases. It also discusses imminent changes such as the restriction of legal aid aimed at curbing this financial drain on the NHS. Also discussed on many front pages there is also the issue of who will or won't pay, for what, in which part of the UK, for faulty breast implant material. Medical and manufacturer negligence is big news and big bucks.
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