Re: Winter 2014/15 | Page 33

ensation - a fallacy? that the compensation culture was now out of control and we were fast progressing down the same road as the US, with invitations to sue hospitals on a ‘no-win no-fee’ basis everywhere we look. Contrary to the impression given, it is simply not possible to bring frivolous claims for medical negligence. Strict legal tests need to be satisfied. I expressed the hope that things were not quite as bad as the interviewer suggested but in recent months there has undoubtedly been an increase in the number of non-specialist firms moving into the clinical negligence market. I would urge anyone considering a medical negligence claim to resist the temptation to call the various numbers which regularly appear on daytime TV and to take the time to look up a firm with genuine expertise. Medical