Bevan Brittan

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Claims online Issue 15: Quote me happy – could reduced CNST premiums make you happier still?
NHS Trust contributions - how are they calculated and how can they be reduced? Tim Hodgetts has the answers.

Claims online Issue 15: Special costs problems defending small value claims
Having to settle a small value claim even when you know that it will not stand up at trial just because the Claimant is on legal aid is a constant problem, but here are ways to deal with them successfully.

Claims online Issue 15: Case update
Pre-action admissions re-considered, defendant Trust wins CP claim at trial, and 7 years’ delay is a bar to bringing a claim.

Primary News Issue 3: Equality Schemes - Joined up thinking for patients
Jean Sapeta looks at the need for PCTs to engage with patients in order to hit their targets including the Healthcare Commission's core standards.

Primary News Issue 3: Payment for care needs – an ongoing question
Jackie Linehan looks at who should pay for the ongoing care costs of someone who has been injured by the negligence of another.

Primary News Issue 3: Non–GMS Contracting – are PCTs taking advantage of the controls that are available to them?
Philippa Richler-Potts considers the advantages of an APMS contract and how they can save PCTs money.

Claims online Issue 14: Knowledge Management - it doesn't have to be complicated
Hélčne Russell explains the basics and helps you develop a simple KM strategy to help you work smarter not harder!

Claims online Issue 14: Long hot summer
Who would have thought that enjoying time at home during such a warm summer could be so bad for your health? Fact is stranger than fiction as James Cassidy and Katrina McCrory report.

Claims online Issue 14: Case Update
RPI setback but all is not lost, a chance to challenge CFAs successfully and the importance of disclosing details of 'After The Event' insurance policies during a claim in this issue's Case update

Claims online Issue 13: Top tips for Claims Managers
Top tips from our solicitors who have worked as Claims Managers in the NHS, including contributions from a number of clients (you know who you are!) compiled by Helene Russell, Tracey Lucas and Caroline Saunders.

Claims online Issue 13: "Joined up thinking" - the fresh approach to complex care packages

Neil Ward discusses the practical implementation of the new standards to the National Service Framework for children, young people and maternity services and their potential impact in clinical negligence cases.

Claims online Issue 13: Case update
Julie Charlton and Helen Carrington review recent decisions.

Claims Online - Issue 12: Psychiatric case review
Ed Duckworth discusses a case concerned with an unsuccessful attempt to overturn the historical case law on recovery of damages for psychiatric harm.

Claims online - Issue 12: Herceptin
As PCTs respond to the recent Court of Appeal decision, Richard Pelly discusses the implications of the judgment for existing Herceptin policies and the wider commissioning issues.

Claims online - Issue 12: Case update
Julie Charlton and Helen Carrington review recent decisions.

Primary News update (June 2006)
NHSLA (FHS Appeal Unit) Superannuation Determinations - by Philippa Richler-Potts

Primary News (Issue Two) Report on the Personal Medical Services Agreement in relation to Superannuation - May 2006
Has PMS become an unnecessarily expensive method of commissioning primary care?

Primary News (Issue Two) Diagnostics for PCTs - are you fit for purpose?
Guidance for PCTs in relation to the Fitness for Purpose and Development Programme.

Primary News (Issue Two) Herceptin – bad news for PCTs?
The practical impact of the decision in the Court of Appeal

Practice Based Commissioning - Updated Guidance
Following the success of our last Practice Based Commissioning booklet, this updated guidance has been revised in the light of initial experience and the new targets.

Claims Online - Issue 11: Preliminary analysis and accurate initial reserving
Richard Pelly discusses the best ways to take the pain out of preliminary analysis and accurate initial reserving

Claims Online - Issue 11: Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust fined
Duncan Astill reports on the recent case of an NHS Trust prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to adequately supervise two junior doctors.

Claims Online - Issue 11: Taking a break abroad - health tourism
Hot off the press, Hannah Volpe analyses the practical implications of the recent health tourism decision.

Claims Online - Issue 11:Case update
Julie Charlton and Helen Carrington review recent decisions

Primary News - Issue 1: Practice based commissioning
Jamie Foster looks at the role of practices in practice based commissioning.

Primary News - Issue 1: Prohibiting smoking - burning Issues for PCTs
Many PCTs are now reviewing the extent to which they want to eradicate smoking from their premises altogether. Guy Morgan and colleagues consider issues for a PCT in four of its roles: as commissioner and service provider, as employer and as landlord.

Primary News - Issue 1: Avoiding the elephant traps - TUPE requirements and consultation obligations in CPL NHS
As the momentum of change accelerates, Jean Sapeta offers answers to frequently asked questions about the reconfiguration process.

Primary News - Issue 1: Establishing the Responsible Commissioner – long awaited changes
Lorraine Woodward provides an update on out of area placements in relation to PCTs continuing care responsibilities.

Primary News - Issue 1: GPs have a human right to practise as general practitioners in the NHS
An unlawful suspension of a GP has been held by a Court to be a breach of his human rights and to give rise to a claim for damages. Clare Pearce looks at best practice for PCTs.

Primary News - Issue 1: Forthcoming seminars for PCTs in May and June.

Claims online - Issue 10: Patient consent is vital before supplying or receiving confidential patient information.
Patient consent is vital before supplying or receiving confidential patient information
Damned if you do and damned if you don't under the Data Protection Act 1998. In this article Richard Pelly discusses a recent case which illustrates the key issues.

Claims online - Issue 10: Coroners Service reform is on the horizon - forewarned is forearmed
As we await the new Government White Paper, Caroline Saunders identifies the key areas that will be affected and discusses the likely consequences for Trust and health body managers.

Claims online - Issue 10: Case update
Richard Pelly reviews recent decisions in our Case update.

Herceptin Judgment
The Court of Appeal has handed down their Judgment in the case of Rogers v Swindon PCT.

Claims online - Issue 9: Supporting staff in the line of fire
Joanna Lloyd assesses the current position on ‘corporate manslaughter’ and the challenges for NHS Trusts and their staff.

Claims online - Issue 9: Damages in Cancer claims
Rosemary Guilding considers the key causation issues in ‘Misdiagnosis of Cancer’ claims with reference to the NHS Cancer Plan published in 2000 which forms a key part of the NHS response in this difficult area.

Claims online - Issue 9: Case update
Richard Pelly reviews recent decisions in our Case update.

Health update (March 2006) - Practice-based commissioning

Claims online issue 8: Does incapacity invalidate an agreement?
Catherine Radford analyses the recent decision in Bailey v Warren [2006] in which the Court of Appeal answers this question.

Claims online issue 8: CRU - The seven deadly sins
Siân Morgan summarises the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of defendants’ obligations when dealing with the Compensation Recovery Unit.

Claims online issue 8: Case update
Richard Pelly reviews recent decisions in our Case update.

Claims online issue 7: e-disclosure in practice - procedural pitfalls
In Claims Online Issue 4 “Know your Systems – E-Disclosure is Here to Stay” Linda Hardwick discussed the advent of electronic disclosure and identified the steps that organisations need to take to ensure compliance with an order for disclosure. This issue explains the importance of having appropriate document management systems and policies in place at an early stage.

Claims online issue 7: Capping costs - a new front door and a new back door
Richard Pelly and Victoria Bell assess recent changes to the Civil Procedure Rules’ on cost estimates and the judiciary’s developing approach to cost capping.

Claims online issue 7: Case update
Helen Carrington and Julie Charlton review recent decisions in our Case Update.

Claims online issue 7: News update! - judgement handed down
Asbestos disease pleural plaques - the Lower Courts got it wrong for the last twenty years! writes Adrian Neale.

Health Update: Knowsley fairness - management of primary care practitioners
The outcome of the long-awaited 'Knowsley' case is now known.

Claims online (December 2005) Is there a compensation culture?
The new Compensation Bill is currently receiving much media attention. The Bill aims to try and control the development of a compensation culture by tackling public perception that claims are on the increase and by the regulation of claims management companies. Joanna Lloyd considers some of the issues raised by the Bill.

Claims online (December 2005) Christmas accidents
Rob Laugharne and Lizzie Sheppard take a light-hearted look at some of the potential hazards faced by the great British public during this season of merriment.

Claims online (December 2005) Case update

The Court of Appeal has been grappling with the complexities of fetal scanning and last week handed down a divided judgment in the case of Lillywhite v University College London Hospitals NHS Trust. Linda Hardwick reviews this and other recent decisions in our Case Update.

Claims Online (November 2005) Packing your passport for surgery
The E112 scheme raises some difficult issues regarding the NHS’s obligations to authorise treatment abroad and who should be responsible if things go wrong – Hannah Volpe reports.

Claims Online (November 2005) Thromboembolism claims
A recent study into the development of deep vein thrombosis has found that two-thirds of patients are not getting proper preventative treatment for blood clots. Katrina McCrory reports on the current situation and highlights some of the practical steps that hospitals can take pending publication of the NICE guidelines in 2007

Claims Online (November 2005) Case update
It is refreshing to see parties and the courts adopting a more innovative approach to the resolution of claims. Joanne Easterbrook reports on a recent case in which a novel solution was used to help with the difficult issue of assessing State Provision when calculating damages.Also the issue of whether pleural plaques claims are compensatable should hopefully be resolved shortly with a judgment expected from the Court of Appeal. Adrian Neale reports and explains why the decision has wider implications

Health Update (November 2005) The ongoing case of Charlotte Wyatt

Legally protecting your reputation
A talk given at the Association of Healthcare Communicators Conference in October 2005 regarding legal tools to minimise damage to reputation in the face of negative publicity.

Claims online (October 2005) Know your systems – e-disclosure is here to stay
There has always been an obligation imposed on parties to litigation to disclose documents that not only support their case but also those which are adverse to it or support another party’s case writes Linda Hardwick

Claims online (October 2005) Totally hip
Adrian Neale reviews medical advances in hip replacements which might help to reduce associated future loss claims.

Claims online (October 2005) Case update
It is good to see the courts getting tougher on costs, especially as they regularly exceed the value of the claim. A recent decision of the Supreme Court Costs Office placed a cap on claimant costs at almost Ł600,000 less than the claimant's estimate. Helen Carrington & Julie Charlton report on this decision and a number of other developments in our Case Update

NHS Update - October 2005

Practice-Based Commissioning - September 2005

Claims online (September 2005) - Nurture or neglect (September 2005)
Joanna Lloyd suggests some practical ways of supporting NHS staff following a serious untoward incident.

Claims online (September 2005) - Case update
The Court of Appeal handed down a key decision immediately before the summer break on the status of the GMC’s guidance on withholding and withdrawing life-prolonging treatment. We report on this decision and a number of other developments in our Case Update.

Claims online (September 2005) - Periodical payments and court approval: accountancy evidence v counsel’s advice
The new periodical payment regime has raised a number of difficult issues. The problem of whether future care should be linked to the RPI or some other index still has to be tested in the courts. Another widely debated issue is the need for the courts to consider accountancy evidence when approving settlements. Jackie Linehan discusses this and suggests a potential solution.

Claims online (July 2005) - State provision and compensation
The courts are increasingly willing to consider the impact of state provision when assessing the level of damages to be awarded in catastrophic injury cases....

Claims online - A litigant in person, capacity, limitation and the Official Solicitor (July 2005)
Jackie Linehan outlines the steps to be taken when faced with a litigant in person who doesn’t understand the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), has had Legal Services Commission (LSC) funding and legal advice withdrawn, and who continues with proceedings more than 25 years after the events complained of occurred.

Claims online - Case update (July 2005)
A round up of important recent cases.

Claims online - Commons report on Hospital Acquired Infection (June 2005)

Claims online - Hospital agency staff and infection (June 2005)

Claims online - MRSA - under the microscope (June 2005)

Claims online - Case Update (June 2005)

Claims Update - Caution in Causation (January 2005)

Insurance Online (March 2005)

House of Lords compulsory treatment order - March 2005

JPC's Responce to Draft Mental Health Bill - March 2005

Budget Update - March 2005

Asbestos Update - February 2005

NHS VAT Update - January 2005

Care Homes Update - January 2005

Alternative Futures Update - January 2005

Response to Mental Health Bill - November 2004

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