Conclusion 3

Some claimant organisations said the screening process, as carried out by specialist claimant firms, prevents a significant cost that NHS Resolution would otherwise incur. Claimant costs, however, account for a fifth of all cash payments associated with clinical negligence and witnesses highlighted that law firms gravitate towards higher value cases, reject those that require a significant initial outlay, and are driven by the pursuit of legal fees. Given the skill with which law firms appear to have leveraged income from the clinical negligence market, we are not convinced that the real cost of screening cases is not eventually passed on to the taxpayer.