Our recognised team of dedicated healthcare lawyers handle a wide range of health law matters, including litigation, judicial reviews, inquests and mental health issues. We have been advising hospitals, their insurers, trusts and healthcare professionals for over 20 years. We act for the National Health Service Litigation Authority and for over 60 trusts and primary care trusts.
Our UK national healthcare team has approaching 40 lawyers and partners working in all areas of the healthcare sector. This gives us a truly unique understanding of healthcare from every perspective – including contentious and non-contentious issues. We offer expert advice in litigation, and are one of only 10 firms nationwide appointed onto the NHS Litigation Authority clinical negligence panel. We are also experienced in conducting independent investigations on behalf of NHS Trusts.
We advise healthcare bodies on issues that affect patient care, such as the capacity to consent to medical treatment. This includes the treatment of children and young people and extends to situations where a declaration is required to be sought from the court to treat patients in their best interests, or to withdraw medical treatment from patients in a persistent vegetative state.
As well as offering specialist advice surrounding the complexities of mental health issues, we regularly advise and provide training on the Mental Capacity Act – including Advanced Decisions, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Deprivations of Liberty Safeguards. Our team is acutely aware of the careful handling that such sensitive matters require.
We are alive to the diverse actions of NHS Trusts and are experienced in acting for trusts in defending claims for judicial review. We also advise and represent healthcare providers with inquests, offering support and practical guidance throughout each stage of the process.
Our areas of advice include:
- Child protection
- Clinical negligence
- Complex and high value cases
- Costs
- Data protection
- Deprivation of liberty
- Disciplinary hearings
- Freedom of Information Act
- Group litigation
- Independent healthcare investigations
- Indexation
- Inquests and inquiries
- Injunctions
- Judicial review
- Local authority care issues
- Mental health
- Mental capacity
- Periodical payments expertise
- Public law
- Quantum advice
- Regulatory work
- Resource allocation in healthcare
- Treatment of illegal immigrants
We provide comprehensive advice to our clients to ensure a cost effective and swift resolution – hopefully without court intervention.
Work highlights
- Acting for an NHS Trust who successfully obtained a court declaration to enforce diabetic treatment on a patient against her will under the Mental Health Act 1983.
- Conducting an independent investigation for an NHS Trust into a serious incident in which a patient grievously harmed six patients and two members of staff with a metal weapon.
- Successfully defending a claim for judicial review in a case where an informal mental health patient self-discharged and suffered catastrophic injuries as a consequence. The High Court accepted Article 2 ECHR was not invoked.
- Advising the NHS Litigation Authority on indexation, state funding and double recovery. Representing the Defendant in the leading Court of Appeal cases on these issues - Crofton v NHSLA.
- Advising the NHS Litigation Authority on any potential reduction to the discount rate by the Lord Chancellor. This includes drafting of adjournment provisions to be contained in periodical payment orders and providing a mechanism to calculate any differential in a claimant’s damages should the discount rate be reduced.