A Study of Medical Negligence Claiming in Scotland

Footnotes

1. We would also like to acknowledge research assistance from James Irving.

2. Service (Concerns, Complaints and Redress Arrangements) (Wales) Regulations 2011, which became law in April this year.

3. The main types of claim outcomes are settled, absolvitor/abandoned and repudiated. Settled claims generally refer to claims where the pursuer received a payment for compensation, either as a negotiated settlement or as a court award. There were some instances where the pursuer did not actually receive any amount for damages, however, the defender agreed to pay for legal fees and/or disbursements. We also included these claims under the category of 'settled'. Absolvitor are cases where the court has made a ruling in favour of the defender, and abandoned cases refer to those where the pursuer withdrew the claim or the defender ceased to receive any correspondence from the pursuer and/or their legal representative. We acknowledge that absolvitor and abandoned claims are different, however, they were coded together in the CLO closed claims database. Claims that are repudiated involve claims where the defender refuses to accept liability, although it is possible that the defender initially repudiates the claim but then later accepts liability.