No wonder she’s cracking open the bubbly... her firm bags £29m in fees
BRITAIN’S biggest clinical negligence firm, Irwin Mitchell, was paid almost £30million by the NHS in legal costs for medical negligence cases in 2015-16 alone, according to figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Sheffield-based company, which like many firms attracts clients with the promise of so-called no win, no fee agreements, was paid a startling £29,027,575.
That is almost three times the £11million Irwin Mitchell obtained from NHS coffers in the financial year 2007-08.
During the latest financial year, the company secured £38,454,015 for its medical negligence clients, according to NHSLA figures, suggesting that for every £1 it secured in damages, it was paid 75p.
Like other firms, Irwin Mitchell promotes itself on television, with a syrupy advert in which it describes itself as being ‘widely regarded as the number one personal injury law firm’.
On its website it promises potential clients: ‘Many of our cases are funded with a no win, no fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk to you when making a compensation claim.’
Lisa Jordan, Irwin Mitchell’s head of medical negligence, accused the NHSLA of issuing ‘selective’ and ‘misleading’ figures.
She said the £38.5million damages figure crucially excluded ‘periodic payments’: those made monthly or annually – and usually for life – to ensure patients seriously injured or disabled by NHS blunders have the care they need.
That meant multi-millionpound payouts which the firm had secured in its biggest and most significant cases were omitted, she said.
‘Had the figures been less selective, they would have shown we won damages worth more than £150million for our clients last year alone,’ she argued. ‘The figure for [claimants’] fees by the NHSLA is also misleading. This isn’t just our fees. It also includes fees which we have to pay for expert reports, counsel, and other disbursements needed to prove the case.’