Medical negligence forensic accountants assist the parties in a medical negligence claim in assessing the compensation due to the party bringing the claim, known as the Claimant, from the party at fault, known as the Defendant. You might see us referred to as ‘clinical negligence forensic accountants’; the terms mean the same thing.
At Frenkels Forensics, we specialise in medical negligence work. We regularly assist the leading Claimant and Defendant medical negligence solicitors around the UK with understanding the value of the Claimant’s case and the level of damages they are entitled to, arising from economic losses.
For assistance call us on 0330 118 8200 or Make An Online Enquiry.
When Do You Need Medical Negligence Forensic Accountants?
When a healthcare professional breaches their duty of care to a patient and the patient suffers injury as a result, they may be liable for negligence, and the patient may be eligible to bring a medical negligence compensation claim against the healthcare professional.
Medical negligence compensation claims comprise two elements, known as liability and quantum. Liability refers to whether the healthcare professional can be held legally responsible for the incident that caused the injury. Quantum refers to how much compensation a successful Claimant is entitled to. Medical negligence forensic accountants assist the parties’ legal teams with calculating the quantum element of a medical negligence claim.
Not all medical negligence claims necessitate the involvement of medical negligence forensic accountants. Sometimes, if the negligence caused a minor injury that did not affect matters such as the patient’s ability to work to any great extent, the Claimant’s legal team may be able to quantify the compensation due from the evidence.
However, many medical negligence claims involve severe injuries that significantly impact the Claimant’s life. In these cases, the parties’ legal advisors usually call on the expertise of medical negligence forensic accountants like us to assist them in establishing how much compensation the Claimant deserves.
What Do Clinical Negligence Forensic Accountants Like Ours Do?
The purpose of compensation in medical negligence cases is to put the Claimant back in the position they would have been in had the negligence not occurred. Part of the compensation is comprised of damages known as ‘special damages’ which aim to make good any financial losses sustained by the Claimant as a result of the negligence.
Claimants can claim all reasonable losses, whether past or future, as special damages. Examples of the types of losses that can be included include loss of earnings, pension losses, aids and equipment, medical expenses, and travel expenses. Medical negligence forensic accountants assist the parties’ legal teams in calculating the special damages element of the Claimant’s compensation.
The Claimant’s past losses may be fairly easily quantifiable, since the Claimant has already sustained them. Calculating future losses, on the other hand, can be incredibly complicated, and this is where a medical negligence forensic accountant’s skill set can prove invaluable for both Claimants and Defendants.
Say, for example, the Defendant’s negligence caused the Claimant to sustain life-changing injuries that render them unlikely to work again. In these cases, their special damages claim will likely include a claim for future loss of earnings and, often, pension losses. Calculating future loss of earnings and pension losses requires consideration of a number of potential variations in future earnings as well as complex pension provisions. For this purpose, we have developed specialist software known as the ‘Frenkels Calculator’, which assists us in the preparation of our calculations.
Why Choose Our Medical Negligence Forensic Accountants?
Our medical negligence forensic accountants assist the leading Claimant and Defendant medical negligence solicitors and barristers in the UK with calculating the quantum element of their clients’ cases. Our decades of experience in the field have given us a deep understanding of the special damages applicable in medical negligence cases and the Court’s approach to them. We have an excellent reputation for producing comprehensive, accessible reports for use by the parties and the Court.
Many medical negligence claims are resolved before trial, and our work often plays an instrumental role in assisting the parties in reaching a settlement of the issues. In addition to producing fully CPR-compliant reports, we can also present our findings in a variety of other formats, including white label schedules and desktop reports, for the parties and their legal advisors to use during settlement discussions.
Our medical negligence forensic accountants routinely attend Court to explain our reports to the Judge and defend our findings under cross-examination. We are well-versed in the duties of expert witnesses and our obligation to assist the Court and act with impartiality.
To discover more, please call us on 0330 118 8200 or Make An Online Enquiry.
“Thank you ever so much for the work and advice you have provided . The report was clear and accessible and will not hesitate to recommend you all.”
“I am indebted to you for your contribution, and for explaining things in plain English such that even lawyers can understand the issues”
“May I take this opportunity to thank you for your assistance in this matter. Counsel and the judge said that your report was one of the best they had seen in that it was concise and technically easy to understand.”
