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Clinical Risk

Patient expectation of successful clinical outcome can lead to disputes, which accordingly require experienced and cost effective management both in the public and private spheres.

Accompanying this are the cost pressures, which have never been so acute on clinical negligence/medical malpractice indemnifiers, and which drive our experts to work to ensure a timely and efficient response for clients. We act to ensure that unmeritorious claims are always defeated, and that just claims are settled both promptly and cost effectively.

We draw from our full spectrum of expertise across both the public and private healthcare sector to ensure you receive excellent advice and that you and your clinical staff feel fully supported.

What we do

DAC Beachcroft LLP is the market-leading and largest defendant clinical negligence and medical malpractice team in the UK. We have been acting for the NHS since its inception in 1948 and are an original panel firm for NHS Resolution (formerly the NHS Litigation Authority), as well as being proud to call the MDU and many private healthcare providers and their insurers as clients.

In addition to this, our clinical negligence and medical malpractice teams provide market leading services for insurers in both the Republic of Ireland and in Spain.

Dealing in dispute resolution and as advocates in courts, tribunals and coroner's courts, our experts provide advice on performance issues and professional disciplinary matters, as well as having experience of mediation and ADR generally.

We offer genuine end-to-end expertise, from incident management, insurance notifications, and TPA claims handling, through to the most complex litigation in this field, involving group and representative action. This includes some of the largest group actions involving the NHS today, taking a cutting-edged approach to managing the complexities of such litigation.

What we are known for

DAC Beachcroft is widely recognised as the leading strategic, commercial and regulatory legal adviser to the health and social care sector in the UK.

Our clinical risk team has the largest share of the NHS Resolution's portfolio in this field, representing the biggest indemnity spend by the NHS Resolution. We are on the Medical Defence Union panel as their preferred provider for medical negligence claims, including high value claims and dental claims, and we act for three of the UK's five largest providers of independent acute hospital services.

As experts in this field we often provide strategic advice on a range of issues affecting the NHS, working with the wider healthcare team across the UK to ensure we tackle every issue with a broad understanding of the health sector. In addition, we act for a large share of the private sector market and, in conjunction with our healthcare regulatory team, we successfully manage the interface between public and private sectors.

In addition, we are a leading light in private medical malpractice. We handle large volumes of cases for the Medical Defence Union, Spire, Bupa, Nuffield and medical malpractice insurers such as Marketform, Allied World, RSA, QBE, and Mitsui.

What our clients say

"According to clients, DAC Beachcroft LLP is ‘the prime defendant practice in the region’. The firm fields ‘a very strong and well-balanced team of sound and committed lawyers’ which attracts praise for its ‘incredible all-round service and quality in depth’." Legal 500 2017 Edition, Insurance: Clinical negligence: defendant, Newcastle

"They are a very tight, close-knit team that works very well together. They provide a uniquely outstanding service." Chambers and Partners UK 2018 Edition, Clinical Negligence: Mainly Defendant, Clinical Negligence: Mainly Defendant, UK-wide

“We have a good relationship with them. They are creative when it comes to developing solutions for clients. They are good, experienced, detailed and helpful.” Chambers UK, 2016 (Clinical Negligence: Defendant)

"DAC Beachcroft LLP has a good reputation in the insurance and healthcare sectors, and its ‘strong, relevant knowledge of the NHS sector ensures appropriate advice’." Legal 500 Edition, 2015

"DAC Beachcroft LLP’s ‘extremely experienced and competent practice’ leverages its many panel memberships (NHSLA [NHS Resolution], MDU), and its private sector (Accuvision, Nuffield) and insurance (Aviva, Zurich) client base to act on a very broad range of claims." Legal 500 Edition, 2015

"First-choice firm’ DAC Beachcroft LLP was instructed by the NHSLA [NHS Resolution] on a group action involving over 140 claims against an orthopaedic surgeon, and – separately – on all metal-on-metal hip claims." Legal 500 Edition, 2015