Medical Malpractice

Clinical negligence insurance costs, have over the past decade, steadily risen as the MDU, MPS and MDDUS (the mutual organisations) have been hit with the higher frequency and severity of third party claims.

This has been fuelled by the growth and popularity of litigation entities many of whom work on a contingency fee basis.  As a result, the mutuals have been forced to pass these costs on to all their members, irrespective of their individual track records.

Chesterfield have developed a unique product that is specifically aimed at NHS- based surgeons who undertake work within the Private sector.

The NHS is a unique institution which provides both the training ground and hospital base for Surgeons to qualify, practice and develop their skills within their individual surgical disciplines. As each Consultant has to provide their individual operating statistics, annually, our product recognises and rewards those surgeons whose results illustrate ‘best practice’.

Our policy does not just rely on a completed proposal form but uniquely has a built in “Risk Managed Acceptance” approach. On joining, we request from each applicant one or two working examples of patient notes, starting from consultation to patient discharge. These are then assessed by our risk managers. This group comprise currently certified, GMC registered,  surgeons and GP’s who,  from these notes,  can assess the areas of exposure.  We then address these issues to ensure our client’s future practice methods become more robust from the threat of any possible future litigation.

The claims management team is run by the former head of a Medical Defence Organisation claims department. This expert takes a stance on early intervention, thereby bringing claims to an early conclusion reducing costs and protecting reputations.