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Claimant Firms Must Prepare for the Long Haul - Matthew Gwynne, SpectraLegal

22/07/16. The obstructive tactics employed by many defendants will be well known to claimant clinical negligence lawyers. They can range from the sublime to the ridiculous: Ignoring protocol timelines is common; failure to settle strong cases early (forcing claimants to needlessly proceed to a full letter of claim); and, admitting liability on the eve of a trial before then querying all the avoidable costs involved.

Further, interim payments are often extremely difficult to obtain, which places even greater stresses on claimants who may then be tempted by low offers.

Yet our experience, in both the England & Wales and the Canadian markets, is that defendants will vary their tactics depending on the firm they’re litigating against.

Defendants will consider whether a firm is known to have deep pockets and tactics are often designed to do nothing more than push the claimant firm to the brink of financial collapse.

Newcomers may find these tactics particularly frustrating as they will be tested to a much greater extent in their early days than once they have a proven track record in litigation.

Multi-disciplinary firms feel similar pressures with non-clinical negligence departments feeling they shore up the delayed revenues from clinical negligence departments. It can therefore be difficult for them to hold their nerve. And whilst all firms will strive to maximise clients’ damages they will often, due to cash flow pressures, settle early their own costs negotiations, thereby sacrificing profit for cash...

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