Faced with a huge increase in the number of people claiming Clinical Negligence it has emerged that the NHS is turning more and more often to Private Investigators to uncover if the claimants really do have a claim.
Figures released under a Freedom of Information request to the Law Gazette revealed that the NHS commissioned private investigators 24 times in 2013/14, up from 10 times in 2012/13. In 2010/11 they were used just once, to investigate a clinical negligence claim.
Part of the reason for the rise is that they have proven that they can save significant amounts of NHS, and ultimately taxpayer’s money if the claimants are exaggerating or making fraudulent claims.
Oddly enough though, evidence shows that most of the time, investigations do not reveal that a claim is fraudulent or exaggerated. In 2013/14, 58% of investigations uncovered no wrongdoing with a similar figure for 2012/13 at 60%.
The NHS Litigation Authority estimated that it saved £3.7m in 2013/14 simply by using Private Investigators.
There have been some well publicised cases of fraudulent claims including the case of Michael Spence who was caught posting pictures of himself dancing on Facebook when he was claiming life changing and crippling injuries which would have entitled him to a £3m pay out.
To put this in context NHS Litigation Authority annual report, published during the summer, showed that the number of new clinical claims rose by 10.8% to 10,129 during 2012/13. This figure has increased by a staggering 66% in the past four years. Faced with this upward trend it is no wonder that the use of Private Investigators has become more commonplace.
At Insight Investigations we have worked previously on a number of high profile and widely reported cases and have the right professional skills to handle sensitive investigations such as these. After all we recognise that six out of ten cases will involve no wrongdoing, but the remaining four can cost the NHS millions of pounds and cause unnecessary guilt and stress for the medical professionals involved.
If you need to get to the truth then why not call us today? We are discreet, professional and ready to help you. Call us now on the number below or use our contact us page and talk to one of our professional team.
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