AvMA – Your One Stop Shop
Action against Medical Accidents
AvMA is an independent Charity that was established 40 years ago. It’s vision is to help people who suffer avoidable medical harm get the support and outcomes they need. It has a wonderful team of highly qualified volunteers in, not just the Legal profession but also in the medical field. They want to transform trust in healthcare and enhance it overall by significantly reducing the financial and human costs resulting from unsafe practices.
AvMA support and empower people adversely affected by medical negligence, both in the NHS and private sector. They help people through all forms of medical negligence, including Birth Injury and Stillbirth. They seek to improve medico-legal practices which are unecessarily stressful for all involved.
AvMA promotes good practice by lawyers in the fields of clinical negligence and medical law through its Lawyers Support Service, conferences, training and accredits specialist solicitors for inclusion in their specialist clinical negligence panel. AvMA charges lawyers for its services but is entirely independent of lawyers in its advice.
How AvMA can help our family community through birth injury litigation
I put together this website to help families undergoing the long and stressful process of birth injury litigation. As stated I have no affiliation and receive no payment for any service. During this process I have met with some amazing people doing wonderful work for our community. One of these groups is the charity Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA). The Medico-Legal Director has been kind enough to offer advice and guidance. AvMA have no input into or control over the rest of my Website.
My own website is fairly simple to navigate with links to the more complex legal areas. Likewise AvMA have guidance via their extensive library of online leaflets and a personal caseworker service combining the personal touch with explanations of the more complex issues.
This dedicated section of my website concentrates only on AvMA’s support for Birth Injury litigation claimants, starting with the immediate aftermath of a traumatic birth or subsequent injury.
All of their public facing services (their helpline, written advice and information and inquest service) are offered free of charge. This is a comprehensive and professional free service staffed by legal and medical professionals. Their advice is independent, impartial and trustworthy. AvMA does not receive funding from or is affiliated with the NHS, NHS Resolution or any other government body, and very much a one stop shop for families.
Help and Support with MNSI and ENS Processes
If you are undergoing an investigation by the Maternity Newborn Safety (MNSI) team or have been notified about an Early Notification Scheme (ENS) process, you are entitled (and it’s something I would advise) to seek legal advice at the same time. If you contact AvMA a personal caseworker will be assigned to you to help you through the process and if necessary, introduce you to one of their Accredited solicitors who are experienced in birth injury work.
AvMA’s Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme for Lawyers
AvMA was the first organisation to operate a scheme of accreditation for lawyers which recognises their expertise in claimant clinical negligence practice. The AvMA panel scheme is the longest running and most established clinical negligence accreditation scheme, it is unique for two reasons. First, only AvMA have a criteria which recognises kindness and consideration for their clients during the difficult process of legal action. Second, it requires lawyers to demonstrate their understanding of the medical criteria in clinical negligence claims. Other legal organisations have a similar scheme but only AvMA have a criteria so suited to Birth Injury.
If you are looking for a specialist solicitor I encourage you to complete AvMA’s Written Advice and Information New Client Form first so that a caseworker can be allocated to support you in finding the appropriate solicitor.
Personal Caseworker Support
On completing a New Client Form a Caseworker, where appropriate, can be assigned to you who can help you find a solicitor who has particular expertise in cerebral palsy and brain injury at birth cases. A solicitor who will approach your situation with respect and empathy. The caseworker will explain the process and discuss your case with you.
Help Understanding your Expert Reports
AvMA have caseworkers who, although no longer practising, are medically and/or legally qualified (some of whom were accredited clinical negligence solicitors) who can go through the Expert Medical Reports with you which the solicitors have obtained on your behalf. AvMA understands that it can be daunting to read the expert reports and understand them. They may be able to identify points or issues which may need clarifying, particularly before you attend your first Case Conference with the Barrister and the expert witnesses.
Understanding why a Case cannot proceed.
If you have consulted a solicitor and they have commissioned a Report or Reports and have turned the case down, or closed it, AvMA can look at the Reports and help explain in easy to understand terms why the case cannot proceed. They can also help to identify if any key points have been overlooked by the expert which might make a significant difference. As I explain in my Overview section just because one solicitor turns a case down it does not mean you should not keep looking for representation, especially at the beginning of the case. Where appropriate AvMA may be able to support you in finding a solicitor to give you a second opinion.
AvMA Telephone Helpline
AvMA offer a helpline staffed by specially trained volunteers who are medical and legal professionals. They will listen to your story sympathetically and offer practical advice about what options are open to you following a medical injury. They can explain some of the jargon and systems, help you decide what to do next and put you in touch with other sources of support if needed. Their helpline is an 03 number and calls should cost no more than your standard network rate unless you go outside your inclusive minutes.
Funding options in Clinical Negligence
Funding for a Birth Injury Claim can differ significantly from other clinical negligence cases, mainly because children are likely to be awarded Legal Aid. I’ve discussed this in my Initial Overview page, but AvMA have some very useful guides. However the area can be very complex with conditional fee agreements (CFAs) often having different arrangements between legal firms. If you opt to take on a CFA it is unlikely that you would be able to get Legal Aid if the first attempt failed. It is possible the other way around.
Understanding Legal costs in Clinical Negligence
Legal costs can be difficult to understand, the two main ways of funding a birth injury claim are either through Legal Aid or through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). If your case is funded on a CFA you will also need After the Event (ATE) insurance. If your case is successful deductions from the award of damages may be made, it is important you understand what deductions can be made when you first instruct a solicitor. AvMA’s self-help guide can help you understand legal costs better. Legal Aid, if awarded, is a more straightforward business for the client, and again AvMA will help explain the process.
Help with an Inquest
I’ve not dealt with the devastating impact or legal implications of having a stillborn baby or death soon after birth, although this can fall under the heading of clinical negligence. If a baby is stillborn the current legal situation is that there will not be an inquest. For an inquest to take place baby must have been alive at birth even if they were in a poor state and only took one breath before passing away however there may still be a civil claim for negligence even if baby was stillborn. Stillbirth can be due to a birth injury but many parents find their distress so overwhelming they have little enthusiasm for legal intervention. However a legal claim and/or an inquest is often the only way parents are given the answers as to why their baby died as they are often met with evasion, and sometimes outright lies. AvMA have caseworkers who can support and inform you on next steps. In this case you have only three years to make a claim.
Making a claim for compensation: Frequently asked questions
AvMA will provide advice and information on cases where solicitors have turned the case down and will review key documents to help identify if the case would benefit from a second legal opinion from a different specialist solicitor. This is where choosing the right solicitor at the beginning of the case can make a big difference. AvMA have dealt with medical negligence cases which have gone through several legal firms and then been closed because these firms do not have the expertise to deal with complex cases. It makes life so much simpler to get it right first time. The self help leaflets in the link below are wide ranging and answer many of the frequently asked questions.
I hope the information on my website can be used in conjunction
with AvMA’s extensive knowledge base to support families
on their journey to truth and justice.
