Lawyers in the burns unit - a review of pro bono legal services provided for patients with burn injury.

Abstract

We present a review of a pro bono legal service provided to patients treated at a regional burns centre in the United Kingdom for the period between October 2012 and October 2019. A solicitor, supported by a paralegal, was available to give pro bono advice to any patient attending the burns service. The legal team provided assistance to patients and their relatives with advice pertaining to their personal and financial affairs as impacted by the injury. This was provided independently from, but in addition to, existing support from the hospital legal and ethical departments. The pro bono legal service has advised on 108 patient cases since this service began in October 2012 and has provided more than 2100 h of solicitors' time. 777 h were spent on non-compensation advice given on welfare benefits and insurance. Advice on welfare and/or financial matters was requested by all patients, and although potential claims for compensation against a third party were found in 83 cases, of these, the law firm operating the legal service was known to have been instructed to pursue recourse in only 16 cases. However, of the 16 cases instructed to make a compensation claim so far, 6 cases have settled, recovering a total of over £ 3.7 million. This review shows a likely benefit to patients from pro bono legal advice available in a burns unit setting. It also showed the significant financial gain to the government and potentially the NHS when a compensation claim was made by a patient.