Medical Accident Claims: Why Choosing a SRA-Regulated Solicitors Matters
Instructing a firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) places the claim within an established framework of professional obligations, financial controls, and independent oversight, each designed to protect the client’s interests.
This article sets out what SRA regulation involves in practice and explains why it is of particular importance in medical negligence claims.
The Distinction Between Regulated Firms and Other Claims Services
It is sometimes assumed that any organisation offering assistance with a compensation claim is a regulated firm of solicitors. This is not the case. The market also includes claims management companies and other providers that operate outside the regulatory framework administered by the SRA. While some may carry out their work competently, the professional duties, financial safeguards, and routes of recourse described below do not apply to them.
The Role of the Solicitors Regulation Authority
The SRA is the independent regulator of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. It sets the professional standards that regulated firms must meet, monitors compliance with those standards, and takes enforcement action where they are not met. For the client, regulation provides three broad assurances: a defined standard of advice and conduct, the secure handling of funds, and access to independent redress.
The Standard of Advice and Conduct
A regulated firm operates under enforceable professional obligations rather than informal undertakings. A solicitor regulated by the SRA is required to act in the client’s best interests, to provide advice that is competent and appropriate to the circumstances, and to maintain the confidentiality of the client’s medical records and personal information. The solicitor must also act fairly and avoid any conflict between the interests of the client and those of the firm or another client.
Because these are regulatory requirements, a firm that fails to observe them may be held to account. That enforceability is the practical significance of the standard.
The Protection of Client Funds and Compensation
Settlements in medical negligence claims may be substantial, particularly where continuing treatment or long-term care is required. SRA regulation provides several layers of protection for those funds.
Client Account Rules
Money held on a client’s behalf must be kept in regulated client accounts, separate from the firm’s own funds. Solicitors are required to account for all sums clearly and to comply with strict financial controls, ensuring that the handling of compensation can be traced at every stage.
Compulsory Professional Indemnity Insurance
Every SRA-regulated firm is required to hold professional indemnity insurance. Where an error in the conduct of a case causes the client a loss, this insurance provides a route to financial redress. An unregulated provider may offer no comparable protection.
The SRA Compensation Fund
In the rare event that funds are lost through dishonesty, or a firm is unable to account for client money, the SRA’s Compensation Fund may make a discretionary payment. It serves as a final safeguard for clients who would otherwise have no means of recovering their loss.
Avenues of Redress
Protection is effective only where there is a means of acting upon it. Regulation provides clients with clear and independent options where the service falls short.
Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman
A client dissatisfied with the service received should first raise the matter with the firm directly. Where the firm’s final response does not resolve the complaint, it may be referred to the Legal Ombudsman, an independent body that considers service complaints between clients and legal providers. The Ombudsman can examine matters such as avoidable delay, inadequate communication, and disputes over costs. This route is generally available only where the firm is regulated.
Regulatory Oversight and Intervention
Separately from individual complaints, the SRA supervises the firms it regulates and may intervene where standards are seriously breached. In the most serious cases, it can act directly to protect clients, including by securing case files and safeguarding client money.
The Significance of Regulation in Medical Negligence Claims
Medical negligence claims are among the more demanding areas of legal practice. They commonly depend on detailed expert medical evidence, may be of significant value, and frequently concern injuries that are permanent or that give rise to long-term care needs. The interests at stake, including the claimant’s health, financial position, and future care, are considerable.
In this context, the protections that regulation provides are of material importance. Recognised qualifications and specialist expertise, enforceable standards of conduct, the secure handling of any award, compulsory insurance, an independent complaints procedure, and active regulatory oversight together provide a sound foundation for a claim that may take a considerable period to resolve.
Contact the Medical Negligence Team at Sterling Law
Sterling Law is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and each of the protections set out above applies from the point of instruction. Those who consider that their medical care fell below the standard they were entitled to expect are invited to contact the firm’s medical negligence team to discuss the circumstances and the options available.
