MedCo issued 337 warning letters and terminated 134 user agreements in the past year

MedCo has sent out 337 warning letters in the past year, two thirds of which ended up in a suspension for users of the medical report sourcing portal.

Some of the letters, sent in the year up to 31 March 2017, were related to attempts at bypassing the random search selection process and influencing the opinion of medical experts.

MedCo revealed the figure in its submission to the Justice Select Committee for its inquiry into the Government’s personal injury reforms. Litigation Futures brought MedCo’s activity to light, which saw it eventually suspend 235 users consisting of medical reporting organisations, direct medical experts and claimant lawyers. 134 user agreements were eventually terminated, although another 84 were allowed back onto the portal after changing their behaviour.

Other breaches of the user agreement by the 235 users included undertaking medical examinations in inappropriate circumstances and failing to upload case data.

In its submission, MedCo said that the proposed increase in the small claims limit could have a major impact, as it would lead to direct contact with litigants-in-person. It said the system was not designed for litigants-in-person and that it would have to make significant changes to its processes to accommodate them.

It also expressed concern that the reforms would encourage some users to entice medical experts to increase prognosis periods to secure higher damages.

Mark Dugdale