2008 and prisoners' claims for clinical negligence

One controversial area of clinical negligence litigation relates to the rights of methadone dependent prisoners in UK prisons who have their methadone allowance withdrawn by the government.

The controversy reached a head in 2008 when the government, under pressure from clinical negligence lawyers threatening to take them all the way to the High Court, buckled, eventually deciding to pay out compensation to affected prisoners.

The total compensation payouts to around 200 prisoners amounted to £750,000, working out at roughly £4,000 for each prisoner. Once personal injury lawyer's fees have been factored into the equation most insiders agreed that the cost of the payments tallied to more than £1 million.

Understandably, the issue raised a great deal of debate, with many commentators reflecting public concern at the perceived inappropriateness of the payout. However, lawyers representing the mass action claimants were quick to argue that not only did the withdrawal of methadone from methadone-dependent prisoners constitute a form of medical negligence but also a breach of human rights under Articles 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

One of the lawyers representing the prisoners commented on the crux of the case, "Many of the prisoners were receiving methadone treatment before they entered prison and were upset at the short period of treatment using opiates they encountered in jail. Imposing the short, sharp detoxification is the issue."

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