Paralegal

Job description

Job responsibilities

To act as the main point of contact for all claims, clinical and non-clinical, made against thenTrust.

To support the Litigation Manager in the conduct of clinical negligence claims, including an initial review of medical records for disclosure, completion of a summary of the case, provide advice on additional evidence required and to provide administrative support as necessary.

To assist the Litigation Manager in ensuring that all new clinical negligence claims are reviewed, that they provide sufficient information relating to allegations of negligence in accordance with the relevant Pre-Action Protocols, that a file is created and the claim is entered onto the claims tracker and Datix and that checks are made to identify if there are any previous complaints/internal investigations. Where necessary, liaise with the Claimants solicitors to obtain sufficient information to ensure compliance with the pre-action protocol and to enable an internal investigation to be undertaken, if required.

To support the Litigation Manager in the conduct employer/public liability claims, , including preliminary investigations, gathering of evidence, and identification of relevant factual witnesses and providing a preliminary report to the Litigation Manager advising on strategy and next steps.

Support the management of Inquest mailbox inbox ensuring that queries are dealt with and resolved as soon as possible, providing additional support to the Litigation Manager to prioritise urgent queries

To set up new cases on the tracker and datix, obtaining and bundling medical records, collating any complaint/incident investigation, reviewing the medical records and identifying factual witnesses and general case management as requested by the Litigation Manager. General case management includes notifying relevant Service of the new Inquest case, obtaining statements from the Service/witnesses and corresponding with Coroners office.

To assist in the review of evidence before it is disclosed to the Coroner, identifying if any further evidence is required and highlighting any issues or concerns to the Litigation Manager.

To support the Litigation Manager in ensuring the smooth organisation of complex inquests and facilitating the instruction and provision of information to external legal advisors.

Responsible for providing the day to day delivery of the legal teams administrative support.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Law graduate or equivalent

Desirable

• Knowledge of Mental Health Law
• Knowledge of Clinical Risk and Claims Management
• Successful completion of Legal Practice Course

Values and Behaviours

Essential

• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.
• Ability to deal tactfully and discreetly with issues of a confidential/sensitive and legal nature.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a legal environment and experience of working in the NHS
• Experience of Civil Claims

Desirable

• Demonstrable experience of supporting clinical negligence and Inquest investigations

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of statutory requirements, including data protection, patient confidentiality and equality and diversity.
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages including Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word, SharePoint, as well as other digital platforms including legal software.
• Ability to prioritise work and time management and Excellent organisational skills
• Well-developed positive interpersonal and influencing skills with an ability to work with people in stressful situations.

Desirable

• Able to demonstrate understanding of the Civil Procedure Rules, the claims process and HM Coroner Rules and Regulations. Understanding of the principles of investigations/claims management
• Knowledge of the remit and role of NHS Resolution for NHS litigation

Attitudes, aptitudes, personal characteristics

Essential

• Ability to manage own workload/use of initiative
• Understands the importance of ensuring that the Trust learns lessons from claims and inquests and feeding this information back to the relevant departments within the Trust when things have gone wrong
• Can deals with highly confidential issues. Can deal with issues which could be emotionally distressing
• Ability to work in a challenging and busy environment whilst meeting tight deadlines.

Desirable

• Ability to interpret, analyse data for corporate and external reports
• Able to read and assimilate complex medical records information using good analytical skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Trust Headquarters

350 Euston Road, Regent's Place

London

NW1 3AX

Employer's website

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)