Frequently asked questions

What relationship does AvMA have with lawyers?

AvMA sees lawyers as an invaluable resource for injured patients and their families to help achieve justice.

AvMA promotes good practice by lawyers in the fields of clinical negligence and medical law through its Lawyers Support Service, conferences, training and accredits specialist solicitors for inclusion in our specialist clinical negligence panel.

AvMA charges lawyers for its services but is entirely independent of lawyers.

What relationship does AvMA have with medical experts?

AvMA maintains the main database of medical experts (from any profession) who are able to give expert opinion/ evidence on clinical negligence cases.

Supportive expert opinion is a requirement for any successful clinical negligence claim.  AvMA makes an assessment of the suitability of ‘experts’ before putting them on the database and making them available for recommendation to claimant clinical negligence solicitors and monitors feedback, but does not formally accredit experts.

There is no formal connection between experts and AvMA other than if they are on the database.  Some experts who are supportive of AvMA’s goals and charitable work make a voluntary charitable donation.

AvMA finds it harder to raise funds than other better known charities for popular causes such as children’s and cancer charities, and currently receives hardly any funding from the state/statutory sources.

We raise most of our money by charging for our training and conferences and for services to lawyers.  We also receive charitable donations from grateful clients and others who are supportive of our cause.

AvMA recognises that like any organisation, we can make mistakes or fail to live up to our own or other people’s expectations.  We value feedback and promise to investigate concerns or complaints and respond.

What is AvMA Services Ltd?

Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) is a registered charity number 299123 and a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England number 2405420.

‘AvMA Services Ltd’ is a company limited by guarantee in England to act as a trading company on behalf of the charity, of which it is a wholly owned subsidiary.

Charities are only allowed to do a certain amount of ‘non-charitable trading’ (trading which is not directly concerned with their charitable objectives) and it is therefore common for charities to have a trading company.

‘AvMA Services Ltd’ is currently dormant as the level of our non-charitable trading is currently within agreed limits.