Sonia Macleod

Sonia’s research is healthcare focusses and studies how individuals can raise concerns, and the mechanisms by which they can receive redress if they have suffered a personal injury. She is currently part of an NIHR-funded Policy Research Unit on quality safety and outcomes looking the routes individuals take when raising concerns about NHS provided healthcare.

She has a strong interest in no-blame resolution and alternatives to litigation.  Her book, Redress Schemes for Personal Injuries (Hart 2017), provided a major comparative study of personal injury compensation schemes (jointly authored with Christopher Hodges and others). No-Blame resolution remains a very topical area particularly given the backdrop of rising clinical negligence costs. Sonia has been in discussions with the Department of Health and other government departments on this issue.

In 2019 Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Safety: A Study in Public and Private Regulation (jointly authored with Dr Sweta Chakraborty) was published. It considered 35 major medicines and medical devices liability claims, to determine whether the safety signal came from litigation, doctors, or the post-marketing vigilance systems. This book systematically examines how well patient safety is protected by public and private regulation, and how these systems have evolved over the years.  

In 2019-2020 Sonia was the Lead researcher for the Independent Medicines and Medical Device Safety Review, which was been set up to examine safety concerns raised by Primodos and other hormonal pregnancy tests, sodium valproate and vaginal mesh. The strategic recommendations within the IMMDS report, First Do No Harm, have had a considerable impact on healthcare policy.