A LAW firm has hit back following a minister's call for a crackdown on 'ambulance chasing' solicitors.

Health Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn criticised a poster, in a bus shelter outside the new University Hospital of North Durham in Durham City, advertising medical negligence legal advice.

The poster, for Newcastle-based Samuel Phillips and Co, pictured a bandaged patient on crutches under the heading 'did the doctor or nurse make your worse?'.

The poster angered Mr Milburn, who was on an official visit to the hospital, and he is reportedly looking at ways of stemming the 'compensation culture' in which victims of medical errors take legal action against hospitals. But the company defended the advert.

A spokesman said patients were more prepared to challenge the 'doctor knows best' principle.

"The poster which has allegedly offended Mr Milburn is simply intended to raise public awareness and target those individuals who may have a potential claim against their GP or hospital to help them get access to a specialist and accredited lawyer.

"If empowerment and patient autonomy leads to patients exercising their rights then we will have contributed to a change in culture."