NHS Medical Negligence Statistics Hub

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The NHS has been a valued institution in the UK since 1948. Today around 1 million people will use GP services each day, and nearly 45,000 people will attend an A&E department. Despite the fact that the NHS remains one the safest and well renowned healthcare systems, with so many people accessing the service, it is sadly inevitable that errors will happen resulting in negligence claims being put forward.

The medical negligence bill of settled claims for the NHS now sits at over £2 billion per year, with NHS legal costs making up over £150 million of this total. NHS negligence claims are therefore still very much prominent today. 

We have compiled key statistics surrounding medical negligence in the NHS from trusted sources and from the NHS reports themselves. The more that we understand about medical negligence within the NHS, the better chance we have of reducing the amount of errors that can arise and help us to further support our National Health Service. So it is crucial to be aware of the facts.

NHS NEGLIGENCE FIGURES THEN AND NOW

Data from the NHS Resolution report reveals that the ‘cost of harm,’ now referred to as the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST), throughout 2023/2024, is estimated at £5.1 billion. 

The cost of settled negligence claims in 2023/24 sits at a reported £2,821.2 million which is an increase from £2,641.7 million in 2022/23. Also, since 2006/2007, the cost of medical negligence cases for the NHS has increased significantly. In 2007/2008, the total cost was £582 million overall.

Due to these rising figures, the UK Government has set out to put a cap on legal costs pertaining to medical negligence cases. They plan to achieve this by creating a more streamlined system for lower value clinical negligence cases, ensuring that legal fees are proportionate and that the process is as efficient as possible. This could save the Government £500 million in legal fees.

COURT PROCEEDINGS AND NHS NEGLIGENCE 

The NHS have reported that, in 2023/25, 81% of claims were settled without court proceedings. This has gradually increased over the past few years, with 74.7% of claims settled without formal proceedings in 2020/21 and 71.5% in 2019/20 showing a continued effort to settle claims without the involvement of a court. 2023/24 was the highest ever number of clinical claims resolved without entering court proceedings with 10,854 claims being resolved without going to court. 

CLAIM TYPE STATISTICS

According to the latest NHS Resolution report (2023/2024), the top four claim types making up the highest volume of clinical negligence claims included: emergency medicine, obstetrics claims, orthopaedic, and general surgery as seen below:

NHS CLAIM STATISTICS 

In 2017 – 2018, the NHS paid out more than £1.63 billion for negligence compensation claims. This figure has increased significantly, now totalling more than £2.8 billion as of 2023/24 figures. Notable NHS negligence claim statistics include:

• NHS negligence claims span many specialties, with the largest percentage of compensation awards involving emergency medicine 
• Over the 2023 to 2024 period, the NHS resolved 13,382 clinical claims
• 80% of claims in 2022 to 2023 were settled without court proceedings. In 2023/24, 81% of claims were settled without court proceedings. 
• The number of claims resolved without payment of damages equalled 5,864

MATERNITY-RELATED CLAIMS

In 2023/24, maternity-related claims amounted to 41% of the total clinical negligence payments, the same percentage reported in 2022/23. This is an area that has been highlighted by the governing bodies within the NHS and has been addressed by the Resolution who have included maternity claims as a core focus to improve on in their three-year strategy.

FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE OR WRONG DIAGNOSIS STATISTICS 

The NHS also recently released data surrounding the most common injuries occurring from a failure to diagnose or a delayed diagnosis that resulted in a payout. The data concludes that the most common primary injury was unnecessary pain with 976 claims and the most costly injury was fatality with a total of £59,571,839 in damages paid and £7,556,495 NHS legal costs.

Source: NHS Resolution

SETTLED CLAIMS

The total number of new clinical negligence claims in 2023/24 was totalled at 13,833, a decrease of 4% compared to last year. 

In 2023/24 6,573 of claims were settled without damages paid and 7,260 clinical claims were closed with damages.

Of the clinical claims closed where damages were paid in the bracket of £25,000 to £100,000, the average claimant legal costs awarded per claim was £54,978, an increase of 5% compared to 2022/23. 

LOW VALUE VS HIGH VALUE CLAIMS

A low value claim is considered to be a claim between £1,001 and £25,000. This is where the majority of medical negligence claims will sit. 

The highest value cases are worth millions of pounds. One of the largest medical negligence payouts recorded was £37 million after failures in maternity care led to severe disabilities and the child needing round the clock care.

As you can see from the table below, in 2006/2007 there were 2189 cases awarded a low value settlement. This rose to 3855 in the period from 2021/2022. Cases reaching upwards of £3.5 million have increased nearly eight fold, with 42 recorded cases in 2006/2007 and 364 in 2021/2022.

The above list of figures and statistics aims to demonstrate the current and previous position of NHS Negligence claims including costs, volume and types. All information can be found on the NHS Resolution, including their current and previous reports.

NHS Complaints Statistics 

Despite the NHS’s commitment to providing high-quality care, there are instances where things fall short. The NHS and the UK government are actively working to improve patient outcomes and reduce the number of negligence claims. To address concerns without resorting to legal action, the NHS has a dedicated complaints procedure allowing patients to seek answers and resolutions. 

Statistics show an increase in complaints year-on-year, with 229,458 recorded complaints in 2022-23, reflecting a rise of 3,888 compared to the previous year.

In 2022-2023 the most common cause for complaint was Communications, with 30,484 received. This includes issues like unclear medical records, communication with staff (both written and verbal), and unprofessional staff behaviour.

This is followed up by Patient Care which received 22,640 complaints 22-23 and Staff Values and Behaviours which received 19,081 complaints.

Other areas that saw a notable increase in complaints in 2022-23 include: 

• 35.6% increase in Dental complaints from 303 to 411

• 34.7% increase in Restraint complaints from 124 to 167

• 17.1% increase in Trust Administration complaints from 4,109 to 4,813

• 16.4% increase in complaints of Waiting Times from 3,774 to 4,392

• 15.5% increase in Anaesthetics complaints from 406 to 469

• 10.2% increase in Paediatric complaints from 1,939 to 2,136

• 7.4% increase in complaints of Prescribing Errors from 21-22 to 22-23, from 2,072 to 2,225

Other areas seeing slight complaint increases include Radiology, Appointments (delays and cancellations), and A&E.

If you raised a complaint with the NHS and feel the resolution wasn’t adequate or feel that your condition has worsened due to inadequate treatment from the NHS, an NHS negligence claim may be your best course for action. We offer a free initial assessment to help you understand your options.