The expense of clinical negligence lawsuits to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) keeps rising, adding to the burden and exposing the degree of dissatisfaction that exists, especially among MPs, medical professionals, and patients. The cost of neglect has multiplied, according to recent official statistics and parliamentary inquiries, but the government has not yet addressed this.
Liabilities Hit Eye-Watering Totals
In the fiscal year 2024–2025, the NHS’s future clinical negligence liability was estimated to be around £60 billion. As a result, in just 20 years, these liabilities have increased fourfold. This enormous sum is currently the second-highest item on the UK government’s balance sheet, only surpassed by nuclear decommissioning.
The cost of resolving claims has also climbed by more than three times, from roughly 1.1 billion pounds in 2006–07 to 3.6 billion pounds in 2024–2025. This amount of money is significantly larger than that of many other public services.
MPs Condemn Lack of Government Action
Both NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care have not “taken any meaningful steps to manage rising negligence costs or tackle the causality of patient harm,” according to a claim by the Commons Public Accounts Committee, an assembly of MPs from all political parties in Parliament, appointed to investigate public spending.
Members of the committee believe that the DHSC lacks an appropriate plan to reduce patient harm and that officials have not made significant progress in this area over the previous 20 years. The paper states that fragmented data on clinical episodes within the NHS also hampers efforts to prevent such failures.
Legal Fees Are Part of the Problem
Another investigation demonstrates the extent to which legal fees are worsening financial difficulties faced by the NHS. The NHS’s legal expenses have not increased as much as those of claimants. Additionally, attorney fees are now higher than the reimbursement given to claimants for lower-value cases.
During the 2024–25 period, NHS Resolution, the agency responsible for resolving claims, revealed that it paid nearly £620 million in legal fees to claimants. This figure rose by 14% from the previous year and helped push total compensation to £3.1 billion.
High legal fees, according to experts, take a substantial amount of funds away from vital and helpful patient services.
Maternity Claims Remain a Major Driver
Maternity care-related medical negligence claims continue to account for a disproportionate amount of the expense. This is due to the fact that although the numbers are small, they can be substantial, particularly when it comes to the infant’s lifetime injury incidence. Due to issues with the maternity service, this category is one of the most expensive for the NHS to resolve.
Top members of the legislature have described the current levels of maternity care liabilities as a “national shame,” highlighting the scale of the demand for safer practices and better healthcare.
Government Promises Reform — But Slow Progress
The government and healthcare officials have often acknowledged the need to reduce the costs of clinical negligence and enhance safety in the NHS. They have consistently promised to think about implementing different strategies, like the fixed recoverable costs plan, which attempts to control the expense of patients’ legal bills in these situations. Nevertheless, these regulations have not yet been put into effect.
The DHSC has also identified several improvements aimed at reducing administrative duplication and streamlining healthcare regulation. However, MPs argue these measures do not fulfil what is required to secure patients and taxpayers.
Greater Transparency and Safety Measures
Lawyers and healthcare advocacy groups are urging the government to abandon financial laws. They contend that more data, reporting, and medical error culture disclosure can lower injuries and lawsuits, eventually saving money and boosting patient confidence.
Medical defence and patient safety groups agree that the NHS will continue to bear heavy financial and human costs unless it makes significant reforms to how it reports, investigates, and transparently handles errors.
