The NHS is increasingly paying out large sums of money in clinical negligence cases involving GPs.
The Medical Protection Society (MPS) has revealed that £15 billion has been put aside for the payment of clinical negligence compensation claims this year. This is based on figures from the NHS Litigation Authority accounts for 2010.
The four largest payouts in the NHS’s history have been settled over the past 12 months, two of which involved GPs. The NHS says that these payouts are often largely made up of legal costs, which are commonly exceeding compensation payouts.
In light of these figures, the government is currently reviewing the compensation system with the help of a review from Lord Young, in addition to the Jackson Review.
Chief of the MPS, Tony Mason, explained how legal costs often far exceed payouts to patients: “In 2009 MPS settled a claim against a GP for £1,750 in compensation to the patient but the claimant’s legal costs were 12 times higher at £20,500. In another claim against a GP, the patient’s compensation was £7,650 yet their legal costs were £65,000 – nearly 8.5 times what the patient received.
“Patients deserve fair compensation, but we must do something to stem the tide of excessive legal costs,” he concluded. 