A recent newsletter published by APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) addressed common myths within clinical negligence, also known as Medical Negligence. In particular, the newsletter focusses on key statistics within the sector, the reality of costs in clinical negligence and proposals for reform.

Key Statistics reported by APIL

·       Spending on clinical negligence claims accounts for just 1.6% of NHS England’s total budget.

·       Under a no-fault system, there would be an eighteen-fold increase in spending on compensation claims.

·       80% of those harmed by NHS negligence say that compensation was crucial in allowing them to recover and rebuild their life.

·       98% of the real-terms increase in clinical negligence costs is accounted for by the compensation received by victims (2015/16-2025/26).

·       58% increase in the average time victims of clinical negligence have to wait for their claim to settle (2013/14 -2024/25).

·       £112 million saved if the NHS prevented ten negligence incidents that cause brain injury/ cerebral palsy to a baby.

APIL report on the fact that the costs of clinical negligence compensation need to be compared to the size of the NHS and the scale of the patient safety crisis. For instance, APIL have reported that NHS England has around 600 million interactions with patients each year and spends about £200 billion.

To compare to 2025, 2.9 million people stated that they had been harmed in the last year by the NHS and NHS England recorded 1.1 million patient safety incidents resulting in harm. Of those harmed only 1% went on to claim compensation from the NHS.

The statistics contained within the newsletter support the importance of compensation and the positive impact this has on those harmed by the NHS. APIL stated that 71% of these victims would recommend that others who are harmed by NHS negligence should approach a clinical lawyer for help.

Sometimes there is the myth that there is strong disagreement for receiving compensation from the NHS or pursuing a clinical negligence claim. However, APIL reported strong public support noting that 83% think if they were negligently harmed, the NHS should cover the costs of the aids and equipment they may need and 77% think the NHS should cover the costs of the social care they may require.

There is the common misconception that legal costs within the sector increase NHS spending. Whereas APIL have reported that in fact the increases in both court and medical expert fees have affected the level of legal costs, as well as delays leading to cases running for longer and increasing costs. On average cases are taking 10 months longer compared to 2013/14.

It was also reported that maternity cases account for over half of the total cost of clinical negligence claims received by the NHS last year. A common myth relating to maternity failures is that the spending on compensation is nearly as high as the cost of running the maternity care system. However, this myth is busted with the following statistic. £5.8 billion was spent in 2024/25 in providing maternity care and only £1.3 billion was spent on maternity claims.

If you are interested and wish to read more, please find following link to access APIL’s newsletter. Clinical Negligence Report

If after reading this you wish to speak to a member of our team about a potential Medical Negligence claim, please contact us via phone, email or our online enquiry form below.

Article written by Trainee Solicitor Eloise Locker