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NHS: Negligence

Volume 504: debated on Thursday 21 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of clinical negligence which were funded by conditional fee agreements were closed in each of the last five years; in how many such cases damages were paid (a) by agreement to settle and (b) by award; what the total cost was of defending each such case where damages were paid; how much was paid to claimants in legal costs in (i) total, (ii) base costs and (iii) success fees; and in such cases where damages were paid, how much was paid in after-the-event insurance premiums. (312528)

The information requested is in the following table and was provided by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA). The NHSLA is only able to provide an overall total of claimant costs because a global figure is recorded in its database. To provide a detailed breakdown of claimant costs, including After the Event insurance, would be at disproportionate cost.

Number of claims where the claimant funding was conditional fee arrangement (CFA) closed April 2004 to March 2009

Year of closure

Number of CFA claims closed

Number of claims

Damages paid (£)

Defence costs paid (£)

Claimant costs paid (£)

2004-05

233

151

4,551,050

886,720

2,084,936

2005-06

861

625

31,892,845

5,177,915

14,448,748

2006-07

1,142

799

46,973,706

7,579,297

22,640,640

2007-08

1,559

1,127

62,559,320

10,596,148

37,934,943

2008-09

1,579

1,120

68,841,494

9,828,907

38,888,773

Total

5,374

3,822

214,818,415

34,068,986

115,998,040