From 2019 to 2024, 11,405 claims regarding surgical errors were lodged against NHS Trusts, 8,400 of which were settled.
NHS Trusts have had to pay out more than £1 bilion to patients who have lodged claims following a surgery error since 2019.
From 2019 to 2024, 11,405 claims regarding surgical errors were lodged against NHS Trusts, 8,400 of which were settled according to figures obtained by Medical Negligence Assist.
Over the past five years, the trusts have paid out a total of £1 billion reaching a peak in 2021/22 when it stood at £263.5 million.
Common errors can include foreign objects left in the body, such as surgical instruments and cleaning materials, as well as wrong site surgery, where patients can be put at a greater risk of infection and additional scarring.
Every year, 12,000 medicolegal claims are brought against the NHS in England at a cost of £8 billion – 6.7% of the NHS England budget. In 1,000 of these claims, the primary speciality is general surgery.
University Hospitals Birmingham had the highest compensation costs at over £44 million, with Barts Health NHS Trust following with costs of over £34 million.
The most common causes for surgical error claims were failures/delays for treatment, which was lodged 1,999 times, and the most common surgery error injury was unnecessary pain, seeing 1,990 claims submitted.
