Northern Ireland medical negligence costs double in a year

The amount of government money spent on medical negligence cases and legal fees in Northern Ireland doubled within a year.

Just over £20m was paid out during 2020-21 but that increased to more than £40m in the 2021-22 financial year.

Last year, £30.7m was paid out in damages, while £5.9m went on plaintiff costs and £3.7m in defence costs.

The increase in cost is being attributed to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year, 3,987 clinical negligence cases were open. Almost half (1,813) of all cases open in 2021-22 related to four specialties:

• Obstetrics - 564
• Accident and emergency - 456
• Neurology - 407
• General surgery - 386

There has been a stark increase in the number of cases relating to neurology in the past five years from 23 in 2017-18 to 407 in 2021-22.

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Source: BBC News, 24 April 2023