Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of the litigated claims in which the NHS paid damages in the last 12 months were as a result of (a) breach of duty and (b) or causation.

NHS Resolution handles clinical negligence claims on behalf of National Health Service organisations and independent sector providers of NHS care in England.

NHS Resolution has provided the following information.

NHS Resolution has advised it does not pay damages unless on the balance of probabilities there is both a breach of duty and causation. NHS Resolution’s last audited period of accounts which is contained in its Annual Report for 2017-18 showed that it had 3,902 cases where damages have been paid on litigated claims settled in the financial year 2017-18.