The Government is expected to reveal its plans on what to do about the cost of clinical negligence claims in the autumn. Its announcement will follow multiple fresh reports and inquiries this year alone into needless harm suffered by NHS patients, including widely-reported negligence in maternity services which resulted in the deaths and serious injuries suffered by mothers and their babies.

While no-one denies that the human suffering in these cases is unacceptable, at the same time ministers clearly want to address the rising financial cost of trying to put it right.

Taking care of someone with life-long injuries is inherently expensive. Negligence in maternity care in particular can mean that a child needs support for an entire lifetime. It is these cases, though relatively small in number, which drive the increasing cost of claims for redress.

According to the latest NHS Resolution annual report, claims relating to births account for 12 per cent of all NHS clinical negligence claims in England but 55 per cent of the whole bill for negligence*. And it is the compensation element of the bill, rather than legal costs, which has driven a year-on-year increase on spend of 4.8 per cent.

The cost boils down, for the most part, to paying for social care. Incidentally, reforming the country’s social care system is one of the new Prime Minister’s first promises.

But what is social care?

It’s the difference between an injured person or a disabled child merely existing in a bed, or being able to have a life which is worth living.

Care is not always about personal care. And social care comes in all sorts of different forms. Someone with a brain injury might be physically able and capable of moving around the home, but cannot navigate the world outside. They may be vulnerable to getting lost, or struggle with communication. Carers provide daily living essentials and access to the community. They can be buddies and temporary support workers, helping people to access transport or learn to live with visual impairment after an injury. Some of this care enables people to enter the workforce, or education, and contribute to society.

Care is essential, not just “nice to have”. If there were to somehow be cutbacks on social care provision for victims of negligence, hidden costs will undoubtedly be unearthed, both financial and human. Without doubt an injured person’s mental and physical condition will deteriorate.

Whole families are affected by negligence. Relationships, family life, careers, and future plans can be altered forever. In some cases, care is picked up by spouses, parents, and other family members.

Charlie, a now 12-year-old young lad from Northumberland, is a survivor of failures in care during his birth. His dedicated mother, Kayleigh, has thrown all she has into taking care of him and she will continue to do so for the rest of his life. Charlie is both cognitively and physically disabled, meaning he needs a suitable home, therapies, and support with general daily living. This is not the life either of them was supposed to have. You can watch a short film about Charlie and Kayleigh for our flagship Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign here. It is an emotional watch and demonstrates why full and fair compensation is so essential to the lives of victims of avoidable harm.

Care has always been the biggest part of clinical negligence claims, that is not new. But the cost of care has massively outstripped inflation in recent years. This is down to various factors, including the reduced availability of carers.

None of the multitude of reasons for increased costs are the fault of injured patients, or indeed their lawyers who help them to pick up the pieces and secure the answers and redress they need. It’s a small aside, but worth noting that the amount spent on ‘claimant legal costs’ increased by 0.2% when compared to 2024/25. This is far below the level of inflation which means that, in real-terms, these costs fell during 2025/26.

The ultimate answer to reducing spend on clinical negligence compensation is for the NHS to learn from its failures and stop repeating the same avoidable harm again and again.

But when patients do suffer avoidable harm, access to justice and full and fair compensation must remain intact for them. The sector waits with interest as to what the Government will do come the autumn.

The wider financial picture for the NHS, and society, must not be shouldered by vulnerable injured patients. Victims of negligence must be at the centre of policymaking.

*This NHSR data on birth claims excludes claims against GPs.