The eye-watering amount Lancashire NHS Trusts have paid out over child medical negligence claims

Five local trusts have had a combined total of 167 claims and incidents of medical negligence involving children aged between 0-17 reported to NHS Resolution - a government scheme paid for by NHS Trusts that acts as an insurance policy and pays for NHS claims.

Data obtained by Medical Negligence Assist has found that between them, the Trusts have settled 112 claims with damages amounting to an eye-watering £114,089,890 - not including NHS or claimant legal costs paid.

Local hospitals

Blackpool Teaching Hospital Trust alone has had to pay out £35,835,899 settling 25 claims between 2019-2024, more than any other Trust in the region. In September, it was reported that a High Court judge had awarded a young boy with multiple complex needs a £15m compensation care package after the trust admitted that the injuries he sustained at birth could have been avoided.

The highest number of claims however, were settled by East Lancashire Hospital Trust which has had to fork out £29,177,534 to settle 33 legal claims of child medical negligence lodged against in the last five years. Since 2019, the Trust which runs The Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General has had 56 claims and incidents reported to the NHS legal body.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, which runs the Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, paid the second highest figure settling 32 such claims to the tune of £31.6 million. It had a total of 37 incidents of medical negligence surrounding children’s care reported to NHS Resolution.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS FT - which runs Furness General Hospital in Barrow, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal, settled 17 out of 20 claims made, paying damages of £17,235,593.

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) settled five of 23 claims in the period, paying damages of £168,870.

Consequences

Medical Negligence Assist solicitor, Sophie Cope said: “The consequence of clinical negligence involving children’s care can be life-changing for those affected but equally devastating for the families. As well as the obvious emotional impact, injuries can cause a bigger financial impact than many can bear.”

What do the Trusts say?

Professor Sarah O’Brien, chief nurse for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: “Safe patient care is always the highest priority for all of the NHS trusts across Lancashire and South Cumbria, and we have robust processes in place to ensure we learn from the experiences of patients, especially when their experience does not meet our high standards.

“There is work taking place across all our Trusts collaboratively to draw from these experiences with the aim of improving the standards and quality of care.”

National attention

The issue of medical negligence when it comes to children’s care has been in sharp focus with recent cases including Lucy Letby, a former nurse who is serving 15 life sentences for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others between 2015 and 2016. Another case involves former Great Ormond Street orthopaedic surgeon, Mr Yaser Jabbar who faces allegations of leaving dozens of children with life-altering conditions and some requiring amputations due to botched surgery.

Bigger picture

While details of Lancashire and South Cumbria cases have not been diclosed, death, brain damage, cerebral palsy and bowel damage are just some of the conditions and injuries children have sustained as a result of medical negligence across NHS Trusts in England.

Failure and delays in treatment and diagnosis are among the top causes of child clinical negligence claims being lodged and have cost the National Health Service more than £3 billion in compensation payouts alone in the last five years. Other injuries included, Erb’s palsy, removal of testicles and hypoxia - which is a condition where cells or tissues do not have enough oxygen to function effectively and can lead to pneumonia, fibrosis or lung disease.

Medical Negligence Assist’s investigation revealed that a total of 6,536 children’s clinical negligence claims and incidents have been reported to the NHS legal body in the last five years.

Death as a result of clinical negligence was the most prevalent type of claim, of which there have been 465 lodged against NHS Trusts in the last five years, with settlement payouts amounting to £34,269,501.

A further £1,383,409,275 has also been paid out in damages by the NHS for cerebral palsy claims as a result of medical neglect. A total of 340 claims were made for cerebral palsy which is usually caused by a problem that affects the development of a baby’s brain while it’s growing in the womb.