Clinical negligence claims continue to rise, thanks to “no win no fee” deals

The “no win, no fee” legal deals could explain the continuing rise in litigation claims against the NHS, says the latest report from the NHS Litigation Authority.

There were 6652 clinical negligence claims reported to the authority in 2009-10, representing a 10% increase on 2008-9, says Stephen Walker, the authority’s chief executive, in his annual report.

This is the second year running that the number of claims has risen substantially. The figure for 2008-9 was an 11% increase on the claims in 2007-8. The number of claims for the previous three years had remained relatively stable.

“We remain convinced that a major factor [in the number of …