As reported in The Law Society Gazette today, a new report by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has found that clinical negligence claims now take more than two years on average to settle, up by 10 months since 2013/14.
The distress caused by litigation is well recognized, and these growing delays only add the burden faced by claimants and their families.
There is also a significant financial impact. The longer claims remain unresolved, the greater the administrative costs incurred by all parties.
The NHSR annual report published in July 2026 highlighted that the costs associated with clinical negligence claims were increasing and that clinical negligence claims had cost the NHS £3.24 billion in 2025/26. The narrative is that vexatious claimants are making ill-founded claims against the NHS and that clinical negligence lawyers are charging huge fees for bringing these claims.
The truth is that NHSR do not settle claims unless they believe there is a risk that they will be found to have been negligent.
I totally agree with the article in the Law Society Gazette today. As set out by Guy Forster (President of APIL) in that article “despite growing efforts to promote collaboration…Too often, patients and families face long and avoidable delays because some trusts resist accountability, meaningful engagement comes late, and answers are not provided when they should be.”
Time and again, we see that it is the Defendant’s conduct that delays the settlement of claims, causing additional distress to claimants and driving up litigation costs.
A new report by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers highlights the fact that, on average, it now takes NHS Resolution, the body which oversees incoming cases, more than two years to settle claims. This is 10 months longer than the wait for settlement in 2013/14.