Litigation in Hand and Wrist Related Injuries and Surgery

Abstract

Background. We aimed to evaluate the burden of successful litigation relating to wrist and hand injuries and surgery. Material and methods. A retrospective review was conducted using the English national litigation data­base, National Health Service Litigation Authority database. Results. A total of 325 successful claims were analysed from 2002-2012. The total cost of successful claims was £19.5 million. This comprised £10.9 million in damages, with £8.4 million in legal costs (23% in NHS legal costs, the remainder being claimant costs). The mean cost of settling a claim for wrist and hand injuries respectively was £60,325 (range £200 - £669,471) and £58,926 (range £1000-£ 374,077). The commonest cause of claim for both wrist and hand injuries was poor outcome. The average cost for wrist and hand injury respectively was £52,825 and £63,926. Conclusions. 1. The complexity of resolving these cases is reflected in the associated legal costs, which represent a significant proportion of payouts. 2. This paper helps improve our understanding of factors instigating successful legal proceedings to aid identification of areas where practice and training can be improved.