Clinical negligence cases in the wake of unsuitable medical care remain a hot topic in 2025.
According to recent data, clinical negligence claims (also known as ‘medical negligence claims’) in the 2023/24 period rose by almost 10% compared to the previous twelve months. The same data also shows that total payouts by the NHS to claimants remained above the £2 billion mark for the third year running.
From this, it’s fair to assume one of two things:
- More claims are being made (and won) than ever before.
- Standards of care within the NHS continue to decline, and negligent treatment is on the rise.
The first point could be seen as a beacon of hope for someone seeking to make a clinical negligence claim, or those who are already embroiled in the process.
At St Helens Law, our legal practice is home to specialist medical negligence lawyers and can help you if you feel you have received improper treatment from the NHS, or private medical practice. We will hear your story, gather medical records and other evidence, and do everything we can to ensure you receive the appropriate clinical negligence compensation.
Because of this, we’re always keeping an eye on how shifts in government legislation and similar variables may affect clinical negligence law.
So what can we expect from clinical negligence law in 2025? Let’s discuss some of the big factors we may see over the next few months, and what they could mean for you.
The relationship between NHS funding and clinical negligence claims
With arguably more pressure on the National Health Service than at any time in its history, and an ever-expanding population (the Office of National Statistics predicts this will reach 70 million by 2026), proper allocation and use of funding will be essential to keep the NHS from reaching breaking point.
But with the new Labour government still in its infancy, and the British people yet to feel any major positive impact from manifesto promises, it could be a few years before things are truly turned around.
As we mentioned above, clinical negligence claims represent a massive portion of NHS spending. So until care quality within the system improves, and claims begin to subside, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the government explore alternative funding models and alterations to how claims are made, to keep the service afloat.
In the same breath, drastic changes could cause concern over how the NHS is managed, which may lead Labour to focus on implementing legislation concerned with improving patient rights, as well as funding, to balance opinions.
One piece of legislation we were pleased to see was the Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024, which made significant improvements to the COVID-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol 2020.
Read more about this by clicking the above link.
Other areas of interest in 2025 clinical negligence law
- Fixed recoverable costs
One way to cap NHS spending in clinical negligence claims would be the introduction of fixed recoverable costs in lower-value cases.
An idea that was being discussed by the previous Conservative government, this ruling would limit the amount the NHS would need to repay to cover legal costs incurred by the claimant, in the event of a successful claim.
The belief was this would apply in cases where damages would not exceed £25,000 (representing around 60% of cases) and would help control the monetary damage caused by such payouts.
However, the thought was not without its potential issues.
While these fixed recoverable costs would speed up and simplify the claiming process, it may also leave legal professionals out of pocket, should their fees exceed the amount the NHS was able to cover – though this would likely only apply to complex cases.
At the time of writing, there has been no mention of these changes being made by the new Labour government, suggesting it may have been placed on the back burner for now.
- Personal Injury Discount Rate (PIDR)
In layman’s terms, PIDR is used to decide how much defendants must pay claimants should the impact of negligence or injury continue to affect them throughout their lifetime. This is also applicable in clinical negligence claims.
When these claimants receive a lump sum, PIDR is implemented to adjust the amount received to account for the prolonged need for financial stability. However, this rate is also set to ensure claimants are not overpaid, creating fair ground between insurers, defendants and claimants.
While the rate of PIDR has been in decline for several years, it was raised to 0.5% by the Lord Chancellor following the 2024 Personal Injury Discount Rate Review, and was brought into effect in January 2025.
A higher figure sounds like a welcome change, at first glance, but don’t be fooled. The higher the number, the less a claimant will receive. So for claimants with long-standing or catastrophic injuries, careful planning should begin as soon as possible to ensure they’re still able to manage their finances in 2025.
- The impact of Lord Darzi’s report
As we mentioned previously, there’s a high probability that the increasing number of clinical negligence claims is directly linked to the quality of care (or lack thereof) delivered by the NHS. And this was never as clearly outlined as in the independent report by Lord Darzi in the latter half of 2024.
Commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the damning report outlined serious failings in the NHS, going as far as to say it had not been able to offer the level of care expected by the British people for almost a decade. Here are just a few of the points raised by Lord Darzi, in his own words:
- The NHS is in a terrible state
- The NHS has not been able to meet the most important promises made to the people since 2015
- A&E is in an awful state
- Cancer care still lags behind other countries
- Care for cardiovascular conditions is going in the wrong direction
- The picture on quality of care is mixed
The list goes on.
As we move forward into 2025, the government will hopefully take the findings of this report into serious consideration, making changes in the way the NHS is managed and operated, for the betterment of patient treatments and care by medical professionals.
In turn, and with bated breath, we should hopefully see a decline in clinical negligence claims, which would reduce the demand for specialist medical negligence solicitors. However, at the moment, this remains unlikely based on current trends.
Contact our medical negligence solicitors today
If you have received substandard care from the NHS, or a private medical practitioner, and this has caused you noticeable physical or mental anguish, you are well within your rights to launch a medical negligence compensation claim.
At St Helens Law, we’re experts in clinical negligence and medical negligence compensation and have helped many of our clients secure the compensation they deserve, easing the burden and distress caused by inappropriate medical conduct.
With more successful medical negligence claims being made today than ever before – including surgical negligence claims – there’s every chance you will join the long list of people finally receiving justice, having been let down by a healthcare professional.
Alternatively, if you’re concerned someone you care about has been the victim of medical malpractice, though they lack mental capacity, you may still be able to make a medical negligence claim with our help.To find out more about medical negligence cases and how much compensation you may be entitled to, speak to St Helens Law. Give us a call on 01744 742360 or fill out the contact form at the top of this page and a member of our helpful team will be back in touch very shortly.