Page 63 - Pharmacy Appeals 1/4/04 to 31/3/05

NHS Resolution Annual report and accounts 2021/22 39

In 2021/22, 77% of claims were settled without litigation, the highest ever volume achieved, reflecting our ambitions
to keep patients and healthcare staff out of litigation wherever possible. The percentage of claims that have litigated
continues to reduce, down from 26% (2020/21) to 23% (2021/22). We continue to deliver fair resolution of cases
in line with our strategic priorities, considering the merits of each case and compensating harmed individuals
where negligence is found. Where claims have entered litigation, which is unavoidable in some cases, for instance
approval of a child's damages award, the percentage of litigated claims that have resolved without an award of
damages has increased from 19% (2020/21) to 24% (2021/22). For clinical claims only, the number of litigated
claims that have resolved without an award of damages has increased from 19% (2020/21) to 25% (2021/22).

Figure 10:
The top four categories of clinical claims received each year from 2018/19 to 2021/22 by number

Obstetrics Emergency medicine Orthopaedic surgery Gynaecology
2018/19 ■ 2019/20 ■ 2020/21 ■ 2021/22

Alongside obstetrics claims, which increased to 1,243 (1,157), emergency medicine claims increased to 1,229 (1,151
while orthopaedic surgery claims decreased to 1,203 (1,248). Over the medium term, obstetrics claims have become
the largest volume received by speciality.

Managing claims fairly and effectively and developing legal precedent

We continue to develop legal precedent, taking cases to trial or to the higher courts in areas of law which need to
be challenged in the broader interests of the NHS, or which require certainty. Testing claims at trial often has wider
implications for other, similar cases and so the outcome of a case can either provide an opportunity for others to
claim under similar circumstances or deter claims without merit.