A patient died and “lasting, real harm” was caused to more than 100 people due to poor reading of heart scans by a former Derby doctor over seven years. On top of this, more than 361 patients encountered potential low harm and a further 379 patients faced failures over their cardiac scans. The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust has issued an “unreserved apology” for the issues, detailing “deep regret” and saying it is “very sorry this has happened”,

NHS spending on claimant legal costs was static last year, even though the costs of low-value cases continue to rise sharply. The annual report of NHS Resolution (NHSR) showed that a record 84% of clinical negligence claims were resolved without the need for proceedings, which it said demonstrated the impact of the first year of its ‘Resolution Through Collaboration’ strategy. The strategy focuses on delivering “fairer resolution”, using data to drive learning, and strengthen

Faye Condon was wrongly diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease aged five and given gruelling chemotherapy - then seven years later the NHS discovered it got it wrong. A child has been wrongly given six cycles of chemotherapy after being misdiagnosed by the NHS. Faye Condon, 12, was wrongly diagnosed with the rare autoimmune disease Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) aged five in a mistake mum Christina says “ruined her whole childhood”. Christina was not convinced by the diagno

Introduction The shoulder is one of the most complex and functionally demanding joints in the human body. Its exceptional range of motion comes at the cost of relative instability, making it vulnerable to a wide spectrum of injuries and degenerative conditions. An estimated 7% of the UK population suffer from shoulder pain, and there were 58,169 hospital admissions for shoulder and upper arm injuries in 2022–23 alone. Given this prevalence, shoulder conditions feature promine

Background The findings of the independent maternity review into services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), published in June 2026, represent the largest maternity inquiry in NHS history. The review was commissioned in 2022 by NHS England. Its origins lay with a group of bereaved families who refused to stay silent — among them, a baby who died just before birth in April 2016, whose death was later confirmed as avoidable following poor care her mother receiv

Medical negligence lawyers say they stand ready to help address the wider issues raised in the latest devastating report on maternity care failings. A report by senior midwife Donna Ockenden following the largest maternity review in NHS history found that more than 500 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or died from ‘systemic failings’ at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The review examined cases between 2012 and 2025 and concluded that different

defence firm has helped to see off a record-breaking £4m case which was based on fabricated and exaggerated claims of life-changing injuries. The personal injury claim was made to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau following a 2017 incident in which a motorcyclist fell after being forced to avoid an untraced car in his path. The unnamed claimant received nearly £190,000 in interim payments before analysis of his social media activity posts, surveillance and expert evidence showed he

The Government must not lose sight of the value of injury claims to society and the economy as it considers reform to tackle NHS spending on negligence, APIL’s new president warns. “Claims for redress are all too often viewed by policymakers as a financial burden, when in reality it is evident that supporting injured victims of negligence is an economic enabler,” said Guy Forster, who took the helm at APIL on Thursday (14 May). “Access to justice and fair compensation enables

A TV producer was left permanently disabled after bungling paramedics "pressed the wrong button" on a defibrillator during a cardiac arrest. Meg Fozzard now lives with lasting disabilities after her brain was deprived of oxygen when ambulance crews delayed a potentially life-saving electric shock by eight critical minutes, having failed to operate a defibrillator correctly. Meg has since won an undisclosed settlement following legal action against the NHS. The producer - just

Clinical negligence lawyers have urged the government not to be swayed by suggestions that they are to blame for soaring costs. Sharon Allison, chair of the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers, said policymakers should give more time to the ongoing efforts to collaborate with defence representatives, rather than rushing into a counter productive reform spree. The government has said it will decide in the autumn whether to pursue fixed recoverable costs for lower value claims a

If AI is involved in a medical error, who should be held accountable: the clinician or developer? Surgeons, lawyers, and forensic experts have addressed this question, which is expected to become more pressing in the coming years. Experts converged on a key point: chatbots and other decision support tools are linked to adverse events. The central issue is whether negligence has occurred, and if so, who bears responsibility. However, this question remains complex. AI is reshap

The government's plan for bringing down the multi-billion-pound clinical negligence costs bill will be revealed this autumn, the Treasury has said. According to the Treasury's response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on clinical negligence, the government accepts the basic premise that the Department of Health and Social Care has failed to tackle rising costs despite repeated warnings. The Treasury said it will write to the committee by this autumn to set out

A deeply moving new short film lays bare the life-changing impact that the law on personal injury compensation can have for families whose lives are torn apart by negligence. Kayleigh and her 11-year-old son Charlie, who suffered a significant hypoxic brain injury at birth and has cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs, are the focus of the public awareness film for APIL’s Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign. “Shining a spotlight on a clinical negligence case like Charlie

The campaign to retain the presumption that personal injury compensation should pay for private healthcare faces a new battle front, with legislation on the table to reform the status quo. A private member's bill was laid in the Commons last week by Labour's Catherine McKinnell to amend the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act, which has been in force since 1948. The measure entitles claimants to recover the cost of private medical treatment, providing it is proportionate and n

New figures have exposed the extent of a rapid consolidation that has wiped out swaths of the personal injury market. A report commissioned by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers revealed that the number of firms receiving more than half their revenue from claims fell by 37% to 442 between 2019/20 and 2024/5. The number of specialist PI lawyers has also contracted sharply: the number of barristers working in the sector fell 22% to 1,181 between 2019 and 2025; and the

A trusted solicitor who took advantage of vulnerable victims of the mesh implant scandal has been struck off for a catalogue of lies and cover-ups. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal concluded that Darren Hanison’s behaviour had been ‘deplorable’ as he falsified ATE policies, left clients at risk of costs penalties and settled cases for his own profit. Hanison, admitted in 1995, founded Fortitude Law in 2015 and focused his practice on pursuing claims for allegedly negligen

Defence lawyers say the imposition of a new cap on medical agency commission is a major change in how personal injury claims are handled. Horwich Farrelly, which represented some of the defendants in JXX v Archibald, described the outcome as a ‘major victory’ for the wider insurance market. In the case, Senior Costs Judge Rowley said that medical reporting agencies did not need to provide a breakdown of costs but should be subject to a cap on their charges, limited to 25% of

There is no requirement to break down the costs in every case where a litigation service has been provided, the High Court has ruled. In Motor Insurers’ Bureau v Santiago Mr Justice Moody rejected a request from defendants that solicitors should specify the cost of interpreter services included as part of the wider bill. The ruling is a significant marker in the long-running dispute between claimant lawyers and paying parties about the level of detail provided for cost as

A teenage footballer who died after collapsing during a match was not given CPR because a 999 call handler and those present did not recognise the signs of a cardiac arrest, a coroner has found. Adam Ankers, 17, was playing for the Wycombe Wanderers’ Foundation Under-19 team on 31 January 2024 when, towards the end of the second half, he shouted "my chest is tight" before falling unconscious. Paramedics were called to the Cressex Sports Pitch Centre, and the teenager was rush

Jack Moate died two months after Kuldeep Stohr performed surgery on him in 2015. Jack suffered "significant blood loss" during the operation and was left in continuous pain. His mother, Elizabeth Moate said: "They sent my boy home, and he died in agony." She said she "felt pressured" to give consent for the operation, fearing it might be too much for her son, who had complex medical needs. Independent experts recently assessed Jack's case as part of a wider investigation into