COMPENSATION lawyers chasing the NHS for botched care claims have pocketed more than ￡1billion in the past three years, figures show.
Huge sums were paid in 31,441 cases against the health service to solicitors working for clients who made negligent claims.
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NHS Resolution figures also reveal that for every case settled by the NHS between ￡25,000 and ￡50,000, the legal fees alone are nearly ￡50,000 Credit: Alamy
Taxpayers also paid ￡376million to NHS lawyers to defend the cases — which eventually cost ￡4.2billion in pay-outs.
It means for every ￡100 paid out in compensation just under ￡30 goes to law firms bringing the case.
NHS Resolution figures also reveal that for every case settled by the NHS between ￡25,000 and ￡50,000, the legal fees alone are nearly ￡50,000.
Lawyers say fees are pushed up by the NHS denying liability for blunders, which prolongs cases and increases costs.
NHS Resolution said: “We are committed to using all forms of dispute resolution to keep claims out of formal court processes. However, sometimes this is unavoidable.”
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