Education and health ‘being bled by culture of suing’

It warns that demanding damages for accidents is now seen as a way of holding public services to account, and a way of preventing others from suffering similar fates.

But it has come at a cost, with the health and education sectors spending a large amount of money on dealing with litigation, impacting on services.

And the fear of being sued can affect the professionalism of health and education workers.

The Centre for Policy Studies report, by Kent University’s school of social policy, sociology and social research, found the financial and social cost of litigation has been a “growing cause for concern”.

Instead of improving safety and accountability, it has resulted in “significant costs to the quality of services, the experiences of those who use them and the role of professionals”.

The report claims: “Litigation culture has become institutionalised into the workings of the public sector life, and ingrained in the national psyche as a warped form of normal behaviour.”

The report says it is increasingly unusual for individuals not to seek compensation – citing the example of a head teacher who was surprised when a parent did not ask for an account of the accident, witness statements and details of school policies after their child fell in the playground.

“Demanding recompense for accidents is now perceived not only as a common-sense way of gaining financial compensation but as a way of holding public services to account,” it said. “From this standpoint, suing is not seen as the selfish act of the ‘have a go’ parent, but a selfless, responsible act to stop other children from having similar accidents.”

The report warns “the combination of an ingrained compensation culture and litigation avoidance is bleeding the health and education services dry, both financially, and in terms of their public sector ethos and professional role”.

The researchers claim that payouts by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) have trebled in the last decade, standing at £911m in 2010-11. Of this, £863m was for clinical negligence claims.

It adds that a large proportion of cases do not reach court. Out of 63,804 medical negligence claims received by the NHSLA, only three per cent had damages approved or set by a court.