§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average length of time needed to bring to a conclusion legal proceedings concerned with a claim of negligence against medical practitioners employed in(a) general practice and (b) hospital posts; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 27 February 1995]: Information on general medical practitioners is not collected centrally. They are independent contractors and as such insure themselves independently. For hospital practitioners, the length of time taken to settle claims on medical negligence will vary depending on the nature of the case. If agreement is reached before the case goes to court, it can be settled within six to nine months of the claim being lodged. Where the claim is determined by the courts, the average time taken to reach a conclusion is around five years.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many legal cases involving negligence on the part of medical practitioners have been brought to a conclusion in each of the past 10 years; what were the sums of compensation paid to complainers who were found by the courts to have suffered from such negligent conduct; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 27 February 1995]: The information collected centrally on the compensation paid on medical negligence claims makes no distinction between agreed out of court settlements and damages awarded by the courts.
Information on the costs of settlements and the number of cases concerned can he provided only from 1 January 1990 when financial responsibility for medical negligence was assumed by health boards. The costs, as recently updated and including claimants' costs, for this period were as follows:
Year Settlements {court and out of court) £ Number of cases 1989–90 957,956 22 1990–91 1,327,080 50 1991–92 1,143,151 49 1992–93 1,215,627 40 1993–94 646,038 27