Litigation in Hand and Wrist Related Injuries and Surgery.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the burden of successful litigation relating to wrist and hand injuries and surgery.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted using the English national litigation data-base, National Health Service Litigation Authority database.

RESULTS: A total of 325 successful claims were analysed from 2002-2012. The total cost of successful claims was £19.5 million. This comprised £10.9 million in damages, with £8.4 million in legal costs (23% in NHS legal costs, the remainder being claimant costs). The mean cost of settling a claim for wrist and hand injuries respectively was £60,325 (range £200 - £669,471) and £58,926 (range £1000-£ 374,077). The commonest cause of claim for both wrist and hand injuries was poor outcome. The average cost for wrist and hand injury respectively was £52,825 and £63,926.

CONCLUSIONS: 1. The complexity of resolving these cases is reflected in the associated legal costs, which represent a significant proportion of payouts. 2. This paper helps improve our understanding of factors instigating successful legal proceedings to aid identification of areas where practice and training can be improved.