£3.14m paid out in NHS compensation claims
According to the latest figures, NHS compensation claims at the Pennine Acute Trust are the third highest in the country, in the year 2008-09.
A total of £3.14 million was paid out for medical negligence claims made to the trust, which runs Rochdale Infirmary, hospitals in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and North Manchester.
An investigation revealed that one in four NHS trusts paid more to injury lawyers than to patients following a medical negligence claim.
£2,085,294 was paid out in compensation claims by Pennine Acute for 10 cases, involving departments as diverse as cardiology and paediatrics. Claimant costs totalled £794, 875 and defence costs were £403,984.
A top official at the NHS Litigation Authority, which handles all compensation claims, said the authority collects annual contributions from every trust. The exact amount depends on what the trusts think will be spent that year.
He said: "If in any particular year for any particular trust we spend, for example, £50 million."
However, he also added that it does not mean there has been particularly any case of medical negligence.
"The claims we settle in any year may relate to events in previous years, up to 15 or even 20 years before," he added.
Updated on 04/02/2010