Trends and costs of plastic surgery claims in the NHS: A national analysis (2006-2025)

Litigation within surgical specialties continues to impose a growing financial burden on the National Health Services (NHS). Plastic surgery may be especially vulnerable to claims arising from clinical complications and unmet patient expectations. However, national trends in plastic surgery litigation have not been well characterised. To analyse the national trends, causes and costs associated with NHS plastic surgery litigation from 2006/07 to 2024/25 were assessed.

We analyzed anonymized clinical negligence claim data related to plastic surgery obtained from NHS Resolution (NHSR). Structured fields included Specialty, administrative year (notification/closure), primary cause, and paid amounts (damages, claimant legal costs, and NHS legal costs). We defined three windows: Baseline (to 2019/20), Pandemic/Recovery (2020/21-2022/23) and Recent (2023/24-2024/25; right-censored). Costs are reported as median (IQR) with mean (SD) and range. Only primary cause was analysable and sub-causes were not used.

Over 2006/07-2024/25, 1455 plastic-surgery claims were notified to NHSR (Baseline 1120; Pandemic/Recovery 208 and Recent 127; 2024/25 partial). Among 54 closed claims with damages (component data consistently available from 2018/19), the median total paid amount was £665,757 (IQR £386,570-£899,071), wherein aggregate payments across these claims exceeded £38.8 million. Within this subset, damages represented approximately 38-45% of the total payments by window, claimant legal costs 45-53%, and NHS legal costs 9-12%. The share of 'Fail/Delay Treatment' increased during and after the pandemic within a smaller pool of notifications.

This is the first national analysis of NHS plastic surgery litigation, offering insights into the specialty's unique medico-legal risks. Data showed declining notifications since 2019/20 and persistently high legal costs, with delay-related causes being prominent. Systemic delays and communication failures are the key drivers of claims. Enhancing perioperative care pathways, informed consent and early dispute resolution could reduce patient harm and financial impact.