Hunter New England medical negligence payouts reach averages of up to $2.4m

The highest average payment of $2.4 million went to patients with nursing care-related claims in the three years to the end of 2022.

The data, obtained exclusively by ACM, includes details of 209 medical negligence claims finalised during that time.

The top three largest average payout figures were categorised variously as nursing care ($2.4 million), delayed diagnosis ($1.7 million) and infection ($700,531).

Traumatic brain injuries were the next most expensive, with the average claim paid out reaching $668,800, followed by obstetrics, with an average damages payout of close to $6K for successful claims.

The lowest average claims were paid to people falling into the 'traumatic amputation' category ($75K), patients with abrasions ($92K), and those treated for contusion or crush injuries ($125K).

Hunter New England Health (HNEH) has refused to make public the total cost of claims made.

In refusing to release those figures under Government Information Public Access legislation, the acting director of Internal Audit and Corporate Governance and Right to Information Officer, Nicole Taylor, cited privacy concerns.

Instead, she said, she would provide the number of payouts, "without revealing confidential information" about the incidents.

Previously, HNEH has released the net cost of damages under freedom of information legislation.

More than $68 million was paid out in medical negligence claims over the three years from 2017 to 2019. In that data set HNEH refused to reveal the number of claims made, which has had the effect of ensuring that comparative data is not made public.

More than $68 million was paid out in medical negligence claims over the three years from 2017 to 2019. In that data set HNEH refused to reveal the number of claims made, which has had the effect of ensuring that comparative data is not made public.

While some medical negligence claims are made public when they are settled in court, often the payout figure itself is not disclosed. In many cases, claims are settled out of court and claimants are made to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Last week in the Supreme Court (Friday, May 3, 2024), an undisclosed sum was paid to the family of a man who died in John Hunter Hospital's emergency department in 2016 after being involved in a car accident.

In that case, the health service admitted it breached its duty of care to the patient, by failing to repair a small bowel injury and subsequently failing to recognise and respond when his condition deteriorated.