It is not within the scope of clinical negligence litigation to encourage the culture, or support the mechanisms, to identify learning from serious incidents. Neither can the process of litigation disseminate learning and enhance patient safety. Moreover, the experience of those who gave evidence to our inquiry illustrated that investigations after serious incidents are often inadequate and the looming threat of clinical negligence for providers and healthcare professionals does not encourage thorough investigations which can provide injured patients and families with a comprehensive account of what happened in their care.