COMPENSATION payments to prisoners have doubled in the last year to more than £4 million, while the total legal bill to the Prison Service has reached £20 million a year, The Times has learnt.

The total litigation bill is enough to run one of the large jails in England and Wales.

One prisoner received £2.8 million compensation after a failed suicide attempt, which is equal to the previous prison service record payout in 2002.

The payment was made in an out-of-court settlement to a prisoner who self-harmed and claimed for miscellaneous injury against the Prison Service. The service estimates that the costs alone of the case will be more than £1 million.

It is understood that a large proportion of the cash payout is a recognition that the inmate requires long-term medical care.

A Prison Service spokesman refused to comment on the latest award, saying that as it was an out-of-court settlement the details of the action and identity of the prisoner and prison were confidential.

Compensation for prisoners is now six times higher than three years ago as the service is hit by a rising number of claims from inmates, including an increase in those alleging that their human rights have been breached.

Among personal injury claims made was one by a prisoner who had had his finger bitten off by a horse.

An inmate in one of the top security jails currently has 15 outstanding claims against the service. Derek Ramsden, head of the Prison Service’s operational litigation unit, said that the “litigation culture” in society was reflected in prisons and there were plenty of would-be amateur lawyers in jails encouraging fellow prisoners to bring claims.

He added: “Accidents happen, but now people often look for someone to blame rather than themselves. And that is true of society as a whole, not just within the service.”

Mr Ramsden disclosed that more than 1,000 cases are being brought against the Prison Service every year and the figure is on the rise.

The most common claim is for personal injury, he said. “Personal injury can cover a multitude of sins: slipping or falling down stairs, a chair collapsing, falling off a ladder or through a ceiling — we even had one prisoner that had his finger bitten off by a horse,” Mr Ramsden said.

Other previous high awards include more than £1 million given to Gregg Marston, 43, who was left crippled when a doctor failed to send him for an urgent examination.

But the latest figures will fuel public concern about the fairness of the criminal justice and the perception that it is biased in favour of the offender rather than the victim. Many of the claims are for relatively trivial mishaps.

Latest official figures show that overall out-of-court settlements to prisoners in publicly run jails totalled £4,010,233 in 2005-06. This figure is double the sum paid out in 2004-05 and almost six times the sum paid in 2003-04.

Payments included £72,000 to prisoners who had slipped, tripped or fallen; £3,000 to inmates who had a sports injury; £113,000 to those assaulted by staff; £76,000 to those unlawfully detained and £215,000 in medical negligence claims.

Legal costs and payouts for claims by staff, prisoners and third parties cost the Prison Service £16 million in 2005-2006, with a further £4 million set aside for unsettled claims. In 2004-05 the figure was £12.6 million.

Mr Ramsden said the latest claim trend is prisoners complaining about prison officers opening mail from lawyers or the court without the inmate being present, which is illegal.

Prisoners are also using the Human Rights Act to challenge findings of guilty imposed by independent adjudicators for breaking jail rules. The prisoner wants the ruling struck from the record as it can affect their parole application.

Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, criticised the prison service for settling so many cases out of court. “Clearly the prison service is not challenging some of these claims. We do not know how many of these claims are spurious because they are not contested,” he said.

The Prison Service spokesman said: “Each compensation claim received by the Prison Service is treated on its individual merits. Legal advice is sought and, on the basis of that advice, a decision is made on whether or not the claim should be defended.”

Times Recommends

• An officer and a gentle woman
• Dame Helen Mirren is worthy of the Epidaurus
• Foods that can help to prevent swine flu