I am suing for medical negligence for my birth injured baby AMA

[annonnymous]

Well not quite anything, I can't give away any specific details of my case, but I have a good idea how this corrupt and appalling system works.

So your going to sue an already struggling and cash strapped organisation? Half the issues are due to lack of funds/staff etc and shortcuts. You sue and this’ll only get worse.

Why do you think the NHS is corrupt?

@HOkieCOkie

So your going to sue an already struggling and cash strapped organisation? Half the issues are due to lack of funds/staff etc and shortcuts. You sue and this’ll only get worse.

Oh ffs really? Medical negligence deserves compensation end of. If your child was run over by a drunk driver, but you knew the driver was in debt would you say "oh it's ok, I'm not going to look for compensation for my child's significant injuries because I know you're struggling!"

Honestly I wonder wtf is wrong with some people who comment here.

I hope you are able to get enough to provide a very good level of care, and education, to meet the additional needs brought about by the birth injury. I'm sorry this happened to your DC.

People who go on about suing the NHS not helping the problem are massively missing the point that mistakes not only cost lives, they can affect them so deeply that money is actually needed to meet the shortfall in the ongoing 'care' the nhs and local authority/social care can offer. Care that wouldn't have been needed if the nhs didn't fuck up in the first place. I'm pretty sure nhs trusts have insurance for exactly this situation anyway.

Are you in the Uk, and is it the NHS you are suing? ( didn’t see it in original post but subsequent comments jumped to that conclusion)

If the OP's baby was injured due to medical negligenence then of course she should sue. In fact she shouldn't even have to sue, there should be a computerised system that can work out how much extra a child born injured through either medical negligence or deliberate wrong doing (yes, sadly that does happen, thankfully very rarely), will cost throughout it's lifetime, and the appropriate funds issued without even needing a request from the parent/guardian, never mind a courtcase. Of course, if the parent does not agree that the amount is enough then the case might still have to be heard in Court.
I am so sorry OP for you and your child, I hope things go as easily and painlessly as possible.

So let me clear up a few misconceptions. The money does not come directly from individual NHS budgets, but from an insurance/indemnity scheme that all trusts must pay into. It is seperate from Trust budgets. Of course this money would better spent preventing the mistakes that cause the injuries in the first place and I am 100% in favour of that, but my child will need lifelong care, long after I am gone and I need the assurance that a court appointee will manage that care and it not be left to inadequate state funding.

Is there a part of you that's glad to have someone to blame/hold responsible? Rather than simple genetic defect or random bad luck.

I know you said you can't give specific details but was the injury due to use of instruments or general failure of midwife care or something else?
It's helpful to expectant mothers to understand the true risks of birth.

@Soontobe60 Corrupt because notes go missing, HCPs lie in their statements, and people arse cover like no tomorrow. Appalling because Trusts drag these cases on for around 8 years. Many times much much more. Trusts deny and deny liability to delay any payments, then admit only at the door of the court. The stress to families is enormous.

@Patapouf Our whole family life has been destroyed. My DC needs 24 hour care and can do nothing for herself. My job prospects are zero as I have to do most of the care. Dh can only work part time and my mother has given up her retirement to help with the care. DDs brother will never have a normal childhood.

@HeartvsBrain We are 6 years into the case and years away from any conclusion. DD has missed out on 6 years of help to fund her disabilities. WE have had to wait 2 years for a suitable wheelchair with her screaming in pain going to school, because the other one was not fit for purpose. The NHS is massively underfunded and equipment will take 6 months at least to arrive. Shoes are often outgrown by the time they arrive. We have no option but to sue to give our child some kind of life which other peoples negligence denied her.

Thank you to people who understand

As parents we will have little or no say in how the money is spent and allocated. It is for a case manager to do these jobs. They can easily turn down a request we make. They are the guardians of the money, not parents. We don't even have the right to stay in the house or be housed in a smaller one, if our LO dies. All this is worth it to secure a life for DD.

I know quite a few people who have sued because of medical negligence either during their labour or with their baby afterwards. It’s not a nice process to go through. I hope it goes as well as it can under the circumstances for you.

@Vinto

Is there a part of you that's glad to have someone to blame/hold responsible? Rather than simple genetic defect or random bad luck.

No. The opposite. To know it was random and something no one could control made it easier to accept your child is disabled. It is what it is, IYSWIM. To know your child should have been playing, chatting, annoying and loving you like other children, but for someone elses mistake, is soul destroying. We believed for years it was unavoidable but I spoke to a doctor and then got reports in, and learning it was totally avoidable, ripped my heart out.

No questions OP but I am so sorry and I support you whole-heartedly. My DH died last year and I believe it was due to medical negligence. I don't have the strength or energy to pursue it so I have so much admiration for those who do. It is an almost unbearable process. I have a friend who used to work as a lawyer on behalf of the NHS and she eventually resigned in disgust at the way complainants were treated.

@BebesChamber

I know you said you can't give specific details but was the injury due to use of instruments or general failure of midwife care or something else? It's helpful to expectant mothers to understand the true risks of birth.

This was a mistake by one midwife, who just didn't listen to what I was saying and forgot a very basic piece of her training which would have alerted her to the seriousness of the situation. Instead she delayed my coming in and my baby was dying inside me. She was stillborn, but resusitated. I will say everything else that was done was superb and fast, and the care DD receives from our hospitals is phenominal, I can't praise her neurologist and neurosurgeon enough. The mistakes most commonly causing acute lack of oxygen are (statistically) delays in care and not reading and acting on the CTGs.

I'm sorry that you've had such a struggle over the past number of years...

My question is, did you believe your care to be negligent/substandard at the time, or did it just come to light at a review? As in, did you feel something was wrong and nobidy listened to your concerns?

I can't imagine what you are going through. I hope you are successful in what you are looking for. I'm grateful every day for my healthy child, even though she drives me bananas and I wouldn't wish the struggles you face on a daily basis on anyone.

Wishing you the best of luck and sending you a hug

Do you have confidence in NHS services, assuming your little one has on going appointments, or do you use private practitioner's now?

A friend from way back when was awarded compensation for birth injuries. Like you, it took years and years. Thankfully, they were awarded an initial amount that the let them buy and modify a suitable home. Sadly, not long after the final award, which took 9 years to secure, the girl died. Obviously the money for on going care was returned.

I hope the end of your fight is in sight.

I am so, so sorry this happened to you and your baby. Of course you are correct that the nhs has a huge indemnity fund for this purpose which is completely separate from any other money.
I am sorry that you needed to explain that here.

Oh, your reply to a previous poster answered my question!

Don’t complain about suing the NHS without knowing how deadly some hospitals are:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-shropshire-46206917

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/health/morecambe-bay-hospital-baby-death-nhs-stillborn-cqc-maternity-safety-b1076960.html%3famp

For example, at Shropshire and Morcambe.

So sorry for what's happened to you, your family and your poor DD Op. Hope you get the support & peace that you need.

Thanks to the kind wishes given here.

If you see campaigns for a triage system for phone referrals or for a rapid assessment (15minutes max) on being examined, please sign. Almost more than winning the case I want these mistakes to stop happening. The same mistakes happen over and over again and better training, and continuous updates when issues are highlighted, should be done. And way better staffing levels

@Anotherdayanotherdollar At the time I believed my situation was something so rare the midwife could not have been expected to know about it, so did the right thing. Our expert midwife said what I was experiencing was drummed into trainee midwives as something to be aware of and to act immediately. The obstetrician said it was one in a million. It wasn't it was one in 200, and should have been instantly recognised. Reading that was so shocking I almost fainted.

I’m so sorry this happened to you and your little one, OP. You are doing the right thing

No questions OP, but just to echo other posters: I am so sorry that negligence has had such devastating consequences for your daughter, you and your family

I hope you get the compensation you feel is necessary.