To sue camhs by myself?

[Legalhelpneed]

Shamelessly posting here to get lots of replies. DD is almost 21 and was diagnosed with ASD just before her 18th bday. This was despite her being under CAMHS for 5+ years, with me constantly suggesting she might be autisitic. They did not believe me because she masked at appointments and at school (when she went... Her attendance was about 30% for years 10, 11 and 12 and she eventually dropped out of school half way through 6th form). As a result of her late diagnosis her late childhood and teenage years were ruined for her; she self-harmed and tried to kill herself several times, she missed out on education, my marriage broke down, I suffered from depression and anxiety myself. DD was bullied mercilessly by her peers and was offered no support from the school because she had no diagnosis and they didn't believe me. DD would've probably been entitled to DLA and she now gets middle rate PIP which has improved her quality of life considerably. She missed out on riding for the disabled and the local autism charity's youth groups and summer camps where she could have made friends. She missed out on going to a school for autistic kids which would've, I think, really suited her.

DD and I spoke to a solicitor today who said it's too late to bring a claim as the 3 years where a claim could be submitted are almost up. Would it be totally mad to bring a claim ourselves? Thank you

Because it's well known girls mask and it's time the professionals acknowledged this more. My daughter never got diagnosed through CAHMS either. I had to pay privately, and the practitioner was astounded she'd not been diagnosed . When she finally was diagnosed with autism CAHMS read all the findings and then agreed with it 🙄. Girls are constantly under diagnosed, it's disgraceful. CAHMS aren't really interested in diagnosing anyone with autism they just like gaslighting kids and parents that everything is their fault. Feel for you OP. My daughter has been let down constantly, even with a diagnosis!

As In pretty sure I said on your other thread, autism is not something that can be definitively diagnosed or dismissed. Professionals will often disagree. The fact that she has a diagnosis now, does not mean anyone or any service was negligent in the past. It also doesn't mean that another professional would give you the same diagnosis tomorrow.
No one is going to be found to have been negligent. Please do not pursue this.

I think you very likely have been let down, but I wouldn't waste anymore of you or your daughter's life on this. You won't get anywhere, you are so unlikely to win . Invest your time and energy on positive things to make things better for you and your daughter.

OP, you're going to get very similar responses to your other thread on this subject.

There is no definitive "test" for Autism. The fact that one professional assessed your DD and did not have sufficient evidence to confidently diagnose Autism at that time, but another professional came to a different conclusion at a later date does not mean anyone was negligent. Young people's presentation can change significantly during adolescence and young adulthood. They can also (as you know) present very differently in different settings and depending on their level of comfort with the person completing the assessment.

So you have no evidence that negligence occurred and you cannot prove that a diagnosis would have opened the door to a wealth of support and services that would have changed things for your DD. The fact that the school refused to put support in place without a diagnosis (when SEN support should always be based on need not diagnosis) suggests they would not have been hugely helpful either way. Their ignorance around masking (particularly in girls) with Autism suggests the same.

I am sorry you and your DD were let down, but I think you will be setting yourself up for more anger and disappointment if you persevere with this.

By all means get a second opinion, but the statutes of limitation aren't going to change if you decide to represent yourselves.

I read Law at UCL and specialised in medical ethics and disability law for 2 of my dissertations.

So I am guessing you want to sue for negligence? If your time is up unfortunately, it’s up whether you are represented by a solicitor or not.

Use your money wisely to get therapy and treatment for yourself and anything your DD needs but you can’t bring this claim out of time if that’s the legal advice. X

OP I feel for you. But as someone who is currently suing the NHS, mostly doing it myself, and not for negligence or medical care which are very difficult to prove, I promise you it’s not worth it.
If I could go back in time I wouldn’t have bothered ever saying anything about what happened. It made my life absolute hell. I’ve been called a liar etc. Horrible Experience all round

This would be an awful idea for many reasons.

1. You don’t have an entitlement to many aspects of your claim. Therefore, you won’t be awarded damages for not getting them.
2. It would be your DD who would need to bring a claim, not you.
3. Youve admitted that their actions were completely reasonable. They didn’t diagnose until they saw sufficient symptoms, they took time to see those symptoms because she masked them. That’s completely reasonable on their part. They cannot just diagnose your DD because you say so - that would, in fact, be something she could bring a claim for.
4. You’re time barred, you can’t bring a claim. You’re not an exception.

Yes, similar experience here. I've never tried to sue, but made a complaint about a doctor once and out right lies were told about me and my husband. They all cover themselves and nobody is there to support the man on the street. Don't go there. 😞

It’s difficult to see how CAMHS can be negligent when the difficulties weren’t observable to school/ clinicians. Also, you said you mentioned it several times to camhs- did you complain/ request a second opinion- these would be normal routes to go down at the time if you were unhappy with their assessment. Were there any other services in your area that assessed for ‘ASD (it’s usually not just camhs).

unfortunately your daughters story if very common. Girls with ASD can be difficult to assess, particularly when in a mental health crisis. There’s no easy answer but raised awareness and training is a needed.

I am sorry this happened to you and your daughter. But really my first thought is there a reason you did not seek a private referral? I am assuming if you are thinking of suing you have the funds?
my daughters school did not support her to have a diagnosis for add I had to argue and argue for them to complete the forms and she ended up being diagnosed based on the schools forms and parent / her own info. I get how frustrating it is that children can mask and those around you don’t see through it but if she was masking I can’t see how she can sue anyone for not working out she was masking?

I think by pursuing this and certainly not getting the outcome your hoping for, your focus is going to be on that rather than moving forward and it's sending the wrong message to your DD. Yes, it's awful that you've been through so much and had to wait so long for a diagnosis. But your daughter is still young at just 21 and has plenty of time to carve out a wonderful and successful life. Are you getting any help for your own anxiety and depression?

Our GP practice failed for 5 years to diagnose DD2’s physical condition. She suffered severe pain regularly, which impacted on her MH and she had to take 2 leaves of absence from university - which increased her student debt correspondingly. She was turned down for PIP.

After 10 minutes with a consultant (because I went with her to the GP and insisted she be referred), they told her she had all the classic symptoms - which were confirmed in surgery. The theatre nurse told her to change GP practice.

A firm of clinical negligence solicitors looked at her case, and said she didn’t have a case, because she didn’t suffer any real injury.

This was a condition the consultant saw in theatre; not a diagnosis of autism, something nobody can see and which you say DD masked anyway!

As for opportunities like missing riding for the disabled, there is no guarantee your DD would have got a place! DD1 did riding for the disabled until they had to sell her horse, for being uncooperative - then they said, they didn’t have a horse big enough her. She couldn’t go anymore!

As others have said even if your dd got the diagnosis right in the beginning it does not mean she would receive all the support you mentioned. In my experience once diagnosed nothing really changes and you are pretty much left to get on with it alone.

It’s well known services are underfunded and their are not many out there.

I do really feel for you both. Even with a diagnosis your dds struggles may have been the same. I have a dd with a diagnosis and despite this she will always have struggles and barriers. It’s important to work with the child you have regardless of diagnosis. As a pp mentioned schools should support based on need not diagnosis as should DLA. You could have applied on her needs and challenged school but that’s irrelevant now.

I see why your frustrated and hurt but I have to assume part of that is your own guilt. This is not a dig at you op as I carry lots of guilt around my dd. You could have paid private for a second opinion or pushed for an alternative service to assess through the Nhs. Regardless of this my advice would be to use your energy and money to look after your well-being and mental health and work through what can be similar to grief.

I don’t know if Camhs were negligent or your dd presented differently back then but you are where you are and it’s time to focus on the future. Your dd still has years and plenty of opportunities to achieve whatever it is she wants toShe can still find support and services now. As her parent you can focus your efforts into empowering and supporting her to do this.

This. Your daughter sabotaged herself.

This.

Have you posted about this before? I think you probably need to move on and spend your energy helping DD rather than wasting energy on a battle you are unlikely to win or may not win.

I totally agree with this. Think you are picking a losing battle here

You have been failed many times by different agencies. I doubt suing will win. The school failed you because even without a diagnosis they should have had the child's best interests at heart, and they failed her miserably. The loss of going on camp and the Money from DLA is very painful. Worse still the fact you know no one believed you and you were actually right, and this all could've been avoided, is frustrating. I felt angry and betrayed that no one believed me. Irreparable damage was done. To feel powerless is not a nice feeling. I hope you find peace, I haven't quite managed to yet.

yes it would be a waste of time and money.

You have made a lot of assumptions that a diagnosis would have prevented these problems from occurring. Many people with diagnosed ASD have mental health problems. My son who was diagnosed aged 3 still had many issues growing up and into adulthood. I would not waste my energy and money on something you have absolutely no chance of winning.

The concensus is obviously this would be a waste of time and energy but YANBU for wanting some accountability.

There is a total failure to listen on the part of the NHS where the mental health of neurodivergent young women is concerned. We have experienced this with my DD too and it is a scandal. 💐

OP I feel your pain - I have a suicidal 13 year old ar home and things are going badly with her therapy; I doubt a lot of their decisions and invariably get dismissed as the fussy mum when I question things.

I'm beginning to think there's a massive amount of sexist bias against mothers in pediatric mental health care. You probably were subjected to that too.

But suing won't change the past and probably lose, not gain, you money. I totally understand why you want to light a fire under all the institutions that failed your daughter, but you'll just get dismissed again.

In your shoes I'd want to vent - request a meeting at the school, record camhs's failures with an ombudsman or similar - but above all, try to move on. Find the services she can access now.

Al the best

I think you’re looking for somebody/something to hang your hat on for all the things that have gone wrong for you and your DD. That’s understandable and natural to want somebody to blame.

However, as many before me have said, your DD masked and there were no guarantees she’d have received any of the things you’ve mentioned. You only have to read the SEN boards here to see how difficult these things are to access.

Even with these things, there is no guarantee your DD would have suffered any less or your marriage wouldn’t have broken down.

Having worked in a huge clinical negligence law firm for many years, it’s a long and slow process to sue the NHS and the financial remedy isn’t often what you’d expect. You’re out of time in any event.

I would use any funds you were going to use to bring a claim to get some counselling instead. What’s happened is nobody’s fault, it is what it is.

This article may help you realise your cause is futile

www.burnetts.co.uk/blog/bringing-a-claim-in-medical-negligence-the-basics

As others have said you stand no chance.

camhs do not complete assessments for autism and are not funded to do this.

camhs do not complete assessments for autism and are not funded to do this.

My daughter is currently being assessed by CAMHS for autism amongst other neurodivergencies. Some are funded and do assess.