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

I've literally never posted about this before?! Obviously I'm not the only one in this situation. But please don't accuse me of posting on here about what is a very painful and emotive subject when I haven't!

I think you need to take the legal advice and think long and hard about the further toll that bringing a claim would take on your situation, versus the likelihood of it being "successful" and what that success would look like, what difference would it make to your daughter going forward.

I'm not a legal professional, but if she was not diagnosable at that time, how would negligence be proved?

That's really offensive; I'm not being greedy, I am trying to help DD move forward with her life! Money isn't the be all and end all but it makes things easier and she's had a horrible time. Sheesh.

Just ignore the accusations of greed or any such rubbish. No one sues the NHS on behalf of a child for fun. It's to provide them with a secure future and support. The money comes from an insurance fund anyway not from the nhs budget directly.

However i really don't feel you have a case. If you've seen a solicitor via no win no fee, and been turned down, it's impossible to sue privately. Our last payment from legal aid was around £10K. And that's just for the next stage.

I think after age 21 your DD can start legal proceedings on her own account? Her 3 years start at 21. Up until then she's classed as a child and you sue on her behalf. Double check as I'm not 100% sure on that.

Thank you for kind response. X

The system is broken .. it’s awful. DD (16) has been waiting on her ASD diagnosis for nearly 3 years - still can’t tell us when the assessment will be. She suffers from huge anxiety .. her psychological therapist (I pay for), thinks anti-anxiety meds will really help - but you can’t get them. GP won’t prescribe as she is under 18, CAMHS won’t prescribe until you see a psychiatrist, but, there are no psychiatric appointments.
I am CAMHS in the morning … for another frustrating appointment I that will get is nowhere

What are you trying to achieve from all this "suing"? My sibling's cancer was misdiagnosed by a doctor, they now have stage 4 cancer and young children.

Misdiagnosis' happen all the time unfortunately, I'd move on if I was you.

Im sorry
mental health services for children is a total and utter disgrace

but I do worry that that the stress , the cost and risk of not winning could exacerbate things

you are in no way alone in this

im in a very supportive Facebook group
and It’s helped me accept where we are at

id put the energy and time into healing and moving forward

What is the support group please? I have nobody to talk to about this!!

Medical negligence solicitor here...

As your DD was a child, the 3 year limitation runs from her 18th birthday i.e. until she is 21, assuming she has capacity. So you're rapidly running out of time.

That said, I think it highly unlikely she'd win her claim. You'd have to prove (with independent evidence) that there was substandard care and, more importantly, that she has suffered an injury or materially worse outcome as a result. I think you'll fail to show that.

You're looking at tens of thousands of pounds to bring a claim, even if you do it on your own. Court fees, expert fees... And you have no clue what you're doing... it's not as simple as a money claim online for a rear end RTA.

Get a second or even third opinion from another law firm. If they all tell you the same thing, listen to them.

Really sorry to hear about your DD. My daughter was offered 3 types of antidepressant and an antipsychotic at a low dose for her anxiety and depression but they absolutely refused to give her PRN beta-blockers which one of the counsellors she was seeing thought would be useful. It was totally bizarre as the medications they wanted to give her had serious side affects etc. Not saying beta blockers don't but it was bizarre. If you can afford a private doctor could you get them to write an initial prescription then get the NHS to do repeats going forward? I am sure people do this sometimes. Good luck

Thanks for this. You're right - I do have no clue what I am doing. I just wanted to do right by DD, ultimately but I think it's probably too late 😕

@PinotPony I had no idea for instance that it would cost that much 😖

This is the similar (but not identical) thread:
AIBU to want to sue the nhs for not diagnosing autism

Legalhelpneed

parenting mental health
it’s a Facebook group

it’s saved my life as I realise it’s so common , we’re not alone and also how far I’ve come xxx

thousands of us

i do have a theory that modern life is fucking with our kids and it’s hitting the asd ones hardest x

I understand where you are coming from but sadly I don't think you have a case. I'm going through similar with my 14 year old son who has also attempted suicide and the system is just awful. I know how it feels to be shouting into the wind and nobody listening, I really do.

"Masking", in the context of Autism and ADHD, does not mean what you have assumed it means. It is not deliberate lack of "cooperation" or "self sabotage".

I agree that OP does not have a case for medical negligence, but posters claiming that an Autistic child masking at school and with clinicians means they "did not want to be diagnosed" are showing their ignorance.

Perhaps. Attempting to sue a professional body for not seeing through this is ridiculous, though.

Terrible idea.

Agree with pinotpony
Even if Limitation doesn’t expire until she’s 21 and she’s a short while off that no law firm will take a case on like this so close to time limit as there is no time to obtain and assess evidence eg medical records and expert reports.

The diagnosis for Autism is not like a blood test. ASD assessments tend to be very carefully worded and say things like ‘does meet the criteria for diagnosis at this time’. It would be tricky to sue someone for something like this.

To be fair that is really really similar to my post so I can see why people thought it was me posting again. But it's not.

I’m late to the party here . Diagnosis is all about information gathering . Anyone qualified in the field of ASD know girls mask far more than boys . However both do mask when out the comfort of safety ie.. home . Clearly mum here wasn’t listened too , her concerns just dismissed and bet your bottom dollar, behind the mothers back they said .. she’s probably causing her daughter issues at home . As often it’s always let’s blame mum

How many more have to suffer ? I had it with my son 9 years ago and I’m still hearing the same stories about CAMHS today . My son tried ending it thankfully belt snapped however he was a persistent sh and stabbed him self four times , smearing help me on the wall in his blood . CAMHS came see me in A&E what a waste of my time . Wanted to send him home . I refused he couldn’t go home due to the injuries. CAMHS said if I refused to take him home SS would have to know . Only after talking to my son and he was still suicidal it was agreed to section him. Youngster trying to end it , just get sent home by CAMHS especially when out of hours . CAMHS is currently not fit for purpose