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Original poster

Can I get compensation? Assaulted at hospital

354 replies

Plzstopthisstupidity · 11/12/2023 18:28

Good evening Mumsnet

My sister recently announced she is pregnant and it brought back a memory of something I had buried.

5 years ago, I had a C-section. The day after in hospital, when I was recovering, a nurse grabbed me by the neck in a hallway of patients, staff and visitors and threatened me. She verbally and physically assaulted me.

I can’t discuss the reasons behind it but long story short was she verbally abused me in private (my room) and then when she heard me trying to complain, she grabbed me.

The manager of the maternity ward saw this and spoke to me. She apologised and comforted me. I was humiliated, sobbing and traumatised at the time.

I moved on. I still think about it… more so recently.

I was given the nurse’s name and found out that she is still working in the hospital (this was a year ago not sure if she is still there now).

I am starting to feel immensely angry about what happened. Part of me wants to take legal action.

Mumsnet: is there anything I can do? Is it worth even doing anything as it’s been so long since it happened?

just looking for ideas/advice - thank you!!

OP posts:
CambridgeLass · 11/12/2023 19:10

Postnatal care is usually covered by midwives not nurses. Look up her name on the NMC register and you can report her there or to the police.

I highly doubt that the senior midwife did not report her at the time if what you say is true and you would have been asked for a statement. So would the other witnesses.

The senior midwife would not have just brushed this under the carpet, as doing so would put her own registration at risk.

ShowOfHands · 11/12/2023 19:11

I had a caesarean and my newborn baby spoke to me. She was telling me about the weather and laughing uproariously. There were also spiders, a foot in diameter running up and down the curtains of the cubicle.

I had a reaction to the opioids administered during the CS. I knew it wasn't real, but I still remember how frightening it was. I could see the spiders. My baby was talking. I could hear her and see her mouth moving. Except none of it was real.

darkmorningslighydays · 11/12/2023 19:11

Prinnny · 11/12/2023 18:36

So a nurse assaulted you in front of other staff members, patients and visitors and she’s still working there? There’s no way that’s possible!

I was thinking the same and it wasn't even reported to PALS or the police.

Erby · 11/12/2023 19:12

Oh, behave yourself OP.

You didn't get the answer you wanted so you're just doubling down.

Everyone has told you to forget your dreams of £££, not just me.

Andthereyougo · 11/12/2023 19:12

I can give you the details of an excellent solicitor. If you don’t have a case , he will tell you. He is very successful ( I don’t work for him, don’t have a personal connection, he represented my friend in a horrific medical negligence case) pM me if you want his details.

SisterAgatha · 11/12/2023 19:13

I believe this 💯

People place too much trust in institutions which have continually failed the people they are meant to serve. A medical professionals opinion holds a lot of power over a persons life. Anything in the notes, even if incorrect, will be considered true. As a “trusted professional”, they will always be believed over you.

Just like we are seeing here with the posters suggesting “it just doesn’t sound believable”.

i would report it if I witnessed something like this but that’s because I am a busy body. A lot would just assume someone else will do it instead and get on raising their newborn.

Original poster
Plzstopthisstupidity · 11/12/2023 19:13

@Lifestooshort71 the only reason money occurred to me in the first place is because I can’t afford therapy. I have tried the cheap
ones like BetterHelp but currently even that is unaffordable. I thought to myself, if she contributed to me needing therapy in the first place, wouldn’t it help if I had aid with this? In the larger pic, I can do without money. My main priority is dealing with it properly because I feel it was not done properly at the time if the nurse was still in that hospital up until 1 year ago (4 years after the incident). Does that make sense? x

@MissyB1 i know it sounds deluded. I wrote it out today after years and as I reply to you I am crying. My son just asked me if I am ok lol… I am ok but I feel emotional knowing I was assaulted when in such a vulnerable position. Imagine: being told your child might not live (complications in the womb, completely out of the blue after a healthy pregnancy up until then) and going through a sudden C section and being relieved the baby is OK but then being grabbed because I needed help pulling my tights up? It was traumatising

OP posts:
StrandedStarfish · 11/12/2023 19:13

Are you in the UK?

If so you have a three year time period to submit a claim for compensation against the hospital for acts committed by their employee.

You have two years to submit a claim to the criminal injuries compensation authority.

If a nurse has assaulted you then they have contravened the Nursing and Midwifery Council standards and can be reported to a fitness to practice panel.

Livelovebehappy · 11/12/2023 19:14

I’m with you if you want justice as in her getting disciplinary or a warning, because she absolutely shouldn’t have acted that way, but if it’s money you’re after, then it sounds very grabby. If you had been so upset about it at the time, then fair enough, but to go after money for distress might be a bit hard to justify to the NHS when you’ve lived with it since, and only thought about it occasionally.

ExcellentFabulous · 11/12/2023 19:14

Honestly OP, I feel for you about this situation but like others, I'm struggling to accept that this happened and no one did anything besides the manager taking you back to your room and hugging you. I keep wanting to ask if you're in the UK but I won't question your sanity and posts further. I'm really sorry it happened to you.

If you have proof, then you could put in a complaint. Without clear and accurate evidence, there's really nothing you can do.

I also suggest some therapy or something to heal from this ordeal as it clearly still hurts and haunts you. 💐

Original poster
Plzstopthisstupidity · 11/12/2023 19:14

@Erby Why are you getting defensive and saying everyone spoke to me with the same disdain you did? You can scroll up and see how kind the majority of responses have been and also how helpful they have been with giving advice. I know it feels embarrassing when you’ve been called out for being rude and unkind but maybe take
my advice and just be kinder in future.

OP posts:
TeaKitten · 11/12/2023 19:14

I’d seek counselling OP and probably think about distancing myself from these family members who you told that you were physically and verbally assaulted, and threatened just after giving birth and they did literally fuck all except ‘be shocked’. Them not reporting it to the police, and health visitor and just letting it go seems as bizarre as a nurse threatening to fuck you up in front of a load of people and nobody doing anything about it. Counselling could help you clarify in your mind what actually happened and help you move on from it.

laclochette · 11/12/2023 19:15

If you are struggling with anxiety about this now, compensation won't address that. Counselling will, and I think you need it to help process this experience and move forward.

darkmorningslighydays · 11/12/2023 19:16

Do you want compensation as in money or to make sure it doesn't happen again?

I'm finding it hard to believe. If a manager or other patients saw this there is no way it wouldn't haven't been repeated.

Original poster
Plzstopthisstupidity · 11/12/2023 19:16

@TeaKitten my family situation was very messed up at the time to be honest with you. my parents pushed me to call the police but i didn't pursue it at the time.

OP posts:
TeaKitten · 11/12/2023 19:17

They should have called the police for you OP, they let you down. They could have made contact with someone on your behalf to get this looked at.

SisterAgatha · 11/12/2023 19:17

And OP, while I believe you, phrase this as - you don’t want an unsafe professional continuing to work with vulnerable people.

I wish I had the name of my nurse tbh

PostItInABook · 11/12/2023 19:17

OP sounds just like another poster who regularly has incidents of ‘abuse’ happening to her by men and medical professionals.

tachetastic · 11/12/2023 19:18

A nurse grabbed you by the neck and threatened you in front of a room full of people?

Have you been watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and possibly drinking?

Assaulting you in private I would get. Even grabbing your arm and being a bit rough. But holding you by the throat???

If this actually happened you should seek an apology. I don't think cash would really remedy the problem.

CalmaLlamaDown · 11/12/2023 19:18

When I having trouble breast feeding my son after c-section, the midwife roughly grabbed my boob, squeezed it and said ‘plenty of milk there’.
They forgot to take my catheter out and when I asked when it could be removed, it was just yanked out.
They refused to help me with anything and would not give me codeine after only one day post-op, only paracetamol- imagine that on a trauma ward after abdominal surgery!

I believe you OP.

Soontobe60 · 11/12/2023 19:19

OP, I think you may be misremembering events. So much of what you’ve said just doesn’t make sense.
You were in a private room, then you were in a room with someone else.
you were complaining - to whom?
you wanted help pulling up surgical tights - there’s no such thing.
your family, who you say you told about it at the time have failed to advocate for you at the time and played merry hell - I know I would have done that for a close relative of mine

What’s more likely is that the meds you were given - possibly morphine - have caused you to hallucinate. This is what morphine does to me! For some reason you and the midwife possibly had a situation where she tried to help you with your surgical stockings but you were less than cooperative so she left you alone. You ended up rowing with her, the ward manager witnessed this and helped you back to your room.
‘if you contact PALS, they will support you in having the incident investigated. If you did actually have an adverse reaction to meds it should be on your records. I do hope you are able to get to the bottom of this incident, which I can see you really believe happened.

Original poster
Plzstopthisstupidity · 11/12/2023 19:19

@SisterAgatha thank you. Thank you for believing me because trust me, this happened.

for everyone questioning my sanity, I was very vulnerable at the time but under usual circumstances I am a pretty average person. I have a Master’s degree, I work in the government, I have worked abroad, I manage a home and children quite sensibly. I volunteer in my spare time. I am not what you would look at and think oh she’s vulnerable or she clearly needs help. I am also a very outspoken person at work and with my family, which is why so many people are left with their mouth hanging when they hear this.

and yes, I am in the UK. This happened in London.

Thank you for the links and resources people have been sending in, I am looking at them now.

OP posts:
Growlybear83 · 11/12/2023 19:19

I'm a little confused about the actual assault. In two posts you've said that the nurse grabbed you by the neck, but in another you said she 'grabbed my hospital gown collar bit'. That is very different to grabbing your neck.

I agree with other people that this generally doesn't sound very plausible and that thinking about claiming compensation taking all the circumstances into account sounds extremely grabby.

itsallabitofamystery · 11/12/2023 19:21

OP, the answer is no. You can't claim compensation. The timeframe for both the complaint and the compensation has now lapsed, you literally don't have a leg to stand on.

But if you ever have an incident like this again, and want compensation, bear in mind it's incredibly hard to get. My child was seriously assaulted. She was beaten unconscious, and still has health issues because of the assault over 13 months later. We were turned down for compensation as 1 - there are no long term effects - even though we're still under the hospital. And 2 - there were no long-standing mental health affects - even though she is suffering massively with her mental health but we keep being turned down for services as they're so heavily subscribed. So considering this threshold, you wouldn't qualify either.