want to sue aN NHS hospital for negligence

[alypaly]

can anyone advise me how to go about it.
i was in hospital 3 weeks ago and a nurse has administered an anti sickness injection in my buttock and hit my sciatic nerve. i have been in pain ever since and it is getting worse. she did not take enough care when assessing placement of the injetion. I really would like heads to roll as i didnt have any pain in my buttock prior to admission

[alypaly]

a friend of mine works for pannoni(sp) so i am having a chat tonight.

now that the needle site has gone its difficult to point the finger and as i had about 20 injections in my bum, on alternate sides its going to be hard. the only thing i do know for definite it was the last injection i had so i guess the name of the nurse will be on my notes. But its proving it.

I know its all very daunting and difficult. a friend of mine spent £16k trying to sue her GP for misdiagnosing bowel cancer and telling her she was neurotic and giving her valium. She had to give up after runing out of money so i know what im up against. Im just sad, annoyed, frustrated that some nurses standards are poor. The other 19 injections were fine. wish id never had that last one....but hindsight is a wondeful thing

[alypaly]

thanks belle...will bear that in mind once ive given this a reasonable amount of time to heal.

[BelleDeChocChipCookieMonster]

I had a divergent squint for 2 weeks. Woke up the day after the first session and both eyes were facing forwards. Bizarre but I was relieved.

[alypaly]

i guess what has scared me as well is that i have been asked to go back for an angiogram as they found something wrong when i did a treadmill test. now i am getting worried about having more needles and cameras up my groin in case something else goes wrong. Fear is putting me off having it done.

[mosschops30]

aly I am currently suing the NHS for medical negligence and I can tell you its not an easy process!
I am using a recommended solicitor on a mo win no fee basis.
If this is what you want to do then they will only take the case if they think they have a good chance of winning.
Im not sure if you do or not, but I have to jump through hoops for mine so far and its still ongoing 12 months later.

If all you want is this nurse to get better training and to realise her mistake can I recommend that you speak to her manager and then if youre not happy with that the NMC who have to investigate her pratice.
If you want financial compensation then you need to find a solicitor but in all honesty Im not sure you have much of a case.

HTH if I can answer anything else about the legal process I will try

[alypaly]

thanks mosschops.what happened with you if you dont mind me asking. I have been wondering if i havea case because i cant prove where the injection site is unless an MRI scan can show it up. thing is, i didnt go in with sciatic pain and now i have. I do have a photo of my bum and it does show a mark where the injection site is,but i guess they could say i had bruised my bum. I know what you mean about it being difficult.

if i made a big mistake in my job,i would be sacked and probably sued in this letigious society.

[QueenofWhatever]

alypaly regardless of what you decide to do, you must have the angio asap. It sounds like you are walking around with cardiac disease and that is way more risky than sciatica. Please make sure you go, you may need stenting or something and having a heart attack could be much, much worse.

I have had sciatica and it is exceptionally painful. I too would recommend acupuncture.

[alypaly]

queen im really worried about this angiogram. I have always played alot of sport,never smoked,hardly drink and then i found i was struggling to walk uphill when we went out for a walk at the caravan. Im ok when the going is flat but as soon as it has a small incline i am struggling. Yet i dont stuggle playing county level badminton. Im really scared of going back to the hospital even tho its one of the top in the country for cardiology.

[BelleDeChocChipCookieMonster]

I can understand why you are frightened. This experience wasn't the best thing to have but they have said that you need the angiogram and the NHS don't do anything unless it's necessary. I have spent time working in angiography, they are not nurses, these are experienced, qualified doctors. No nurse will come near you with a needle. You have to put your trust in them because what other options do you have?

[agedknees]

I fell and fractured 2 bones in my back. Had an x-ray, but the doctor misread the x-ray and sent me home saying no bones broken.

6 weeks later at an outpatient appointment (for a totally different condition) the doctor noticed my x-ray report. No one had thought to contact me and let me know I was walking/working with 2 fractures (L3 and L5).

So instead of resting I had gone into work lifting patients etc (work as a nurse in the NHS).

At the end of the day though, the doctor did not intentionally mean to misdiagnose me so I did not complain.

Think in the OP's case the nurse who administered the injection needs to be retrained. Do not know if she should sue the NHS. I suppose it depends if there is long lasting damage.

[mosschops30]

belle the fact that a doctor is doing something rather than a nurse is not necessarily reassuring, there are plenty of doctors I wouldnt let near my dog never mind another human!

alypaly I had an EMCS, and a week later had a complete wound dehiscence (opening of wound) and was left holding my insides in the bathroom. I had to have further sugery, got MRSA, diagnosed with PTSD, and ongoing health problems.

Its been a hard slog to sue, had to have independent reports from a professor of obs/ynae, followed by pictures of scar, followed by independent report from psychiatrist. Its still ongoing and its been almost a year now.
There is lots that just doesnt come under the claim because it cannot be proved, like the MRSA and ongoing health problems cannot be directly attributed to what happened, I mean everyone knows they are, but its impossible to prove. Whereas the PTSD and the actual wound dehiscence can be proved.

Which is why I think it would be difficult for you to pursue this.
Also I think the best route would be to speak to the nurse manager, and then if you are not satisfied then the NMC who will investigate the nurses professional conduct

[LadyInaManger]

Hi alypaly - i don't have any advice for you i'm afraid but just wanted to say how sorry i am to hear about what has happened and hope you get some good advice from the right people in pursuing this.

Inspite of all this stress, you were kind enough to offer sound advice to me regarding my ailment at the moment and i thank you again and hope you get the result you want and deserve.

[wannaBe]

the thing is op that you are currently basing your case on what-if. i.e. that the gp has said that it could get worse, and that if it does you won't be able to work, yet at the moment you are working and while in discomfort you are living your life and are not financially out of pocket.

There's no way you will win a case based on what might happen in the future, because equally there's a chance that it won't.

What you have t consider is what is most important - that this nurse be retrained or that you be financially compensated. Because if you pursue a negligence suit you will have to stop the formal complaint process, and therefore if you lose the negligence case no action will be brought against the nurse and you will therefore have achieved nothing.

There are posters on mn who have been pursuing negligence claims against hospitals where their children have become severely disabled as result of botched childbirth, and they have been doing this for years in some cases.

Do you really want to go through years of course and signifficant financial outlay for what could essentially just be a couple of months of a pain in the arse?

[alypaly]

thanks ladyinamanger
had alot of pain today...it seems to be worsening by the day.

wannabe...im just hoping it will be a couple of months. but dont feel very hopeful at the moment as it seems to be getting worse daily. surely it should be getting better.
Gp did mention scarring increasing at injection site which i am hoping is not the case

[alypaly]

PALS has told me today that cyclizine injection should be given diluted with saline. and guess what mine wasnt diluted.

now using a tens machine anywhere on my torso just to distract me fromm the pain. turned it up so that it hurts more than the injection site. near to tears today.

PALS are getting the reports together to send to nursing manager,hospital superintendent,to matrons and their legal department. i have a feeling they know they have goofed.

[LadyInaManger]

OMG i can't believe they have admitted this, well it def seems you have a case - well done for finding that out so swiftly and poor you for having to deal with so much pain (which could so easily have been avoided). That nurse so needs retraining!

Hope the reports go smoothly and that your pain eases quickly, and all the best.

[alypaly]

cant believe how helpful PALS have been. stuffed full of codeine and anti inflammatories tonight. making me feel a tad sickly....but with the tens aswell i am a bit more comfortable.

[wonka]

Its been a while since I nursed adults but I'm pretty sure I.m. cyclizine comes in ready to inject vials and don't need to be mixed with anythingx 50mg three times a day.
I know it is a nasty stingy injection even on best administration.
1 need to hunt out my old BNF
Hope you are feeling better soon

[alypaly]

thanks wonka

[Lougle]

Cyclizine

You don't use saline to dilute because it can cause crystallisation. You don't dilute IM cyclizine, because generally speaking you want to inject the least amount of liquid possible.

If you wanted to dilute a drug that is very irritant, you would use an IV line, and if it was highly irritant you would put a long-line catheter in or a central venous catheter, so that the drug was going higher up into larger blood vessels.

I really don't think that suing is going to have the effect you hope for. I do think that you are scared, and would benefit from a debrief and consultation from a hospital consultant as to what investigations and treatment you should receive for optimised recovery.

Sorry that you are going through this.

[mosschops30]

alypa;y you have been misinformed and you are confusing the two matters.

You say you want to sue because the nurse injected into wrong place. This would need to be be proved by you and your legal team.

2nd issue is that you believe the nurse did not draw up the drug correctly.
I can tell you that Cyclizine as an IV bolus should be diluetd with water. Cyclizine as an IV or Sub Cut infusion can be diluted with water or normal slaine depending on local protocol.
IM cyclizine (yours) comes ready diluted so nurse did not need to do anything with vial other than draw it up.

Even if she had drawn it up incorrectly (which it appears she did not) you would have to prove any lasting effects on yourself (mental or physical) and any losses from the drug being drawn up incorrectly.

Im not trying to be difficult but am just pointing out the facts to you, as they would be by a legal team who go through every little piece of evidence.

You either a) sue because she injected into wrong place
or b) because she administered the drug incorrectly (which it would appear she didnt)

HTH

[mosschops30]

sorry meant saline
also my drug administration book states that cyclizine more stable in water that saline so in practice if giving it, I would use water. It also states that infusion of cyclizine is unlicensed at present
However this doesnt apply to you as yours was an IM injection.

[alypaly]

it was the Pals person that told me that mosschops. i had no ida that it was their hospital policy to dilute it until she spoke to me.

all i want is an investigation into why i was injected in the wrong place as i was unaware of the dilution aspect.
i want some answers ,some treatment and hopefully reassurance that it will heal without lasting damage. if it does cause me constant pain or increasing pain ,then that is another issue.

thanks everyone for your input..... Pals are getting back to me so will let you know what happens.

[Lougle]

"all i want is an investigation into why i was injected in the wrong place as i was unaware of the dilution aspect.
i want some answers ,some treatment and hopefully reassurance that it will heal without lasting damage. if it does cause me constant pain or increasing pain ,then that is another issue."

Then suing won't achieve that. You need to follow the complaints procedure. Ultimately, if a nurse made a mistake that was not in itself grossly negligent, then the Trust would take vicarious responsibility anyway.

[alypaly]

if i made a mistake in my job for which i have been trained i would be found negligent. she has been trained to give injections in the correct place...therefore to my mind it is negligent...no a mistake.

if i poisoned someone at work by giving the wrong tablets it wouldnt be classed as a mistake,it would be classed as negligent.

sorry to disagree.