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Legal matters

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Starting a legal claim against the NHS

39 replies

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 16:34

Has anyone taken legal action against the NHS and won?
I am thinking of taking them to court regarding a procedure that I had.

OP posts:
bookish83 · 31/08/2023 16:35

Why are you taking them to court?

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 16:40

bookish83 · 31/08/2023 16:35

Why are you taking them to court?

I didn't really want to get into that. I wanted to know if anyone had done so and won.

OP posts:
TomAllenWife · 31/08/2023 16:43

I have, it took 4 years and just before court they settled
It was a long hard slog and didn't change what I'd been through

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 16:51

TomAllenWife · 31/08/2023 16:43

I have, it took 4 years and just before court they settled
It was a long hard slog and didn't change what I'd been through

I'm sorry you also had a horrible experience with them. Do you feel it wasn't worth going through?

I just don't want them to get away with doing this to other people.

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notapizzaeater · 31/08/2023 16:52

Currently doing this - my legal cover with my house insurance is covering the costs.

And before anyone starts, I'm not an ambulance chaser - my DH died due to three stupid separate errors over the space of 3 months.

Mehmeh22 · 31/08/2023 16:52

What have you done so far? I assume you have followed their complaints procedure?

ZombieBoob · 31/08/2023 16:59

Currently doing this too. They failed my dad on 5 separate occasions all for the same thing. He would still be alive if it wasn't for that.

You need to go though the proper complaints channels 1st. Then you can go to a lawyer.

We are a bit further down the road though. We are hoping a settlement offer comes through the end of September. They have admitted fault to all occasions and that he'd still be here today if he received the proper care.

If no offer made or it's a shit offer we are off to litigation. Both sides have prepared a report on what they think we are due so we shall see what they arrive at.

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 16:59

notapizzaeater · 31/08/2023 16:52

Currently doing this - my legal cover with my house insurance is covering the costs.

And before anyone starts, I'm not an ambulance chaser - my DH died due to three stupid separate errors over the space of 3 months.

I'm so sorry that is awful. I am sorry for your loss.

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ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 17:00

Mehmeh22 · 31/08/2023 16:52

What have you done so far? I assume you have followed their complaints procedure?

I have complained over the phone to a consultant, I am unhappy with their written response. I requested all of my paperwork from PALS back in May but have not received it yet.

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Thewrongdress · 31/08/2023 17:02

It will be a very long haul. The NHS has a huge budget for legal action and complaints.
Be prepared for medical records to be lost, edited, altered.
Lies and obfuscation will happen.
In my case 2 doctors even lied under oath in the coroners court.
You need a good solicitor and realistic advice. It is a really hard process to go through.

Thewrongdress · 31/08/2023 17:04

I am sorry for your loss. It was my mother who died and it was horrific.

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 17:04

ZombieBoob · 31/08/2023 16:59

Currently doing this too. They failed my dad on 5 separate occasions all for the same thing. He would still be alive if it wasn't for that.

You need to go though the proper complaints channels 1st. Then you can go to a lawyer.

We are a bit further down the road though. We are hoping a settlement offer comes through the end of September. They have admitted fault to all occasions and that he'd still be here today if he received the proper care.

If no offer made or it's a shit offer we are off to litigation. Both sides have prepared a report on what they think we are due so we shall see what they arrive at.

I'm sorry for your loss and their awful failures. I hope you get the settlement that you expected.

OP posts:
notapizzaeater · 31/08/2023 17:07

I did a PALS complaint at first which was quickly upgraded to an incident (caused harm) took a month, then got a 29 page report with the errors in.

I'm 2.5 years in, final expert reports due about Xmas time ready to fight in the new year.

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 17:08

To be honest I am wondering if I will ever even get my medical records!

OP posts:
ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 17:09

notapizzaeater · 31/08/2023 17:07

I did a PALS complaint at first which was quickly upgraded to an incident (caused harm) took a month, then got a 29 page report with the errors in.

I'm 2.5 years in, final expert reports due about Xmas time ready to fight in the new year.

Thank you. Maybe I should just complain to PALS first then, even though they have not sent my paperwork!

OP posts:
Rubi2 · 31/08/2023 17:16

Thewrongdress · 31/08/2023 17:02

It will be a very long haul. The NHS has a huge budget for legal action and complaints.
Be prepared for medical records to be lost, edited, altered.
Lies and obfuscation will happen.
In my case 2 doctors even lied under oath in the coroners court.
You need a good solicitor and realistic advice. It is a really hard process to go through.

This! My daughter died in 2020 and we are still battling with all of the above. It’s a very long and hard process depending on the circumstances. A solicitor will be able to advise you if they feel a claim is worth pursuing. Have you made an official request for your notes to be sent you you? That’s a good starting point x

Rubi2 · 31/08/2023 17:19

Sorry I see you requested them in May, they have 28 days to get them to you so I’d raise a separate complaint about that firstly.

ethelredonagoodday · 31/08/2023 17:26

We went through a process whereby one of the doctors who'd looked after my Dad actually admitted he'd made a mistake and referred himself into their process for dealing with errors. Case review I think it was called. We had a really good liaison officer who actually contacted us out of the blue, to tell us what had happened as we had no idea.

My Dad died during covid, due to complications that arose as a consequence of a mistake made by a consultant and then which subsequently were not picked up by other members of staff, with several 'reminders' basically being ignored because staff were too busy. Basically, they didn't stop some medication when they should have, and it had an impact on other existing health conditions, and ultimately led to his death, despite him actually starting to recover from covid.

We didn't in the end pursue it legally, but got a formal apology from the trust, and a written breakdown of the everything that has happened. We also asked that they took active steps to try to avoid it happening again. We were offered a meeting with the staff involved, but didn't feel it would achieve anything. My Dad was in his mid 60s when he died, and had a couple of other life limiting conditions, albeit that they were being actively managed before he had covid and was admitted to hospital.

It wasn't a fun process to go through, and there were no legal elements to it, as we decided not to pursue. Just hearing all the details of my Dad's treatment, what he'd said, conversations he'd had etc, was very sad and in some ways very distressing. It was during covid, so we couldn't visit at all, only literally as he was dying were we able to go to see him. I don't know really if we did the right thing? Had my Dad been younger we might have felt differently.

ShinyHatStand · 31/08/2023 17:28

Yes I did. Received a very significant payout and the legal team were superb and made it relatively easy from my point of view. It was on a no win no fee basis.

ethelredonagoodday · 31/08/2023 17:30

I've just looked back at the details of ours, was s serious incident review.

ZombieBoob · 31/08/2023 17:36

Same, we are on a no-win no fee, too. Can recommend digby brown she has been so upfront about everything and has been sensitive to the family's feelings about what happened.

We got the whole thing about how they will investigate it and put measures in place so it won't happen again, but its not good enough. It really should not have happened at all. Anyone without a medical degree could've seen what was wrong.

We have to prove that basically it's their fault and that because of their mistake, it resulted in significant harm done. If you want to pm me, I can tell you all the details and why it's basically a slam dunk for us anyway.

LIZS · 31/08/2023 17:43

You need to chase Pals. Ime the admin teams dealing with complaints can be patchy but there should be target response times and acknowledgements, Did you raise a dsar to access the medical records? Have they offered a meeting to go through the notes?

TomAllenWife · 31/08/2023 17:54

@ObsidianButterfly they couldn't pay me enough to go through that again
I had fun with the money, for me & family but it doesn't change my ptsd or MH issues from my treatment that I still deal with

My medical records, particularly theatre documentation were so poor it was laughable! (And I'm a nurse working for the same nhs trust)
They didn't have a leg to stand on, made me go through medical photography, psychiatric assessment, it made me feel awful

The surgeon had left and gone to his home country by the time we were getting to court
I wasn't able to take action against the other staff (who were worse than the surgeon) but by god if I ever come across her in a dark alley!!!!! I wouldn't treat a rat the way she treated me

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 17:59

It's awful that so many people have had such bad experiences. Mine was definitely not as bad as some of yours, but it still made me feel like I was being tortured and not treated like a human being.

Will have to be no win no fee.

I am not actually interested in the money and I'll probably donate it to charity.

Yes I did a subject access request and they asked for ID via email (passport I think)

OP posts:
notapizzaeater · 31/08/2023 18:12

ObsidianButterfly · 31/08/2023 17:59

It's awful that so many people have had such bad experiences. Mine was definitely not as bad as some of yours, but it still made me feel like I was being tortured and not treated like a human being.

Will have to be no win no fee.

I am not actually interested in the money and I'll probably donate it to charity.

Yes I did a subject access request and they asked for ID via email (passport I think)

Check your house insurance / union (if you're in one) before you go to the No win no fee, I started out there but then my house insurance stepped in.