Suing the NHS

[LifeisHard73]

I’ve sadly been diagnosed with an illness that should’ve been picked up 2 years ago. I’ve currently got complaints lodged with my gp and the hospital but I intend to try and sue.

I know there will be opinions about if this is or isn’t right but the advice I’m looking for is if anyone has done this without a solicitor?

I did contact one no win no fee solicitor but they’ve said they can’t take it on, they said:

In your case, we consider that whilst the treatment that you received may have fallen below an acceptable standard, it will be difficult to prove that you have suffered injury as a direct result. This is because the injury may have occurred in any event.

whilst I don’t dispute it might have happened anyway. The delay has made my prognosis worse and I’ve also made financial decisions that I wouldn’t have made if this had been flagged sooner.

looking to hearing from anyone who’s done this without a solicitor.

TY

If a no win, no fee solicitor won't take it on, I would advise against doing it yourself. They think your chances of winning are slim. If you lose, you may end up having to pay the NHS trust's costs, which will leave you even worse off than you are now.

I can’t see the point of making a claim if there’s little chance of proving causation; if you did this on your own you risk paying out costs for the other side that far exceed any claim.
If you’re in a trade union then ask for their advice as they often give access to solicitors that are dedicated to medical negligence such as Thompsons.
I think my focus would shift to gaining an apology and raising awareness to prevent it happening to others.

The threshold of proof is very high. You need to demonstrate that it would be reasonable for the correct diagnosis and treatment to have been made by other medics on the basis of same information and that the consequence was avoidable.

Try another solicitor. You don't need to say that you've had an opinion from somewhere else. You could try Edneys or a firm called Clarity or if not a bigger firm. Do a document with dates & write down the impact of the error.
But I'd suggest if you have time - (there's a timeframe for suing services) you could go through the complaints process & the ombudsman anyway, you won't get compensation from the ombudsman but it'll stand you in better stead to present the issue to a solicitor.

I think it would be very rash of you to attempt this without any legal assistance, bearing in mind that the doctors you are planning to sue will be advised and represented by a highly qualified medico-legal team from their professional indemnity providers.
If you should lose the case and they are awarded costs, these could run into thousands of pounds.

If there is a hospital involved, do consider contacting their PALS, who could perhaps arrange for someone to review your treatment with you, which might alter your view of things.

I’m sorry you are not well, but I don’t think suing the NHS is a morally good idea.

May I ask why?

I knew someone who had good evidence that delays and mistakes had caused lasting damage and she gave up after 2 years because it was so gruelling and she didn’t get far. I know of two people who did successfully sue with legal representation. They had clear evidence that there was avoidable mistakes made that will impact on them for life and cost them time off work/loss of income.
You’d need evidence that the delay caused lasting impact on you and potentially a cost implication. Did you miss work because of it and lose pay?
I agree with pp that if you try to represent yourself you’ll struggle against medical legal teams. I’d try another solicitor and make sure all your documentation is there including any loss of income.

You can try more than one solicitor but if they all say no, then you should give it up.
You have to be able to prove that a reasonable body of doctors would have acted differently - which is a high bar to get across.
I can't see how you would do this without a solicitor as generally after getting your records, the first step is getting another doctor to review your case. I don't think anyone would do this for you if you were self-representing and they would expect to be paid even if they told you that you had no case.

No hope without a solicitor I’m afraid, especially if a “no win no fee” won’t touch it.

I don’t ascribe to the view that suing the nhs is morally wrong as there are cases of negligence. But if a no win no fee solicitor won’t take it on you’re chances of winning are minuscule.

is it the financial recompense you’re after or an admission that you weren’t treated in the best way? The latter would be achieved by pushing through the complaint. The former I’m afraid is not possible unless you were able to find another no win no fee solicitor who would agree to it.

I knew there would at least one person saying this! Over the last 2 years I’ve seen probably 5 different GPs and 3 hospitals consultants and until a few weeks ago not one of them looked at my blood results properly. Morally I think it’s wrong that because of this I’ve suffered more damage than I would’ve done and financially lost out in a way that will effect the rest of my life.

The NHS should not be exempt from being held to account.

Thanks everyone for your sensible replies! I will take the advice I asked for and not pursue this myself.

I will wait for the outcome of the complaints I have with and decide from there. I may try another solicitor down the line when i have more written evidence.

I understand about causation but every case isn’t cut and dry surely? I know someone who broke his leg, except they told him it wasnt broken which result in him casing further damage and being left with a limp. I guess this was an ‘easy’ one. My situation is different, early diagnosis would not have meant I could cured and now can’t but early diagnosis would’ve meant the stage my condition is at would in all probability be less advanced and financially id of made some different life decisions if I’d know had a chronic illness.

How patronising. The OP could be gravely ill as a result of her illness not being picked up 2 years ago. Who are you to lecture her on what is and isn’t morally acceptable. Get off your high horse.

As has been said, not worth the time, energy and money pursuing this yourself as you won't get anywhere. Even if it was a 'cut and dry' where x malpractice led to y financial losses it would be exceptionally hard without legal representation.

If the gp took reasonable action at the time, appropriate tests and medication for the symptoms displayed, then difficult to prove.

The GP didn’t take any action, that’s the problem! Not a lot of point ordering tests which show abnormal levels and then ignoring them!

What tests and fir what? Some conditions would flag very obviously from a blood test, but many don't. Having a result outside of the range, on it's own doesn't forcibly mean anything.

It's seem very highly likely that do many clinicians managed to miss something you seem to think, as a non-clinician yourself -I assume-, was obvious.

I know of two people who gained compensation from the NHS. In both cases the care they had received ended up directly causing more serious, life changing issues that severely reduced/removed their ability to work in the future. On both occasions they were advised to take action by different consultants they subsequently saw within the NHS.

You could try another solicitor and if they don't feel you have a strong case I suspect you have zero chance if you represent yourself.

A family member of mine successfully had a compensation pay out from the NHS due to negligence leading to a life long disability.

It was an incredibly long and drawn out process, and not one I’d advise getting into without legal representation,

Try some more no win no fee solicitors to see what they say, you might find someone else who is willing to take it on, you don’t have to take the first response as a final one.

Medical negligence has to be a major fuck up. Doctors can do things wrong and mess up without it meeting the legal definition of negligence.

I'm really sorry that happened to you. It sounds like you'd be on a path to a lot of expense and stress to pursue it yourself, probably without anything to show for it. I'd leave it, the stress won't help your illness.

I agree. There's a big line between messing up and medical negligence.. if a solicitor won't take it on (and let's be honest, if they thought there was a chance of a win, they would've done) I would echo what PP said and concentrate on getting an apology and raising awareness.

In your original OP though, you went through several GP's and consultants. Did they all miss your condition, and if so, it seems a common miss.

I hope you get some where OP. My friends mum had been visiting the GP for over 18 months. with the same complaint. She was fobbed off with IBS. She was eventually sent for tests and they have told her she has about 3 months to live - cancer. My friend will not let this drop

You definitely need a solicitor as the NHS legal team are ferocious and top notch. I tried to sue them for my son's birth injury but after six years had to call it a day even with some evidence in his favour. I would agree you should wait till after you hear about your complaints and go from there.