Fatal Medical Negligence Claim

[CAMO1984]

Hi all,
just wondered if anyone has been through the process of a medical negligence claim?
My dad died in a local hospital in the hands of the NHS. My dads bowel was perforated during surgery which they failed to notice and the time and also failed to notice for a whole week after surgery. All signs of a perforated bowel and sepsis were prominent and they were dismissed. When they eventually intervened and ordered a CT scan they found the perforation. He was then taken back for emergency surgery but was to late, he died from septic shock and multi organ failure from the bowel left to leak and poison his body.
I immediately put my complaint into the NHS where there is now a RCA serious incident investigation underway. The coroner says there will be an inquest surrounding his death. With this in mind I rang round a few well know solicitors who specialise in medical negligence which they all wanted to take on but have settled with one with a very good reputation. They rang yesterday and I agreed to let them take on the case and they are in the process of emailing me the next steps.
my question is please can anyone shed some light the process of a medical negligence claim? Do I still carry on with my complaint with the hospital or do the solicitors now take over with this. Just want to make sure am making the right decision in needing a solicitor as they want 25% of the compensation we receive if we were to win the case. Any advice would be greatly welcomed.
Thank you for reading.

Sorry to hear about this. It's sounds traumatic and upsetting and I'm sorry for your loss too.

If the solicitor is taking 25% I would say that they should be able to give you advice on the process and timings. You might as well make them earn their money.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. Yes this is an extremely difficult time in my life, surreal in fact.
The solicitors will give me any advice I need and go through every step with me its just I wondered if anyone had been through similar situations before I proceeded with them that’s all. Just want to make sure I am doing the right think and for any personal experiences. Thanks again for responding x

I am sorry to hear of your loss in such distressing circumstances.

Did the solicitor give you an indication of what sort of money you would be looking at? If your dad was elderly with no financial dependents the settlement would be smaller as no loss of earnings.

This will like come down to expert opinion on whether the perforation was negligent or a foreseeable risk of surgery, if it should have been diagnosed sooner and if this would have resulted in a better chance of survival.

Usually the first step is for you to get a copy of the notes and then the solicitor send it to an expert for their opinion. Once this is done the solicitor will be very clear with you if they think it is worth pursuing as for No Win No Fee they want to be very certain of getting paid.

Thank you so much for responding.
No they haven’t been through any financial compensation as of yet. My dad was still working but obviously doesn’t have any dependents who were of a young age, just me and my sister who are in our 30s now.
It was the coroner who actually told us about getting a medical negligence solicitor involved as it was down to the perforation that he passed away. They failed to notice the perforation at the time of the operation and missed all the signs after. We have all the medical notes/records from the hospital already that’s why the solicitor has said we have a very strong case of medical negligence. There were risks involved in the surgery we know this and the risk of death was 3% it was the fact that they actually caused the perforation itself and failed to act upon it during and afterwards.
They have already said the case is no win no fee, just wanted any personal experiences or advice if anyone has been through anything similar.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply x

If the coroner has suggested it, then they are likely to rule that the perforation and/or delay are significant. They may also be looking at whether to make a Prevention of Future Deaths notice which the Trust will want to avoid at all cost.

I would prepare yourself for a very longwinded process even to get to inquest, let alone settlement.

Thank you so much, just trying to weigh up our options. I think will just let the solicitor do their job to take over the case, I haven’t really got anything to loose. Many thanks again x

I am so sorry for your loss, I understand how devastating it is to loose a loved one in this way. It is 11 years since the exact same thing happened to my lovely mum. Her bowel was accidently perforated during an operation and was not picked up for two weeks, it took a further three months in intensive care with many operations, and 'wash outs' before she finally passed from sepsis, caused by perforated viscera leading to multi-organ failure.
I wish you well with your case and hope you manage to get the closure and peace that you need. X

EasterChickie so so sorry to hear about your lovely mum. You put your trust and faith in the NHS and look what happens when they are negligent.
This seems like a very similar set of circumstances as my dads doesn’t it. My dad was only in intensive care for a few days before all his organs shut down.
May I ask the route you took in regards to the complaints process. Did you have a complaint in place at the hospital and did you have a medical negligence solicitor. What was the outcome if you don’t mind me asking?
Grateful for your response already x

Ultimately we chose not to go down the negligence route. After three months of trauma and gaslighting from mum's consultant we were in no fit state to take things any further. It would have made no difference to mum's outcome, and we accept that accidents happen and we were just unlucky.
On balance, the consultant does more good than harm and he has arguably saved many lives.

I had no desire for financial gain as that would not bring my mum back, the only thing I would have liked was for him to admit that mistakes were made - but he was far too arrogant for that and even if found negligent he would have found a way to blame others and probably destroy my sister and myself in the process.

That said, I commend you in your bravery and hope you find the answers you are looking for.

Sorry to hear about your DF. If he’s having obs and seeing the medical team daily, it’s hard to see how they could have missed a perforation, but I absolutely know it happens.

I brought a claim against my GP and NHS Trust (as was) in 2006 over delayed cancer diagnosis.

25% success fee is the maximum that can be charged by a solicitor acting under a CFA. If it’s such an open-and-shut case, I would expect the percentage to be lower because the solicitor is taking less risk. Is it too late to challenge?

I did not complain about the hospital because the relationship had entirely broken down. I was falsely accused of stealing my own notes. When I eventually got a copy, an entire emergency admission (after which I was sent home with no treatment) had been erased. Expect the hospital to be utterly mendacious, to use delaying tactics and to apply maximum costs pressure. Ultimately the GP settled my claim to my satisfaction ahead of the court date, but the Trust went ahead with the hearing and lost. I gave half the damages I was awarded (less success fee) to charity and bought a ridiculous car with the rest. At the time I fully expected the cancer to return and I wish I hadn’t been quite so profligate!

I did this for my dad. Took nearly 3 years of fannying about with everything. Thats even using a good company. We did no win no fee. You won't get as much as you think you will as "only" a child. Did your dad have a partner? They'll be the ones that get the "big" money.

It was stressful. The NHS tried to bad talk dads health beforehand. Said he wouldn't of lived as long and all sorts.

Nhs waited until the very last minute to settle I'm talking a week before it went before a judge.
I had to prove the loss I suffered so the support I lost dad used to babysit the kids or take us to hospital appointments ect. If you can prove loss of any financial support you can claim that too.

All family members can join in the suit too. We all put a claim in.

EasterChickie Thank you so much for taking the time to share your devastating story, life is so unfair to the wrong people.
I can accept that accidents during surgery and know risks involved ect it’s the fact that they perforated the bowel without knowing and also failed to notice their error after surgery even though my dad showed all symptoms and was slowly deteriorating day by day.
I just feel I can’t leave this and need to get some kind of justice for them taking my dads life. Like you it’s not about financial gain it’s about principal and won’t give up no matter how long it takes.
Thank you again for sharing your story. Take care x

@CAMO1984 hopefully this may be of some use

Dairymilkisminging

Dairymilkisminging thank you for your response. Sorry for your loss and your situation.
Did you have a solicitor to help you through your claim? Is it actually my mum who is next of kin, she is to distressed to keep going over events so I am perusing the solicitors with her permission x

@CAMO1984 I hope you may find the inquest process helpful.

If the trust think they are going to be shown up, they will work very hard to make sure they don't get a Prevention of Future Deaths Report. This involves them being able to demonstrate to the Coroner what they have put in place between the death and the inquest to make sure the same thing can't happen again.

If you know things have changed for the better, I hope this gives you something of what you need.

Depends if they was married or not. Yep we had a solicitor all the way through and paid a flat percentage when we won.
They did all the leg work and was actually really sympathetic. The whole family joined the suit. So you can start the process and your mum joins on if she wanted.

I'm sorry for your loss I forgot to say in 1st post.

Dairymilkisminging yes they were married the solicitor wanted her permission to let me handle it all.
Thank you for your input. They are ringing me on Monday to explain next steps. Glad you were successful in your case x

I’m currently at year 5 of a 3 x missed cancer claim in which my DH died (4 years ago) and would have been cureable by keyhole surgery. We did do a PALS complaint to start with which quickly got turned into an incident.

I started with a no win no fee company but then found out my house insurance legal cover would cover it. It’s not a quick thing, every report needed takes months.

@notapizzaeaterso sorry for your loss, it’s even harder to accept knowing that someone else is to blame isn’t it.
Thank you for sharing your personal story. I am quite prepared for this to be a long drawn out process. I just feel that I have to follow this through no matter what the outcome.
Thank you for the advice about house insurance will get my mum to give them a ring x

I have recently settled a claim against my local NHS Trust with the assistance of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors who I highly recommend. What happened to me was that I was misdiagnosed by a junior doctor, who then tried to cover his tracks. As a direct result, I had 15 months of treatment I had never needed, which resulted in a fracture and two surgeries that I would not otherwise have had.

Not a great deal of money in my pocket at the end of the day, although it did go into five figures, but they also had to play the bulk of my costs which were considerable. I just hope somebody has learned a lesson. I did it, not so much for me, but for the people who are not able to advocate for themselves.

Be prepared for everything taking longer than you expect and for long periods of inactivity. I found that lots would happen in one go and then there might be three months or even longer when nothing happened at all and patience was the order of the day.

I settled a medical negligence case against NHS for my dear Mum. The solicitors got their costs paid seperately to the compensation so I had no reduction.

You need to ask your solicitors about procedures to be followed now. I would presume they would want involvement in the complaint.

Definitely do not go with a solicitor who will take 25%

I claimed against the NHS and my solicitor's fees were paid for as part of the claim. I had back up from my house insurance in case I lost but it was an open and shit case. Hospital admitted liability so it was mostly working out the amount of compensation.

@Sloelydoesitthank you for your comment.
May I ask why not? Just trying to weigh up my options really.
I am looking into whether my mums house insurance will cover the legal costs if she didn’t take out any extras.
Thank you for your input x