NHS negligence

[mummatocubs]

Hi mumnetters,

I need some advice after loosing a parent last year which I believe to negligence. Coroner is still waiting for reports from the hospitals and has put a hold on cause of death although we were given an interim death certificate.

I Don’t know where to go from here etc. any advice

My advice is engage with the coroners process. They will investigate the care and seek expert advice if necessary. If there are valid concerns that care contributed to death (as opposed to care being poor but not fatal) then there will be an inquest and witnesses will be called and asked about it.

Coroner will rule on the facts. You can instruct lawyers for the inquest if you want and can afford.

Have you made a complaint to PALS?

Sorry for your loss.

I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure you’ve already done this but if you haven’t, write down everything you can remember about the sequence of events. Dates, places and names where you have them will help.
Any and all details that led you to suspect negligence, write them down.
You might never need it but better to get it all on paper now just in case. Then once the Coroner’s report is ready you can consider the outcome alongside your own observations and perhaps the way forward will become clear.

My mum died as a direct result of negligence, discovered after the hospital launched their own investigation into her death and admitted responsibility.

There is nothing to be gained financially if you were not financially dependent on your parent.

That’s a good shout I think I should write it all down as it’s still fresh in my mind incase I forget bits going forward.

I wasn’t financially reliant on my parent at all. However due to the negligence they suffered a huge deal which left them brain damaged & then had to weened down off feeds to naturally pass away. It was the hardest times of my life for me to see them go through this. It’s had a huge impact on myself mentally.

Are you in touch with PALS? Have you submitted a formal complaint or there already been an investigation? Do you have the hospital records yet? If not a dsar is the first step.

Honestly speaking I haven’t been in the right mind frame. I really do feel there’s negligence there however I thought I’d wait for the coroner to have his reports back by 6th Feb and then I’ll go from there. I haven’t been in touch with PALS and haven’t got the medical reports. Would the right point of action be for me to make a formal complaint to PALS in writing & where do I request medical reports from? I knew if I came here I’d get the help I need.

PALS will be able to direct you. There is probably a page on the hospital website as to how to access patient records but they will know. It does not need to be a formal complaint to start with but you could ask whether it had already been investigated(staff may have flagged the circumstances at the time and with it being referred to the coroner) and raise your concerns. There will be a Patient Safety team who may be involved. Sorry you are facing this.

Thank you for this, I will contact PALS tomorrow and take it from there.

It's sometimes possible for the deceased's estate to claim compensation for their pain and suffering, and their funeral costs. There's also something called 'Loss of consortium' - this is usually claimed by a spouse, although can be claimed by a close family member. It covers the non-financial, intangible aspects of losing a close relationship.

Medical negligence solicitor here.

It’s usually possible for the family to deal with the inquest process without legal representation. Making a complaint to PALS so that the Trust investigate your concerns is also a good idea.

I’d suggest you contact a solicitor now to talk through what has happened. They’ll take full details and assess the merits before deciding whether they can pursue a claim on behalf of the estate or any dependents. They’ll probably want to await the outcome of the inquest and complaint to see if any admissions are made by the Trust.

You should not expect to be charged for the initial assessment. If they take the case on, they’ll explain funding options (usually no win no fee).

I’d recommend Irwin Mitchell, Slater & Gordon, and CL Medilaw - all national specialist firms.

I have been through similar, for us it was June 2024 when my Dad died following what should have been a routine procedure, we had the inquest in November 2024, but didn't get the verdict and death certificate until end of Jan/ beginning of Feb 2025, and only had the meeting with PALs in the last few weeks.

Write everything down and take copies of all messages sent to family members about the hospital stay and keep all the correspondence as it proves a timeline about what you have been told and do it as soon as you can so it is all fresh in your mind.

My DSis wrote timelines about what happened when which we then looked at next to the hospital witness statements, and we found these very helpful, especially as every whatsapp messages had dates and times on them when the hospital were fudging details (using "we usually" statements, not "we did"), While we didn't take a barrister in with us, instead we had a friend who volunteers to help families through inquests so had experience and she helped with what we could and couldn't ask, but I was surprised that our GP and the hospital both had legal representation with them and they objected to some of our questions.

DDads cause of deaths was eventually given as 'a rare but known complication of a necessary medical procedure' , and the meeting with PALs got promises of changes being made with how things are managed, so I think we are now at the end of our journey especially as my DM doesn't what to take it any further.

I am so sorry that you are going though this, try talk to someone one step removed from situation so you can get advice.

Also a medical negligence solicitor here. We deal with a lot of these cases and from experience I can honestly say that engaging with the coroners process is the best thing you can do in terms of getting answers and achieving change. That's not to say that complaints via PALS and claims don't have merit / a place but for the things that are usually important to a family the inquest process can achieve a lot - but does need active engagement. As others have said, having legal representation isn't essential but it is helpful. PM me if you like and happy to give you a steer on ideas on steps you could take now.