Legal advice re ears!

[auntie brenda]

Dad had fitting for new hearing aids in autumn. Almost immediately he had ear in 1 ear which has taken over 4 months to clear.
During this time he has:
had bad pains for months
had to go to hospital 5 times for out patient treatment and 1 overnight stay following general anaesthetic to have agood 'poke around'
taken topical antibiotics
had to take several courses of oral antibiotics which seriously upset his stomach (suffers from diverticulitis), chronic diahorrea, had to increase home help from twice a week to 3 times daily for this period (and pay for extra himself)
and not been able to hear a thing as couldn't wear old aids.

Was signed off by hospital yesterday (I couldn't get off work). They said 'wound' had healed, were going to give him a letter about his treatment then said we would have to put it in writing as it would be a legal case. Basically they are stating/implying strongly that hearing aid man cuased damage when he took moulds for aids and they think we should sue.

I haven't got the foggiest how to go about this - can anyone help???? Is this the sort of case ambulance chasers would take on???? (Dad has no savings left so couldn't pay anything). I would be happy if they would just refund his costs for home helps and transport to hospital so he wasn't out of pocket.

BTW the chap who took moulds no longer works for company.

If this is not the right place to post can someone please point me in right direction, thanks.

[Ted_Hutchinson]

CLSDIRECT (http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/about/index.jsp?lang=en)have a few information leaflets that may help you decide what best to do.
See Medical Accidents (http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/legalhelp/leaflet14.jsp?lang=en) and No Win No Fee Actions (No-win, No-fee Actions)
They also have a phone line help service and a search facility to find a local legal advice service so I'd start by reading up on the issues and asking them where best to go next.

Might be useful if you gave a rough indication, nearest main town say, so if anyone living locally has a personal recommendation for a no win no fee solicitor in roughly that area they may be able to help with a personal suggestion.

[auntie brenda]

Thanks Ted. Feeling a bit shell shocked really which is why I haven't done any research myself. Nearest big town is Leicester. Will follow up your leads now, thanks again.

[Tiff]

Hi hun.
Firstly, I'm sorry your Dad has had a rough time. If you go onto the CAB website, or if you google clinical negligence (was known as medical negligence) you'll find some great advice and clear explanations and options. Also if you enter AvMA, you will find it full of expert advice - I believe it's a charity that helps fight medical accident cases and has links.
Also angel, you can have a free phone consultation with a solicitor who deals with medical negligence cases. If you look in the phone book, you'll be able to say to see what kind of cases solictors deal with, which will save you time.
In certain cases, you can get legal aid to pursue medical negligence cases. It will be helpful to write everything down, dates, times, names etc. as a log of what has happened. I would think that the company has some responsibility for what their employees do - I don't know hun as I'm not a professional.
Is your father in receipt of any disability payments such as DLA? If not, I would personally phone the DLA on 08457123456 & request a Disability Living Allowance claim form pack. I'd do this because he needs so much help. When you get the form, phone, DIAL or CAB and ask for an appointment to fill it in. It's a long, repetitive form and the wording is crucial hence needing expert help in filling it in. It's a long process but worth it if it gives your Dad extra income to manage. It is not based on any benefits he is already getting, whether he's working or not, married or single or income-related. It is purely based on a person's needs. It can cover personal care and/or help with mobility/travelling.
If Dad's on certain benefit's, you should be able to claim back fares if receipts are available. There is a benefit checker around on the forum so it would be worth having a look there.
Hope this helps hun. Good luck.
Much Love,
Tiff xxx

Dad had fitting for new hearing aids in autumn. Almost immediately he had ear in 1 ear which has taken over 4 months to clear.
During this time he has:
had bad pains for months
had to go to hospital 5 times for out patient treatment and 1 overnight stay following general anaesthetic to have agood 'poke around'
taken topical antibiotics
had to take several courses of oral antibiotics which seriously upset his stomach (suffers from diverticulitis), chronic diahorrea, had to increase home help from twice a week to 3 times daily for this period (and pay for extra himself)
and not been able to hear a thing as couldn't wear old aids.

Was signed off by hospital yesterday (I couldn't get off work). They said 'wound' had healed, were going to give him a letter about his treatment then said we would have to put it in writing as it would be a legal case. Basically they are stating/implying strongly that hearing aid man cuased damage when he took moulds for aids and they think we should sue.

I haven't got the foggiest how to go about this - can anyone help???? Is this the sort of case ambulance chasers would take on???? (Dad has no savings left so couldn't pay anything). I would be happy if they would just refund his costs for home helps and transport to hospital so he wasn't out of pocket.

BTW the chap who took moulds no longer works for company.

If this is not the right place to post can someone please point me in right direction, thanks.

[leastarfairy]

Hi. Don't know if I can help. I recently won compensation for clinical negligence against the NHS. Was this NHS or private? As the most recent post said sort out any benefits first. Once you have done this... in my experience you are then able to claim legal aid. This will enable you to have a solicitor and pay very little or nothing at all if you are going to go ahead with legal action. I am also in the process of a personal injury claim after a road accident using a no win no fee solicitor. This has also been ok and I have had no legal costs due to being on benefits.

I don't know if I have helped but if you think I can help you furthur I would be happy to. I am an average Joe that has had success and would be more than happy to let you know how my case worked and let you know what to expect if indeed it would be relevant.

Lea xxx

[auntie brenda]

Thanks for your advice both of you! Much appreciatd. Dad gets lower allowance DLA, have just applied for higher. Didn't realise you could get legal aid for something like this.

Have written to hospital as they said to do for a copy of records, will take it from there.

Leastarfairy, may take you up on your kind offer once I have got records through.

Thanks again!

A B