Suing Hospital/Surgeon

alwaysonthego_2

heartbreak_star wrote: »

BUT my cynical side says make a big fuss about your aftercare rather than the actual surgery...ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else. The title of your post makes me think that you want to make a buck out of this, please tell me this isn't the case as the hundreds of thousands of pounds used to go to court (of which you will see peanuts) could fund care instead. The NHS is in a bad enough way - my mum had serious nerve damage after a knee replacement, a few people said sue but she didn't want to take cash away from hospitals.

I hope they investigate thoroughly what happened and you get some answers.

HBS x

Hospitals have insurance to deal with claims of medical negligance and if she has had her life affected because of a blunder then I personally think she should pursue the claim. I am suing the NHS and have a very good case because of a mistake made by a medical practitioner not following protocol resulted in my life being changed which was not my fault. I have loss of earnings, I cannot discuss my case specifically as it is rare and I do not want to affect my case, but I am not after making a quick buck as you put it.

heartbreak_star

alwaysonthego wrote: »

not following protocol resulted in my life being changed which was not my fault. I have loss of earnings, I cannot discuss my case specifically as it is rare and I do not want to affect my case, but I am not after making a quick buck as you put it.

Never said you were, and totally understand. I just have a naturally cynical side when someone says "I want to sue" before "I need to make a complaint" or "I have loss of earnings". Of course a life-changing blunder comes under this, not following protocol is just wrong.

I do genuinely wish the OP well, and yourself too, I'm just wary of our compensation culture damning the NHS.

HBS x

j.e.j.

I also cannot abide ambulance-chasing lawyers and our compensation culture, but I don't think that is the case here.

The use of emotive language like: 'the hundreds and thousands of ££s could fund care instead' is presumably intended to guilt-trip people into putting up with the appalling treatment some (not all) people have to suffer under our healthcare system.

OP something else that's occurred to me, - hospitals used to have a bit on their websites where patients could give feedback. I don't know if that's still the case or if they stopped it now, but it might be worth registering a comment in there, so at least other people know about it.

Another option would be to 'go public', though of course not everyone would want to do that. Someone at a hospital near me was in the papers about an awful mistake the hospital made, and as a result of the all the bad publicity and hoo-ha the hospital were forced to change their policy/procedures. Not suggesting you do this, but just thought it worth mentioning.

heartbreak_star

j.e.j. wrote: »

OP something else that's occurred to me, - hospitals used to have a bit on their websites where patients could give feedback. I don't know if that's still the case or if they stopped it now, but it might be worth registering a comment in there, so at least other people know about it.

Another option would be to 'go public', though of course not everyone would want to do that. Someone at a hospital near me was in the papers about an awful mistake the hospital made, and as a result of the all the bad publicity and hoo-ha the hospital were forced to change their policy/procedures. Not suggesting you do this, but just thought it worth mentioning.

First bit - yes, good point, the NHS still have this as I was prodded to fill in a questionnaire online after recent knee surgery.

Second bit - good option if you don't get any answers!

HBS x

brook2jack

dramaqueen1973 wrote: »

Solicitor is advising not to advise hospital of anything until I have had reversal op, he specialises in this field!


Drama xx

And this is the saddest part of this sorry story. At a time when op should be kicking up a fuss, meeting with people , initiating complaints proceedure etc to change things for the better for everyone and to try to ensure things change quickly, they are being discouraged by their solicitor from doing so. It may very well be the best for the end financial settlement , if there is one, in a few years time but will do nothing to improve post op care now.

Not only that but op has had operation rescheduled once already. Would that have happened if a complaint had been opened? A delay in reversing the stoma may help the case but certainly won't help op. You can bet if hospital were advised of complaint alot of effort would go into making sure op was treated in the fashion they deserve.

Internal complaints , if you are persistent, can make major and quick improvements in health care. They do not stop someone litigating but it is a sorry state when people are discouraged from persuing a course of action that can have rapid results or certainly alot quicker than waiting until you get to court.

Looksguywalker

Surgeons and Doctors pay mega amounts for insurance annually for exactly this scenario.

lilymay1

What exactly do you want from those responsible?

When my baby daughter died (med neg), my husband and I decided not to pursue the hospital despite actually being advised to by our consultant.
All the money in the world wouldn't make up for what we, me in particular, had to go through and we couldn't face the pain of a 5 year battle. All we really wanted was for the hospital to admit their mistakes which of course was never going to happen.

I hope your corrective surgery goes well and that you get what ever it is that you want out of this situation. Best of luck.

floss2

alwaysonthego wrote: »

Hospitals have insurance to deal with claims of medical negligance ...

Looksguywalker wrote: »

Surgeons and Doctors pay mega amounts for insurance annually for exactly this scenario.

And who pays those huge premiums? The NHS - aka the taxpayers / patients.

Don't forget that their excess won't be the £150 or so that a householder will have - my local government employers' excess is £100k, so any accident / injury case that is estimated to pay out less than that gets paid out of council monies. Which then canot be used to mend roads, keep OAP day centres open, provide better schools etc.

FBaby

The key to a success suing the hospital will lie in the outcome of the incident, ie. will you left with permanent disabilities as a result of negligence.

From what you are saying so far, you have had a really tough time, but cross fingers, it is likely you will get back to normal life soon. It is therefore very unlikely you will be able to get any compensation and even if it was considered, your sollicitor would have to prove there was serious failure in your care. It might seem obvious from your perspective, but proving it might be much more difficult.

I think if it was me, I would wait to see the result of your reversal operation. If it goes well, then I would complain about your care and ask for an investigation and then move on.

dramaqueen1973

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