Solicter Recommnedation - NHS Negligence
Discussion
HI All,
Had a bad experience with the NHS and a certain doctor in particular who after I sustained an injury to my knee was adamant that nothing was really wrong. He diagnosed a light sprain and discharged me after a few months of popping in for check ups where I was still in a lot of pain, required a knee brace for stability and was on a lot of painkillers. The pain continued and I got referred elsewhere by my GP where they found that the joint was fractured and needed surgery. They were surprised that this hadn't been picked up by previous X-Ray and MRI (that I had to fight to get).
I was annoyed by this whole thing as it's dragged on for a year now and I'm still recovering. It's doubtful that I'll be able to get back to normal life (say playing rugby etc.) for another season yet. Despite friends and family saying I should sue, I didn't feel easy with this and wanted to just make a complaint. However, after some thought, I worry that a complaint would just get overlooked or wouldn't result in any change. I'm thinking that tackling this through a solictor and legal channel would get a better end result in these terms. It's not like I'm just trying to get a big payoff.
Can anyone recommend a solictor or firm in this field?
Thanks.
Had a bad experience with the NHS and a certain doctor in particular who after I sustained an injury to my knee was adamant that nothing was really wrong. He diagnosed a light sprain and discharged me after a few months of popping in for check ups where I was still in a lot of pain, required a knee brace for stability and was on a lot of painkillers. The pain continued and I got referred elsewhere by my GP where they found that the joint was fractured and needed surgery. They were surprised that this hadn't been picked up by previous X-Ray and MRI (that I had to fight to get).
I was annoyed by this whole thing as it's dragged on for a year now and I'm still recovering. It's doubtful that I'll be able to get back to normal life (say playing rugby etc.) for another season yet. Despite friends and family saying I should sue, I didn't feel easy with this and wanted to just make a complaint. However, after some thought, I worry that a complaint would just get overlooked or wouldn't result in any change. I'm thinking that tackling this through a solictor and legal channel would get a better end result in these terms. It's not like I'm just trying to get a big payoff.
Can anyone recommend a solictor or firm in this field?
Thanks.
OldSpice said:
HI All,
He diagnosed a light sprain and discharged me after a few months of popping in for check ups where I was still in a lot of pain, required a knee brace for stability and was on a lot of painkillers. The pain continued and I got referred elsewhere by my GP where they found that the joint was fractured and needed surgery. They were surprised that this hadn't been picked up by previous X-Ray and MRI (that I had to fight to get).
To make a claim, you must prove negligence somewhere along the line.He diagnosed a light sprain and discharged me after a few months of popping in for check ups where I was still in a lot of pain, required a knee brace for stability and was on a lot of painkillers. The pain continued and I got referred elsewhere by my GP where they found that the joint was fractured and needed surgery. They were surprised that this hadn't been picked up by previous X-Ray and MRI (that I had to fight to get).
If your symptoms do not indicate something, then the GP may have been acting to the best of his ability. Indeed, if it were the case that both an X-Ray and MRI did not pick up the fracture, then it is not surprising that the GP in the first instance did not see it either.
Unfortunately, the NHS is care on a budget. They go through formulaic procedures, based on what is most likely wrong with you, and treat accordingly.
As long as the they've done that, just because a very tricky to spot injury is there and not picked up, it does not mean that someone has been negligent.
By all means contact a no-win no fee outfit though, but I would't seen my own money on this.
Devil2575 said:
Why do you think the NHS were negligent? because one doctors opinion turned out to be incorrect?
In a potentially similar situation after a long saga of pain, I was sitting waiting for the specialist to come and look at the latest x-ray. I had the opportunity of having a good look. Said specialist came in, had a quick look at the x-ray, said that's all clear. I said are you sure and pointed to part of it. He looked again, properly this time and said, oh you are right that is a non-displaced fracture. One plate and some screws later, all fixed.I'd say if the expert missed something so obvious that even a layman could see it, then that was negligent. Not that I was in the market for doing anything about it as it were. Was just happy to get it sorted.
Might have a parallel to the OP's story. Or may be a complete irrelevance
Bert
Having recently gone through an NHS negligence claim with a family member you need to be ready for your medical notes suddenly becoming lost along with any other "evidence" that may exist. This will then be followed with a lot of lies and fabrications in response to evidence you presented to them 2 years ago that they've only just been arsed to look at as they were hoping you'd have got bored and given up.
The "missing" medical notes is what puts the nail in the coffin for any legal case as no sol will touch it without, unless of course you're foolish enough to proceed anyway and then have to find 6 figures when the court inevitably throws the case out due to lack of evidence.
The NHS have it stitched up (no pun intended) good and proper. Good luck.
The "missing" medical notes is what puts the nail in the coffin for any legal case as no sol will touch it without, unless of course you're foolish enough to proceed anyway and then have to find 6 figures when the court inevitably throws the case out due to lack of evidence.
The NHS have it stitched up (no pun intended) good and proper. Good luck.
The NHS is permanently in a battle with no win no fee bottom feeders, so all complaints are treated as potential litigation cases and defended from the word go. the £20bn they pay out this year would pay for a lot of extra clinicians time and more expensive tests. So blame all the money grabbing soles who were draining the resources out when you needed care and don't stop people who do need care in the future from getting it because the doctor you saw was not a god.
Speaking as a Doctor my opinion on this may be a little biased, so if you don't agree, I understand. The difficulty here is proving negligence. A lot of people feel that because the Doctor didn't diagnose something, then they were negligent. However, this is not often the case. Your presentation may have been unusual; the break may have been very difficult to diagnose on an Xray or MRI (if the fracture was initially undisplaced - this could be the case), other factors can mask symptoms and signs (such as having strong leg muscles - from playing rubgy for example), I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point.
The question of negligence will not be based on whether your diagnosis was missed, but on whether the Doctor(s) in question did what would be expected from a clinician of their grade/experience, and whether they have followed the correct guidelines/pathways.
If the clinician(s) in charge of your care have been negligent, and consequently you have incurred financial losses or emotional distress, then you should be entitled to compensation.
What concerns me slightly, is your rationale behind talking to a solicitor: "I worry that a complaint would just get overlooked or wouldn't result in any change". This suggests that you haven't made a complaint yet - so how would you know whether it will or won't be taken seriously?
If what you want is change - then my suggestion would be to make a complaint (every colleague of mine takes complaints seriously, as we take pride in what we do). If what you seek is compensation then go see a solicitor.
The question of negligence will not be based on whether your diagnosis was missed, but on whether the Doctor(s) in question did what would be expected from a clinician of their grade/experience, and whether they have followed the correct guidelines/pathways.
If the clinician(s) in charge of your care have been negligent, and consequently you have incurred financial losses or emotional distress, then you should be entitled to compensation.
What concerns me slightly, is your rationale behind talking to a solicitor: "I worry that a complaint would just get overlooked or wouldn't result in any change". This suggests that you haven't made a complaint yet - so how would you know whether it will or won't be taken seriously?
If what you want is change - then my suggestion would be to make a complaint (every colleague of mine takes complaints seriously, as we take pride in what we do). If what you seek is compensation then go see a solicitor.
Thanks everyone.
meddyg said:
If what you want is change - then my suggestion would be to make a complaint (every colleague of mine takes complaints seriously, as we take pride in what we do).
I think that this was what I was looking to hear. I'll try putting a complaint in and seeing what happens. Cheers.JustinP1 said:
To make a claim, you must prove negligence somewhere along the line.
If your symptoms do not indicate something, then the GP may have been acting to the best of his ability. Indeed, if it were the case that both an X-Ray and MRI did not pick up the fracture, then it is not surprising that the GP in the first instance did not see it either.
Unfortunately, the NHS is care on a budget. They go through formulaic procedures, based on what is most likely wrong with you, and treat accordingly.
As long as the they've done that, just because a very tricky to spot injury is there and not picked up, it does not mean that someone has been negligent.
By all means contact a no-win no fee outfit though, but I would't seen my own money on this.
Strike for accuracy.If your symptoms do not indicate something, then the GP may have been acting to the best of his ability. Indeed, if it were the case that both an X-Ray and MRI did not pick up the fracture, then it is not surprising that the GP in the first instance did not see it either.
Unfortunately, the NHS is care on a budget. They go through formulaic procedures, based on what is most likely wrong with you, and treat accordingly.
As long as the they've done that, just because a very tricky to spot injury is there and not picked up, it does not mean that someone has been negligent.
I understand your frustration but I've had issues that have dragged out... One for about 6 years and numerous doctors visits and hospitalisation before it was finally sorted.
I knew the problem after the first year but only some doctors/surgeons would believe it.
OldSpice said:
I think that this was what I was looking to hear. I'll try putting a complaint in and seeing what happens. Cheers.
My GF worked for a few years in the complaints department of a large Care Trust and as you can imagine cases range from extremely serious (national news and huge payouts and public apologies) to utterly trivial. However, they all get looked into and protocols are folllowed strictly. There's even an Ombudsman as a last resort.Your first stop should be a chat or a letter to the GP's Practice Manager. They will (almost certainly) take it seriously in house but you've got options if they don't.
Don't listen to the conspiracy theorists who always float to the surface in threads like this.
I work in IT and if I get a diagnosis of a problem wrong I usually get to have another go.
It's s
t but it isn't cancer or something terminal that they got wrong and if it went the other way you'd be complaining they put you through major surgery when you only had a sprain - very easy for me to say when it's someone I don't know involved, but I'm also impartial.
If you go for anything go for an apology, there's a difference between being negligent and acting on best intentions but simply being wrong.
It's s
t but it isn't cancer or something terminal that they got wrong and if it went the other way you'd be complaining they put you through major surgery when you only had a sprain - very easy for me to say when it's someone I don't know involved, but I'm also impartial.If you go for anything go for an apology, there's a difference between being negligent and acting on best intentions but simply being wrong.
The NHS didn't fracture your leg. You were going to be out of action regards rugby etc. As has been said already it's not cancer or a life changing injury that could've been avoided with the correct diagnosis.
Members of the NHS were arguably negligent when it came to dealing with my father, who was sent away on a couple of occasions when really someone ought to have realised that he had a lot of pride and downplayed his symptoms. After he died there was an investigation as the cause of death was determined to involve self-neglect.
We had several meetings with various parties subsequent to his death, we could've gone full legal, and I think they thought we were on a couple of occasions because they went full professional mode with minutes takers etc. In reality though our father had some agency in it all, and the worst you could accuse the GPs and duty nurses of being was only dealing with acute symptoms.
Given that they only have like 5 minutes per patient it's a wonder any of them are able to deal with anything beyond what they're told in the here and now (rather than spending X minutes reading up on that person's medical history)
Members of the NHS were arguably negligent when it came to dealing with my father, who was sent away on a couple of occasions when really someone ought to have realised that he had a lot of pride and downplayed his symptoms. After he died there was an investigation as the cause of death was determined to involve self-neglect.
We had several meetings with various parties subsequent to his death, we could've gone full legal, and I think they thought we were on a couple of occasions because they went full professional mode with minutes takers etc. In reality though our father had some agency in it all, and the worst you could accuse the GPs and duty nurses of being was only dealing with acute symptoms.
Given that they only have like 5 minutes per patient it's a wonder any of them are able to deal with anything beyond what they're told in the here and now (rather than spending X minutes reading up on that person's medical history)
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