How much sueing the NHS will cost!!

[tigwig]

Hi, for those of you that read my other post on B&S you will know what this is about but anyway, if we want to sue the NHS does anyone have any idea of what it would cost and if you could do it on a no win no fee basis? We know already that you have to pay alot to get all the reports of which we do have some but have no idea how long it would take and at what cost? We also are going down the healthcare commission route too so involving solicitors cannot start until this is complete.

[Ethel]

It can take five years or more and cost literally tens of thousands of pounds - easily �50k or more.

A 'no win no fee' outfit will only take you on if your case is absolutely watertight.

And of course if you lose you often have to pay for the 'extras' - medical reports, expert witnesses and so on.

I have no idea what this is about though.

[Pippa68]

The 'no win no fee' companies could also ask you to take out a loan...I think this is how they work.

[tigwig]

Hi Ethel, basically my mum died of lung cancer 6 months ago after a 'nodule' had been found in Sep 05. After that was found she had regular scans etc and was always told there was no change even though at the end of last year her pain worsened she ended up in hospital in Feb this year thats when they confirmed that the nodule wasn't a nodule but in fact a tumour that would have been treatable if they had done a biopsy 2 years ago to confirm that. The thing is, we now have reports that another doctor got for us that say the nodule did change and it describes how it was getting worse and worse the last one dated Aug last year saying it no longer looked like a nodule but more sinister patholgy and had it been checked out which it never was. Things then went from bad to worse as a week later she was rushed back to A&E suffering agonising stomach pains and was treated for constipation when in fact we found out days later her bowel had actually perforated and she had to have emergency surgery which resulted in her not being able to have chemo that could have given her longer, she died within 4 months of diagnosis. At the moment we have just received back the letter from the chief exec of the hospital and they are fobbing us off and they even state in the letter they know it is an unsatisfactory response and so we can arrange a meeting then either involve the healthcare commission or sue which we would like to do both if there is time but don't know how we are going to pay for it

[puzzled2403]

You could ask a solicitor for preliminary advice, ie, they could interview you to get as much info as they needed to start with, get the medical and hospital records, and get an expert opinion. After that you would want their advice, probably even a barristers advice too, as to the likelihood of success of sueing the NHS.
Once you start the process you don't have to carry on, and its upto your solicitor and barrister to keep you advised of chance of success all the way along.
This preliminary stage would cost roughly I should think about �3K. You cna aks the solicitor to keep you informed every step of the way of mounting costs so you know the score.
The medical expert report is paramount to the advice a solicitor can give you, the drs treating your mum will be judged on a reasonable standard of care that other drs in the same field would have given. In other words the expert will be able to say on a balance of probabilities if it was likely a dr acting to a reasonable standard would have spotted this earlier, and if so what the outcome would likely have been.
Hope this helps
ps, please don't be apporached by those maniacs in the street offering legal services, go to a proper clinical negligence solicitor, ask them if they are on clinical negligence panels.

[Kleiber]

Hi, tigwig - I'm so sorry to hear about your Mum. This sounds very similar to the circumstances surrounding my husband's death, 2 yrs ago. If you are in Wales, you should get in touch with your local Community Health Council, but if you're in England I believe they've been abolished. You can get access to your Mum's medical records for about �20. I've been pursuing my case now for nearly 2 years and have gone as far as an Independent Review Panel. If I were you, I'd consult a solicitor or speak to Citizens' Advice soon, because you only have 3 years from the date of the "incident" to pursue a case. Hang fire & I'll see what I can find out for you in the next couple of days. Can you let me know where in the country you live? K xx

[tigwig]

Hi Kleiber I live in West Yorkshire and the hospital involved is the Leeds General Infirmary I would love to tell everyone the names of doctors but I'd better not

[Richard1966]

Tigwig,

this will be a long and difficult process. before you use a solicitor you are right to get as much information as possible, but there are time limits so be careful.

Have you contacted your local ICAS service. This is a free advocacy service for people with complaints against national health care services. They cannot help with the compensation issue but may be able to help you gather some of the information you will need and may be able to point you in the direction of a good specialist solicitor in medical negligence. Even if it is no win no fee, they will look at al of the details of the case before they can make a decision on the merits of the case.

http://www.pohwer.net/how_we_can_help/independ ent.html

Good luck

Richard

[Kleiber]

Hi, tigwig. I'll have a word with my advocate next week & see if she knows the route to take in England. It's not as bad as some folk have made out (on your other post) - once you've got the advocate to work for you, they will sort out the Review hearing. You are best to go down that route first, get the opinion, then go to the Ombudsman if you're not happy. It would only cost about �4,000 to go to court, but wait till you've exhausted all other channels first. There's always the GMC (which is the route I'm taking) after all other things have been explored. Personally, I wouldn't be fobbed off by anyone - if we don't complain, more patients will be treated wrongly and more deaths occur. I'm not just pursuing this for me and my son, (and justice for my poor hubby, who went through hell, due to medical incompetance), but for anyone else who is being "treated" by this person. I have a very good knowlrdge of the NHS and I won't be fobbed off by excuses. I'll be in touch. Kxx

[tigwig]

thanks Kleiber I really appreciate your help and would like to point out that it was my mum in law and not my mum who died, I only said she was my mum because I thought of her as my 2nd mum and we were really close. I know that is irrelevant but I didn't want anyone to think I was leading people on. This means that it is my sister in law who is dealing with this mainly and I have posted on here trying to get any further info to help us as possible which you and others have done, once again thanks.

[Kleiber]

Tigwig, try this site - www.avma.org.uk (tel. [phone]) It's the Association for Victims of Medical Accidents - they may be able to help you too. K x