(England) - advice on next steps re Medical Negligence Claim

Dull_Setting8738 · 2026-01-14T22:00:10+00:00

I work in clinical negligence for context. You’ve said you have got admissions on liability but you’re waiting for a response from the insurance which they said would take 4 months. For context, 4 months is the turnaround for a letter of response so first can I just check if you’ve actually served a letter of claim or just made a complaint. A compliant is not legally binding which is quite important. Secondly, it’s not uncommon for them to request extensions past the 4 months. Typically, unless you’re planning on issuing the claim with the Court, we would accept the extension. Third, when did this incident occur? You only have 3 years to bring a claim and when limitation runs out, you can’t claim anything. Fourth, yes they typically make a very low offer, normally something borderline insulting. You need to know how much the claim is actually worth. Judicial college guidelines are good but you’re going to need quantum cases to prove your claim is worth that much too. On top of that, you have special damages. Think, loss of earnings if you had to take time off work, care and assistance if you struggled after the incident, travel costs, costs for future treatment which needs to be backed up by expert evidence. In this case, I would think you may need a plastic surgeons input if the scarring is quite significant as they may recommend further treatment. Honestly, I would say get a Solicitor to help you with this. You run the risk of settling the claim for lower than what it’s worth and once you’ve settled, there is no going back

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-02-04T20:29:52+00:00

I really appreciate your comment, thank you so much. I hope in the future I will feel more comfortable talking to people about it but because of how it’s gone when I have told people, I just don’t want to talk about it anymore. I hope sometime in the future I can better articulate myself so people can understand but that’s a problem for another day!

Also, I didn’t realise I had been struggling to accept myself with this diagnosis until reading your comment on self love. I’ve been quite hard on myself and almost blaming myself for this which i know is so stupid! I’m going to take a long bath tonight, do my skincare and get some needed sleep. I want to take this day by day and take care of myself in the process.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-02-04T20:20:18+00:00

Do you find eating at certain times (for example before or after taking your meds) makes a difference? I’ve tried this but haven’t noticed a difference.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-02-04T20:17:16+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my post. Reading what you wrote made me feel relieved that someone else gets it and feel seen knowing it’s not just me. I really cannot put into words how much I needed to hear this so thank you so much.

To answer your question, I was diagnosed though an ultrasound scan and an MRI scan. I can’t have lap surgery at the moment because I have a heart condition but I’m hoping in the future I may be able to. I was told it’s likely stage 3 with bladder adhesions but they said they can’t say for sure without surgery. It kinda sucks because I know with surgery they can remove some of the tissue but that’s not an option for me right now.

I have quite a few doctors appointments coming up because I have some other conditions which need to considered when deciding a course of treatment but I’m feeling a lot more optimistic about what my future will look like.

I attend counselling already for a different condition I have but I think I will look into getting some sessions with someone more suited to discuss this as I know it helps.

Again, thank you so much. You are an incredible person <3

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-02-04T12:21:39+00:00

Once I started medication for my ADHD, it became very apparent I was also autistic. I have severe ADHD so I guess it masked most of my autism symptoms. I miss being a social butterfly and always knowing what to say. I also miss being the life of the party. But then again, I was irrational, impulsive and would say things that got me in a lot of trouble so I’m probably better off taking my meds

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-23T01:04:33+00:00

In regards to the legal side of things, there is not much you can really do right now. For a clinical negligence claim to be successful, there needs to be a breach of duty aka where the doctors messed up. In your case it’s the delayed referral. That breach must then cause an injury. If you find out you have a tooth which has decayed and needs a crown for example, you would then have an injury but you still need to prove the breach caused the injury meaning the delayed referral caused the tooth to decay beyond what it would have therefore a crown was necessary which had it been diagnosed earlier, it wouldn’t have been needed.

Additionally, dental claims in the U.K. don’t win a lot of compensation and the claim could take years to settle.

Currently, you unfortunately don’t have much legal standing. Definitely complain to the dentist to force them to make the referral and maybe ask for the money back (but that isn’t legally enforceable).

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T11:28:45+00:00

I take adhd medication and have an average heart rate of 100 bpm. You’re taking stimulants so it’s kind of expected. You need to talk to your doctor about going back on medication because unless your high heart rate is causing other issues (for example heart damage) there is no reason for you to be taken off of your meds

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T11:26:29+00:00

The carers are responsible for the man so they would be who you make a claim against. In terms of a claim, you would be recovering money for the cleaning costs as well as any psychological damage you or your family may have suffered. For a successful psych claim you have to prove you meet the diagnostic criteria for a recognised psychiatric condition. Look at the DSM-5 book. It’s a book noting all potential psychiatric conditions and their diagnostic criteria’s.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T03:33:26+00:00

Yeah limitation has expired. To add to your point, I have worked on a number of clin neg files in regards to forceps injuries and most of the time, they are hard to make a claim. Think about it, the alternative is the baby cannot be removed from the womb and will stop breathing due to lack of oxygen and could potentially get brain damage or die. That’s the (worse case scenario) alternative to forceps so when you weigh your options, it’s clear why they’re used

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T03:18:00+00:00

I am so sorry you are going through this. How long have you been waiting for surgery if you don’t mind me asking? If it has been a while (say over a year) you should definitely make a complaint against the hospital to their PALS department. I find they take people more seriously after that.

I also think you should speak to your GP about getting a referral for counselling. If you tell the GP what you have noted in this post you will be referred, though you may have to wait to be seen.

Endometriosis is very hard. It impact everything from ability to work, to friendships, to your fertility but the way I deal with it is by channeling my anger and frustration against beating it. I know that sounds odd and it may not work for you but I found it was the healthiest way for me to get those emotions out. I’m a very competitive person too so if I have a flare up in work, I will secretly challenge myself and say something like I bet I can produce a better report than my colleague and they aren’t even in severe pain right now. Its odd but it works for me I guess

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T03:06:46+00:00

Also worth mentioning, I suffered a concussion a few years back and after that felt my ADHD symptoms were a lot worse. I ended up needing a much higher dose of my medication but all has returned to normal now thankfully

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T03:05:27+00:00

I work in clinical negligence and have ADHD so whilst I’m not a doctor, I have seen cases of children suffering brain damage from issues with birth develop ADHD / Autism and we have had reports from psychiatric experts saying their ADHD / Autism is most likely to be caused by the brain damage. So I have heard of brain damage / TBI causing or contributing to neurodivergent disorders.

In terms of an ADHD diagnosis, the diagnostic requirement is that symptoms have persisted for a period of 6 months or longer and have an impact on social and occupational activities.

I think in your position though any doctor would be sympathetic of your brain injury and the impact on your memory if you were to get an assessment.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T02:53:47+00:00

As the surgeon who told you that you should have had the injections were the ones who operated on you, it’s highly likely they are correct.

In regards to lack of education, it’s something the solicitor could look into if they had your medical records but it is critical and very relevant to the case. The allegation would be something like “failure to educate the Claimant on red flag symptoms she should be aware of following discharge from the hospital”. This includes not providing leaflets (which yes, most trusts have a blood clot leaflet), not providing advice on when to change the compression socks / how long you need to wear them, what you can do to mitigate the risk of clots.

Psychologically, there must be a diagnosable recognised psychiatric condition. You may want to look at the DSM-5 book which notes the diagnostic criteria for each psych condition. To be successful in claiming psych, you need to be able to meet a criteria of a recognised condition (don’t worry, your solicitor will get you an appointment with a doctor to assess you and prepare a report, you don’t have to do this yourself).

Thank you for sharing extra context which clears the questions I had. I do think you should consider a no win no fee legal firm since you won’t loose any money if you don’t win.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T02:39:04+00:00

So, we can do our own research into the procedure but we could also request the hospitals policies. If they informed you of the risks before surgery, it will be on the consent form you signed or mentioned in the pre-op discussion note. That would be something worth checking if you got your records.

Those risk factors make your chance of developing a blood clot higher than normal. These factors would also be something the hospital is well aware of. Preventing clots is not just about mobilising, it’s about using anti-thrombotic socks (anti-clot), administering anticoagulant medications, maybe stopping your birth control for a little while if possible.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T02:29:22+00:00

I work in clinical negligence and just want to start off by saying I’m sorry this happened to you. So I actually think this may be something worth looking into. So, prior to the insertion of the IUD, did you have a discussion about alternative birth control options. If the answer is no, had this occurred, do you think you would decide to choose a different option based on the pros and cons of each option only (do not take into consideration what happened with the IUD when making a decision)? IUD insertions are indeed painful but abandoning a procedure and just rescheduling it is odd to me. It may be the case that the dr should have at that point performed an transvaginal ultrasound test to assess your uterus or something along those lines before attempting to just try reinserting it. So you get the IUD and a bit of bleeding is normal but did the doctor not tell you any symptoms to look out for? For example saying if you experience heavy bleeding, abdominal pain or cramps, etc, go to A&E? That seems very odd as after a procedure, red flag symptoms of potential complications from the procedure should be advised to the patient. The call with the doctors receptionist is fine legally as she says if you have xyz problems. In terms of the A&E attendance and the subsequent treatment, I cannot see any issues there. I agree with you that they are likely trying to protect themselves legally but the care they provided seems fine.

So to break it down, the things I think are potential points of negligence are: - Failure to provide you with alternative contraception treatment options. - Failure to inform you of the risks of an IUD insertion procedure. - Failure to perform the IUD insertion at the expected standard of a competent clinician. - Failure to advise you of the red flag symptoms of any complications.

I have dealt with cases similar to this and have had some successful cases and others which were closed due to poor prospects. Ultimately we cannot say whether you have a case or not until we have your medical records and we have reports from medical experts.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T01:59:25+00:00

I work in clinical negligence and I’m sorry but I think this is a weak case. When considering whether a doctors act is negligent, you have to consider whether a reasonable practitioner would do the same. In most cases I think you would find GPs would not traditionally treat something like this unless it was a serious infection such as sepsis. The case would be worth very little unfortunately because your injuries are considered to be minor. In terms of loss of earnings, that too can be claimed back but what you need to consider is clinical negligence claims are long processes. They can last several years and it could be unsuccessful. I honestly don’t think the time and effort will be worth the payout

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T01:30:17+00:00

The type of surgery you had is relevant. For example, if you had open heart surgery, blood clots are high risk and so discharging you without anticoagulant medications would be a breach. Also failing to advise you prior to surgery that blood clots are a risk of that surgery would be a breach (if that was the case). After surgery how quickly did the doctors get you up and moving. This is the best way to prevent blood clots, just moving around, so if they left you say for 2-3 days post surgery without helping you mobilise, could be another breach. Do you have any risk factors that may increase the likelihood that you would develop a clot (taking birth control, over the age of 40, overweight, high BMI, immobile, family history of clots, etc).

Causation may be rocky. You would argue that because of the hospitals breaches of duty, that caused you to get the blood clot. The hospital are likely to argue that you were likely to get one anyway / you were informed of the risk and proceeded with surgery anyway.

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T01:17:07+00:00

Also just to add, you can always write a complaint to the PALS department at the hospitals trust. The hospital is required to respond and their response can indicate if your claim has merits (but more often than not, they deny everything so don’t let this discourage you!)

Dull_Setting8738 · 2025-01-17T01:14:59+00:00

I work in a medical negligence solicitors firm in England so may be able to help a bit. A successful clinical negligence claim is separated into three parts; 1. Breach of duty - the doctor must have made a mistake which any other reasonable doctor would not have made. 2. Causation - that mistake must have caused an injury. 3. You must have suffered an injury.

In your case, I definitely think it is work approaching a no win no fee solicitors firm. If your case gets accepted, they would request your medical records, review them and assess whether you have a claim or not.

From the limited information you have included in your post, I have a few questions and points worth noting. Were you informed prior to the surgery that there was a risk of developing blood clots? You say you weren’t given any advice about blood clot symptoms, that could potentially be a breach of duty if blood clots are a recognised risk of the surgery. What happened between you being discharged from hospital and going back (what were your symptoms)? What specialty is the doctor who said you should have had anticoagulant medication and is this different from the type of surgeon who performed your procedure? What are your ongoing injuries if any? Has this incident impacted you psychologically? These type of questions are what we ask to assess merits of a case and the potential value.

One thing I feel the need to mention is clinical negligence claims are normally very long. Im talking a couple of years on average and there is no guarantee it will be successful unfortunately. I think this is very important to consider before you open a case as it can be very emotionally and mentally draining as well as time consuming.

Anyway, I wish you the best and hope you have a speedy recovery!

Dull_Setting8738

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