Medical Negligence claims

[Chinaski]

Once again I've up all night in pain and bother, and in between talking absolute shite on here I've been looking into taking action for what l consider to be the medical negligence which has led me to this point. A lot of information online is sketchy, coming as it does from ambulance chasing lawfare types who are seeking desperate punters. However, I've got copies of all the dismissive bullshit contained within my specialist's letters and I'm going to consult a firm today. I don't foresee a positive outcome, but as things stand it's very difficult to know that if l were to ctb today, these rank charlatans would get away with it and continue to collect their six-figure salaries, potentially treating other patients in a similarly harmful way.

I know a lot of people here have gone through similar healthcare difficulties and wondered how far anyone had got with regard to taking the fight to them, what can someone in my position realistically expect, what evidence would l need and how, would l go about obtaining it, etc etc. Any info would be very gratefully received.

 

[GentleJerk]

I really hope you have some success with this, I have also experienced a great deal of negligence and it angers me how often these medical parasites are not held accountable for their negligence. The fact that my health has declined as much as it has, is because of their gross ineptitude. At least I hope it's ineptitude, and not deliberate, but as time goes on I'm finding that harder to believe.

In my experience the very first thing they do is cover their own arses. That's what they seem to do best actually. I am so fed up with doctors and the medical system, being treated poorly, I'm at the point where I have basically decided to stop seeking treatment, allow my health to naturally decline, and just ctb when things gets to a critical point rather than keep giving them the time of day. I understand that feeling of not wanting to let them get away with it... But I don't have the energy or the mental capacity to even think about trying to fight it anymore.

Give 'em hell, good luck!

 

[Chinaski]

I really hope you have some success with this, I have also experienced a great deal of negligence and it angers me how often these medical parasites are not held accountable for their negligence. The fact that my health has declined as much as it has, is because of their gross ineptitude. At least I hope it's ineptitude, and not deliberate, but as time goes on I'm finding that harder to believe.

In my experience the very first thing they do is cover their own arses. That's what they seem to do best actually. I am so fed up with doctors and the medical system, being treated poorly, I'm at the point where I have basically decided to stop seeking treatment, allow my health to naturally decline, and just ctb when things gets to a critical point rather than keep giving them the time of day. I understand that feeling of not wanting to let them get away with it... But I don't have the energy or the mental capacity to even think about trying to fight it anymore.

Give 'em hell, good luck!

This is my experience exactly, I've been in the trade union and labour movement for well over a decade and jesus wept, I've never witnessed a more powerful display of class solidarity than seeing these privileged shithouses cover each others arses, l suspect reporting police corruption is an easier gig than taking these fuckers on, they are treated like deities and mark each others dog-eared homework to maintain it. I'm a pretty solid advocate for myself, l can argue forensically and l generally fancy my chances in any battle of this nature but this is absolutely systemic, it's impermeable and it's driving me crazy. For all the lauding of our NHS as a testament to democratic socialism l can assure you in its current state, essentially a corporate brand treating patients as an undeserving burden, it more closely resembles the model that preceded it.

 

[D&D]

Dear @Chinaski

First, I am truly sorry for what happened to you. It is terrible on every level. I can't think of anything worse than been mistreated and let down when unwell, meaning vulnerable, by those tasked and payed to care. Sorry.

You are right and I salute you for trying not to let them get away with it. Good on you comrade Chinaski!

Now, while I have some knowledge/training in legal matters, I have never dealt with medical negligence. That said, and going by what generally applies in legal matters, I would suggest:

- look for a lawyer/solicitor that specialises in those type of cases. There seem to be a few in UK that specialised in medical negligence. It would be worth talking to them to start with to ascertain which you feel most comfortable with. They ought to have first hour or so free and should be able to give you an idea what your chances might be based on evidence you have. Keeping in mind that the other party (doctors) are bound to lawyer-up at the sniff of the lawsuit and they can, usually afford the best lawyers.

- the key would be proving negligence - you (your lawyer) would need to show that a healthcare professional failed in their duty to care for you, AND that you experienced a damage or loss as a result of that failure. Damage or loss can include both physicals and psychiatric injury, as well as financial loss.

Hope this helps a little bit and wishing you best.

 

[Chinaski]

Thanks @D&D - the firms I've looked at are either "SICKLAWYER4U" types who specialise in medical negligence but seem a bit hokey, or a couple of reputable local firms each with an actual specialist on the roster, I'll try all and see what my gut says.

Re evidence, l don't wish to go into detail but it's an obvious problem, in that you can visibly see it, like you could a gaping wound, as opposed to, say, a bad back. The issue is that until l find a doctor with some integrity who is willing to go against his pals from the golf clubs and swingers parties their word is sacrosanct. If your brain is in a basket but a doctor says it isn't, then it isn't.

It's a very odd experience as specialists in other specialisms take one look and are like "wtf", my GP is literally *apologising* for the shit treatment, but the experts in this field are writing letters suggesting l see a shrink. Now I'm capable and competent in presentation, l can use language well enough and communicate clearly, l dread to think what people go through when English is not their first language, or they have pre-existing MH issues.

 

[D&D]

I have absolutely no doubt that you are more than competent and eloquent advocate comrade @Chinaski !

Those 'hokey' types operate on 'no success/no fee' basis I presume. Similar to some employment law firms. As a rule I am not their fan, but I have never lived in UK either. Albeit I am from Europe originally,

I know what you are saying - medical professional is notorious for keeping each other's back. By doing so they protect each other's reputation (read: incomes) and prevent dangerous precedents. This is why a competent lawyer is important. As would be an independent court appointed expert ... I know that is not as easy as it sounds.

Here is a person who had learned English out of necessity as an adult ... and lived to chat with you on SS! Not only that - there was a time when I watched Coro St and understood it too! Those were the days ... long gone now. As is all.

Really hope it goes well for you. Let us know.

 

[Chinaski]

I have absolutely no doubt that you are more than competent and eloquent advocate comrade @Chinaski !

Those 'hokey' types operate on 'no success/no fee' basis I presume. Similar to some employment law firms. As a rule I am not their fan, but I have never lived in UK either. Albeit I am from Europe originally,

I know what you are saying - medical professional is notorious for keeping each other's back. By doing so they protect each other's reputation (read: incomes) and prevent dangerous precedents. This is why a competent lawyer is important. As would be an independent court appointed expert ... I know that is not as easy as it sounds.

Here is a person who had learned English out of necessity as an adult ... and lived to chat with you on SS! Not only that - there was a time when I watched Coro St and understood it too! Those were the days ... long gone now. As is all.

Really hope it goes well for you. Let us know.

Thank you for your messages of support, I'm very grateful - and Coronation Street has been going down the pan for years, you've not missed anything l assure you.

 

[YourNeighbor]

A decent law firm that specializes in these types of cases will be your best bet at letting you know if you have a case worth putting on (as with doctors, you may want a second opinion as well), but you have figured out the crux of the matter. A medical malpractice case will often boil down to a battle of the experts about whether the standard of care you received was within the norms or not, understanding that mistakes in medicine happen even when doctors act competently. Borderline cases for that reason be especially hard to prove, and because hiring experts can be costly (at least on this side of the pond), the initial advantage usually lays with the defending doctor, who tends to have more resources at his/her disposal to mount a defence than an aggrieved party has to raise a challenge. Big awards are difficult absent egregious and obvious negligence or malfeasance, while nuisance settlements are probably not too hard to come by if there is a gray area, as docs and insurance companies prefer to avoid the hazards and expense of litigation. Not legal advice, to be clear, and I suspect you knew all of the foregoing already.
I would add, if you approach the matter with solicitors from the perspective of identifying concrete harms you are suffering because of your past medical care and seeking redress for those harms, as opposed to being on a moral crusade, you will probably be better received. The best lawyers are pragmatic and will appreciate clients who are as well.

 

[Chinaski]

A decent law firm that specializes in these types of cases will be your best bet at letting you know if you have a case worth putting on (as with doctors, you may want a second opinion as well), but you have figured out the crux of the matter. A medical malpractice case will often boil down to a battle of the experts about whether the standard of care you received was within the norms or not, understanding that mistakes in medicine happen even when doctors act competently. Borderline cases for that reason be especially hard to prove, and because hiring experts can be costly (at least on this side of the pond), the initial advantage usually lays with the defending doctor, who tends to have more resources at his/her disposal to mount a defence than an aggrieved party has to raise a challenge. Big awards are difficult absent egregious and obvious negligence or malfeasance, while nuisance settlements are probably not too hard to come by if there is a gray area, as docs and insurance companies prefer to avoid the hazards and expense of litigation. Not legal advice, to be clear, and I suspect you knew all of the foregoing already.
I would add, if you approach the matter with solicitors from the perspective of identifying concrete harms you are suffering because of your past medical care and seeking redress for those harms, as opposed to being on a moral crusade, you will probably be better received. The best lawyers are pragmatic and will appreciate clients who are as well.

The latter point is crucial and l fully agree, however l suspect on paper alone it will not be accepted as a case until I've got something corroborating from another "expert" - the truth is l expect little and l know how rigged the game is but I've always been someone who fought, who stood up for myself and others, who wasn't shy about confronting powerful people when they misused that power, and as virtue-signally as some folk on here will doubtless perceive that to be it's the first time I've felt so incapable of meeting that challenge, and the sense of futility is crushing. At this stage l just need to piss them off, to feel like I'm getting them back, to make them feel at least irritated by this working class dickhead who won't just fuck off and die, and I'm going to have to put that to one side and try and dispassionately focus on where and how l can hurt them (atm their letters are couched in ridiculous psychopathologising and use phrases like "l am not convinced", but I'll need more than that imo), idgaf about money as much as l do about making them regret treating me like shit because I've too much pride to simply go out without fighting.

 

[Feeding Pigeons]

Good luck Chinaski, give them hell. I have people in my family close to me that received garbage treatment for a physical ailment and never tried to take legal action. Its infuriating.

but the experts in this field are writing letters suggesting l see a shrink.

Yep. The family member in question got told all the time that the pain is in their head and they need to not focus on it.

 

[Chinaski]

Good luck Chinaski, give them hell. I have people in my family close to me that received garbage treatment for a physical ailment and never tried to take legal action. Its infuriating.

Yep. The family member in question got told all the time that the pain is in their head and they need to not focus on it.

Thanks. I'm absolutely unsurprised by how many people can point to others who've suffered this, if not themselves a friend or relative.

I'm my father's second son. The first died as an infant before l was born. My parents were working class teenagers who took their sick baby to a doctor and were told they were stressed. They argued and were practically ushered out of the office. The child died a few days later, on my father's birthday, of non-bronchal pneumonia. My father never celebrated his birthday thereafter, and it was a lifelong regret that he never sought bloody revenge on that doctor.

Seven months after my symptoms initially began my father himself died. Now my doctors are telling me my illness is "grief". I did not have an easy relationship with my father, but it's an absolute fucking insult to the man for these cunts to not only kill his two sons but to also use his own passing as their get-out clause. I honestly can not let this pass, it's consuming me.

 

[TooConscious]

Sad thing is it's always the false claimants who have big families who will give the system hell if they don't get what they want who get it all while genuine survivors rot. It's the reason I quit this life so early I was fucked from ailments but realized evne later that it was rigged to milk suffering.
Evil scumbags

 

[Julgran]

I wish you the very best @Chinaski - now I have finally seen your human side. Show them who's boss

 

[YourNeighbor]

idgaf about money as much as l do about making them regret treating me like shit because I've too much pride to simply go out without fighting.

Well, if you don't care about money you're likely to find a solicitor somewhere willing to take it just to file something with some court, but it's probably a good idea to heed what you hear from the more reputable ones, even if it doesn't give you the satisfaction you're looking for. Would be a shame to be abused by lawyers to follow up poor treatment from doctors. And litigation can be a nightmare of its own, especially against a well-heeled opponent.

 

[Chinaski]

Well, if you don't care about money you're likely to find a solicitor somewhere willing to take it just to file something with some court, but it's probably a good idea to heed what you hear from the more reputable ones, even if it doesn't give you the satisfaction you're looking for. Would be a shame to be abused by lawyers to follow up poor treatment from doctors. And litigation can be a nightmare of its own, especially against a well-heeled opponent.

Well l found one quite local which I'd prefer atm because l think it's to my advantage to be able to consult in person regularly, as I'm confident in my ability to present myself. The symptoms developed over time through a long period and l was canny enough to keep a photo log of the visual changes to it, they've asked for these and any letters l have prior to deciding.

I'm still inclined to shop around, I'll be bearing what you said very closely in mind and I'm generally good at sniffing out a blagger, l find doing a Columbo to be a very useful tactic as the bigger the rube you're assumed to be, the more they reveal the blag. This comes easy to me, given how my intelligence has been significantly underestimated by literally everyone I've ever met in my entire life. Or overestimated by me, idk.

 

[callme]

This comes easy to me, given how my intelligence has been significantly underestimated by literally everyone I've ever met in my entire life. Or overestimated by me, idk.

We know that, just look at your comment to like ratio, I'm your polar opposite and look at mine.

Too bad your doctors find such excuses and hope whatever lawyer (barrister that is) you consult doesn't take "I don't care about money" too literally. Even despite the legal system, you may pin them down for unfair treatment or wrong diagnosis.
At the very least, grief is not a valid medical diagnosis based on the current DSM, they have no right to be compensated in money for their service and conclude a non-treatable, non-provable diagnosis as "grief" at the same time.

I do hope you get a second opinion, but you've already done so, yes? Any doc worth their coat will glare at this nonsense and stand up for a patient, if an arranged appointment with him and a lawyer, or even a confidential statement certified with a seal and sent to a lawyer won't be much effort considering health is at stake.

As a pickle-brained onion, I'm afraid the only solution to being underestimated by lesser people in intelligence is through consideration for their inability, and patience in explaining your position.
When I did say what I did about incels, you replied I'm beyond contempt. Right, Not surprised by how far I've gone, but it went completely over my head. Not that I was angry or offended, I simply don't get it. It infuriates you to waste your time on people who just don't get it, rightfully, but reasoning with such people is the way out sometimes.

Doesn't look like you have an unrealistic evaluation of your intelligence. What you want to do as far as you've planned and put it down here has a chance of convincing people in those places comfortable enough for them to underestimate you that they are wrong. It is In this way that maybe you've been in a position to be though less of. It's very bad to have to be the right person at the right time not only to be successful, but nowadays, even to survive.

Is there a misconduct such as a moral damage in the penal code there? I know it works in backward ways sometimes, but I hope there is so you can claim that in front of court eventually.

 

[Chinaski]

We know that, just look at your comment to like ratio, I'm your polar opposite and look at mine.

Too bad your doctors find such excuses and hope whatever lawyer (barrister that is) you consult doesn't take "I don't care about money" too literally. Even despite the legal system, you may pin them down for unfair treatment or wrong diagnosis.
At the very least, grief is not a valid medical diagnosis based on the current DSM, they have no right to be compensated in money for their service and conclude a non-treatable, non-provable diagnosis as "grief" at the same time.

I do hope you get a second opinion, but you've already done so, yes? Any doc worth their coat will glare at this nonsense and stand up for a patient, if an arranged appointment with him and a lawyer, or even a confidential statement certified with a seal and sent to a lawyer won't be much effort considering health is at stake.

As a pickle-brained onion, I'm afraid the only solution to being underestimated by lesser people in intelligence is through consideration for their inability, and patience in explaining your position.
When I did say what I did about incels, you replied I'm beyond contempt. Right, Not surprised by how far I've gone, but it went completely over my head. Not that I was angry or offended, I simply don't get it. It infuriates you to waste your time on people who just don't get it, rightfully, but reasoning with such people is the way out sometimes.

Doesn't look like you have an unrealistic evaluation of your intelligence. What you want to do as far as you've planned and put it down here has a chance of convincing people in those places comfortable enough for them to underestimate you that they are wrong. It is In this way that maybe you've been in a position to be though less of. It's very bad to have to be the right person at the right time not only to be successful, but nowadays, even to survive.

Is there a misconduct such as a moral damage in the penal code there? I know it works in backward ways sometimes, but I hope there is so you can claim that in front of court eventually.

Idk what the comments-to-like ratio really tells anyone tbh, after all you can pour your life into one single post of earth-shattering insight and still be outdone by MAN I H8 PROLIFERS MAN in the numbers.

When l brought up how intelligence is underestimated it was not from as lofty a position as you may have perceived, in most instances people with tiniest speck of authority and power will assume rank idiocy on the part of the riff-raff they're dealing with and l personally feel I've experienced this everywhere l go, this is probably more a social class thing than anything. There is sin in being born into poverty and failing to escape it. The thrust of my point was that the only time this can be used to one's advantage is when you allow this assumption to go unchallenged to the point where they become complacent and reveal too much. It doesn't mean I'm necessarily smarter than the person I'm dealing with, these doctors have significantly greater learning than l do, just that l am definitely not as dumb as people think and this presumption of idiocy is a common error.

I don't recall an exchange between us re incel stuff but yeah my patience for that stuff has taken something of a knock recently. Also don't be offended that l don't remember it, there's been so much of it l can't keep track.

Second opinions in the UK are difficult unless you're wealthy. If you have the cash you have a bupa plan, see the people there, then off to Harley Street if you need, then into Europe. The poors only option is to self-fund an opinion from somebody who is, literally, a good friend of the doctor you're challenging. When you're self-funding they know you haven't a lot of money, if you did you'd have a bupa plan, and treat you accordingly. I sought the opinion of one person a few hours drive away, only to be told on arrival that despite my obvious symptoms he couldn't help as he didn't have my previous notes and l would be better with the NHS as a result. I have simply refused to pay this person - he saw potential problems and conflicts arising without a significant payoff so ducked out. That's their privilege. Other doctors from other specialisms, and also my own GP, express absolute amazement at my treatment and are as supportive as they can be, but what they put in writing can not challenge the expert view of the principal specialist. It's an institution with a defined hierarchy which seeks to protect itself.

Fwiw when l say I'm not interested in money l mean any compo is practically worthless, as it is it's no exaggeration to say my life is over as things are and there is no money that can compensate. However in the UK it's the only thing you can argue for, you can't get anyone punished or properly held to account, you can't even get an apology. One consultant in the same local hospital only got struck off after killing his third patient, whilst implicated in the deaths of sixteen others. He was suspended while this was investigated, for three years, on full pay. That's 300k this lad was given to simply await being fired. So the finances are not my motivator, I'm aiming low - I'm just unable to take a beating without letting those dish it out know they've at least been in a fight.