If you, or someone you know, had been ill but you/ they were misdiagnosed and as a result they are now facing the prospect of living the rest of their life with serious physical and mental difficulties, would you consider legal action against the NHS? In addition, once the true condition became apparent, the doctors admitted they'd completely failed to spot it originally when they should have.

doctors admitted

never heard that one before? i guess maybe verbally with no witnesses they might admit a mistake..

but yes, if it's as you describe, I would sue….

NHS litigation authority.

Go for it, theres dodgy,stupid and arrogant doctors as well as motor mechanics, and landscape gardners,they rarely kill people though,dont forget SHIPMAN THE MURDERER.

Took nearly 3 years for bone tumour to be diagnosed, the GP kept ignoring mine and my parents concerns that this was not muscular, growing pains or just something teenagers suffer from. Luckily my employer paid for a private practice to look into it and he spotted something was seriously up, my GP then took notice sent me to see Orthopaedic consultant who straight spotted it was something major, 3 weeks later I had been operated on and tumour removed.

Never did anything as sometimes things are hard to diagnose but it's important to really listen to your patients concerns there not always just whining.

No. It's more common thank you'd think. Normal even. Two people I know well have lost family (and another was critically damaged and now has serious medical problems) thanks to medical failures.

Doctors, like any other profession, aren't very good at anything beyond the ordinary day-in day-out stuff.

Proper background.

Mother in law collapsed back in august. Taken to hospital. Various tests and scans done, nothing showed up so she was discharged.

Collapsed again a couple of weeks later and back to A&E. Referred to a neurologist for MRI, CAT scan etc. Nothing shows up and they diagnose her with adult grade epilepsy.

Has a few more incidents where she collapses. Is generally not feeling right.

On Friday afternoon the wife phones in floods of tears. She was at her parents and her mum collapsed again showing serious signs of distress. Rushed to A&E, more scans done which show a brain haemorrhage. Emergency surgery on Friday night to remove a large blood clot from her brain.

So my father in law and and sister in law are talking to the doctor. He pulls out the very first scan that was done and says it's totally clear. He pulls out the second scan and says

"And as you'll see this one was clear too…ah…hang on a second"

Calls in other doctor and they both confirm that bleeding on the brain was visible on that scan and should've been picked up. IIRC that scan was done about 4-5 weeks ago.

She's came through the operation but they've told us she may never speak again and may be paralysed too.

Priority 1 is to make sure she's ok but the family are very angry and once the dust settles they'll be following up on why it was missed first time round.

Took nearly 3 years for bone tumour to be diagnosed,

My own mother went undiagnosed with Crohn's Disease for about 8 years. The doctors told her it was all in her head and at one point they told her she was swallowing too much air and this was causing the pains in her abdomen.

She was also suffering from head problems last year and a scan showed up lesions on her brain. The consultant told her she had MS with no follow up tests to confirm it. She refused to accept it and went for a private consultation where she underwent a massive range of tests which confirmed the actual condition as aura migraines.

I take it back. That's beyond the normal levels of medical incompetence.

First of all,apply for your mother in laws medical records,x rays and scans etc now,strangely as soon as you mention litigation,records go missing. They have to provide them under the data protection act,next find a solicitor who deals with medical negligence,and make sure what you sign for.

Dont accept the apology from the hospital and let things drop,youre dealing with a life here not a dodgy chair,or a meal,complain and complain some more.

Expect things to drag on and on,for people to be obstructive,and ignorant.

Oh i have and still am going through a medical negligence claim 3 years on.I also have experience of all the above,Boarding bob,email me for more info.

Always difficult to know what to do for the best. I personally am in favour of a "no fault no blame" culture in medical accidents to try to prevent future ones.

Would earlier intervention have made any difference? I don't know.

If she will have permanent problems in future and will have expensive care needs then suing to cover that cost is reasonable.

Wait for the dust to settle and see what explanation you get from the Hospital. Sounds like it should have been picked up. IIRC scans should be reviewed by a consultant radiologist. You should be able to check local policy and procedure for this.

More sterling work from the NHS.

My friend was pregnant and was experiencing chest pains a couple of weeks ago. She went to the doctor who told her there was nothing wrong with her and the midwife told her to go home and have some dry toast.

Her leg swelled up to almost double the size and she phoned another of our friends for advice as he is a cardiothoracic consultant. He advised her to get to A&E straight away. Her husband took her there last week where her condition worsened and they had to delivery her baby early by C-Section. They diagnosed her condition as cardiomyopathy.

I've just received a phone call to let me know she died during a heart transplant operation last night.

Absolutely gutted. 🙁

Very sad indeed Bob and while there should be no excuse the NHS is run by humans and they make mistakes, sadly they can sometimes be tragic. At these times then questions need answered to what went wrong. The NHS overall provides an outstanding service, I will say nothing more on this as it's not good for my career.

Sympathies out to the family and friends.

Sorry to hear that BB – sounds awful.

If she will have permanent problems in future and will have expensive care needs then suing to cover that cost is reasonable.

Agreed. This clearly doesn't sound like a case of trying to get cash out of the NHS for a frivolous claim. I'd suggest going to a solicitor with relevant experience to get some professional advice.

We get the service we pay for – infact we get a better service than we pay for. Our NHS costs less per year as a % of GDP and in cash terms than the vast majority of healthcare systems.

We pay for lidl, we get asda, we want waitrose.

Yeah I totally appreciate that doctors are only human and everyone makes mistakes, but I'm of the opinion that resources are so stretched within the NHS that doctors cannot take the necessary time to fully investigate patients.

When there's a 2 week wait to get a 10 minute appointment at your GP, something is seriously wrong and needs sorted.

boardin bob – find a better practice then .

im nhs and i can get an appointment same day with my GP- or any other doctor in the practice. – oh the benifits of not living in overpopulated hell !

Two weeks for an appointment? My practice generally offers one on the same day if you ring in the morning. Or you could just turn up.

But as for the scans above: yes, they missed something in the second scan. But often you only see things if you know what you are looking for, and it might have been small at that stage (not visible on the first, you said)

The NHS is overstretched an underfunded as it is: taking the money & doctors out of the system to defend themselves is not likely to help anyone else, rather the reverse.

Your GP practice should be offering some sort of same day / urgent appointments system – they are all supposed to now IIRC. Mine has an open surgery in the mornings – get there by 9am and you will be seen before 10 am – 6 days a week

Boarding bob – you are right about the overstretched resources. Goes back to my point about we get what we pay for and we don't pay much.

Difficult one. As an NHS employee I'd say I'd never sue, but then if it was me and my family things might well be different. The idea of legal action always seems to imply blame and punishment, in a "you've done this, so as punsihment you must pay a fine". In that context I would say there is nothing to gain. However, being as your mother in Law is left in a state that is severly life altering, their are associate costs and i see no moral or ethical reasons why these costs should not be reclaimed. The question is, how to go about it? Again its hard to have a validopinion when it isn't affecting me, but i'd be inclined to speak to the practice manager, raise your concerns and discuss your mother in laws future needs. Its worth getting legal advice, but beware of "all you can get sue em all" types as they are often not looked upon favourably in court settings. the practice will have insurance to deal with these situations, and it is well worth keeping things friendly as it can be a very long and drawn out procedure.

mistakes happen, and blame doesn't change whats already happened. it probably wont stop it happening again either, establsh her needs (physio/home help/counseling/ changes to property/ lost wages etc etc) and raise this with the practice.

Hopefully she will make a full recovery, it is not unheard of and thought the brain is a delicate organ, it is also resourceful and tough. All the best to her.

jim

First thing, stop posting up here about it. If you have a claim, and it is to become litigious, there are clear rules about the inadmissability of evidence, so don't let your publishing it here cause an issue later down the line.

Second, a friend of mine is a personal injury lawyer at a decent firm in Manchester. If you want her contact details, email me.

Hope everything works out to the best of your family's advantage.

OTMIN, I'm shocked and apalled. Surely you know other med neg solicitors you should be recommending 😉

Sorry to hear about your mum Boardinbob, have a look at AVMA and and APIL and they should be able to point you in the direction of a specialist medical negligence solicitor in your area as well as giving other advice and support.