Suing the NHS. Have you? should you? would you?

Got one of those rare midweek days off, and just been watching TV. Within a 1 hour period I have seen 6 advertisements urging people to contact solicitors in cases of medical negligence.

 

I'm aware that botched surgery's etc.. Can ruin lives but is it morally right to sue the NHS? I'd like to think that I wouldn't, but if push came to shove who knows?

Got one of those rare midweek days off, and just been watching TV. Within a 1 hour period I have seen 6 advertisements urging people to contact solicitors in cases of medical negligence.

 

I'm aware that botched surgery's etc.. Can ruin lives but is it morally right to sue the NHS? I'd like to think that I wouldn't, but if push came to shove who knows?

 

That depends really on what happens to go wrong

 

Serious medical mistakes are life changing events which at best limit what you can do for the rest of your life and at worst leave can you in a state which requires expensive full time care or can limit the amount of life you have left or leave you dead.

 

In those sorts of cases then it is quite right for the NHS to make an appropriate financial settlement and where the fault is clearly theirs they should do so without delay. Clearly, if there is a any real doubt then such matters should be tested before a Court.

 

What does seem to be the case is that many of these matters could be avoided if the NHS took a bit more care about what they do and learn the lessons of previous mistakes.

If they had done wrong, whether intentionally of through negligence, and I came to harm* as a result then yes, without a moments hesitation.

 

jb

 

* for certain values of harm anyway.

Yes i would. Would i think longer and harder about it than i would if i was suing someone like Tescos or First or some private company? Yes.

Yes. Two close relatives have done. One was nearly killed by the NHS due to their negligence. Another had an injury missed due to negligence which will have lifelong consequences.

So where does it cease to be a genuine mistake, and become negligence? For example a "nicked artery".

I had problems after major surgery, which would be hard to attribute to anything other than rank bliddy carelessness. I could have sued, was urged to sue, but to be honest I felt so ill for a long time that I couldn't summon the energy.

 

Apart from which, I would have felt very uneasy about any money I might have been awarded being taken from the NHS. And it wouldn't have made me feel any better. In the end there were no long standing effects.

 

In cases where there are ongoing health problems arising from botched care, then I think there should be money to take care of the person, but not otherwise.

Easy one this, no, no and no.

 

Angel1

If you sue the NHS after negligence you are doing a public service.

 

The NHS will continue to make the same mistakes until it becomes financially uneconomical to allow those mistakes to continue.

 

Example; if it will cost £5m per annum for the NHS to put preventative measures in place to stop a particular recurring mistake, but the particular mistake is only costing them £3m per annum in compensation claims, they have a £2m disincentive to put it right, it's more economical to carry on killing and injuring people through negligence.

 

The more people sue, the more economical it becomes to fix the problem and maybe you will help prevent others being victim.

There's even a part of the NHS specifically-designated for claims: the NHS Litigation Authority.

See http://www.nhsla.com/Pages/Home.aspx

If you sue the NHS after negligence you are doing a public service.

 

The NHS will continue to make the same mistakes until it becomes financially uneconomical to allow those mistakes to continue.

 

Example; if it will cost £5m per annum for the NHS to put preventative measures in place to stop a particular recurring mistake, but the particular mistake is only costing them £3m per annum in compensation claims, they have a £2m disincentive to put it right, it's more economical to carry on killing and injuring people through negligence.

 

The more people sue, the more economical it becomes to fix the problem and maybe you will help prevent others being victim.

That's really not how it is any more. There is an effective complaints procedure. You get to know what has been done to improve and it doesn't take money out of the NHS so other patients benefit instead of suffering. Try working with the NHS through the complaints procedure if you really want to help make things better and really don't want to drain much needed funds. Of course, if you see it as an excuse to get rich quick and don't care about other patients, then sue away!

i doint take blood , hey i get great service by informed doctors for free , the nhs is wonderfull its just being abused by everyone and there dog which is a shame