My Husband Ended Up in a Care Home Because of Medical Negligence
If your husband or wife has ended up in a care home because of medical mistakes that were made by a GP, hospital or other healthcare organisation, you could be entitled to pursue a medical negligence claim.
For more information on taking legal action against those responsible for your loved one's condition, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today. We will advise you on the options available to you.
Medical errors
Some medical errors can be extremely serious and have a huge impact upon the patient and their family. The consequences may be so severe that the patient is unable to return home and must instead be transferred to a nursing home or a care home.
Ordinarily this will happen when the patient is left with a significant mental and/or physical disability. Because of these injuries, the patient's family cannot care for them safely at home. When a hospital decides that a patient unable to return home, as assessment will take place to see whether a care home or a nursing home is required.
In a care home due to medical mistakes
A care home, or residential home, is slightly different to a nursing home. A care home looks after the patient, providing accommodation, meals and personal care.
However, there are not any trained medical practitioners within the staff body. If a patient needs medical help, it must be called in.
Normally a care home will not be state-funded. The patient and their family must therefore find the funds themselves. This can be a financial strain and sometimes necessitates the sale of a property.
In a nursing home due to medical mistakes
A patient will be sent to a nursing home if he/she is deemed to require nursing care. This means that their medical needs are such that a medically trained professional must be on-hand to provide care. It is not sufficient for them to be cared for by non-medical staff.
Commonly a nursing home will be paid for by the state. Therefore patients who are assessed as needing care within a nursing home are usually very unwell. This can include patients who have been left with brain injuries, epilepsy and the loss of motor function.
Home care package
It may be possible to arrange a home care package. This allows the patient to return home but with continuing healthcare from a trained medical professional. Sometimes this can be particularly important for patients who would benefit from being in their own home – for instance, if they have children.
Loss of finances and dependency
If your husband, wife or partner now requires ongoing care because of medical mistakes, we understand that your whole life will have been turned upside down. To have someone live away from the family home is very unsettling and will be associated with feelings of sorrow and helplessness. Even if your loved one does return home, their condition will undoubtedly be a strain for everyone, often physically as well as emotionally.
There may also be a loss of financial dependency. For example, if your loved one worked but can no longer continue with employment, you will lose the income which was otherwise relied upon by you/the family. There may also be a loss of pension.
Furthermore, the loss of dependency may not just be financial. You may have counted upon the help and assistance of your loved one in other matters, such as housework and childcare. Their injuries may mean that you have lost this dependency, leaving you alone to complete all these tasks.
Taking legal action
It is likely that all this has left you very angry, as the incompetence of medical practitioners has caused you and your loved one terrible physical, emotional and financial injuries.
People who are put in this position often want to take some form of action against those responsible. You can make an official complaint, although most say this provides an insufficient response and rarely contains an apology.
Therefore you may want to consider pursuing a medical negligence compensation claim (also called clinical negligence in the UK). Bringing a legal claim will not undo the injuries that have been sustained, but can have a number of positive effects.
Firstly, it can help you to access justice. This can be very cathartic for the patient and their family who feel frustrated and let down by the medical profession.
Secondly, it can improve care for future patients in the same hospital, or under the care of the same doctor. Highlighting the mistakes which have been made can ensure that they are not made again.
Lastly, it can recover all the money that has been lost as a result of the negligence. This includes any earnings lost by you and your loved one. In some cases it can even incorporate the cost of the ongoing care which is required.
Medical negligence compensation
To find out if you are able to claim medical negligence compensation, you need to speak to a solicitor who works in this area of the law. A medical negligence solicitor will let you know whether you are eligible to pursue legal action.
A claim can be made by the patient. Or if your loved one has passed away, or lacks mental capacity, you can make the claim on their behalf.
If you are advised that you can claim, you do not have to proceed if you do not want to. It is entirely your decision and you must feel comfortable that this is what you want to do.
If you do wish to carry on and make a claim, your solicitor will put the process into motion. Your solicitor will guide the case through each stage to its conclusion – something which can take a few years to achieve.
Speak to a legal expert today
If your husband or wife is in a care home because of medical errors and you want to know what can be done about it, please get in touch with us at Glynns Solicitors. We will suggest what action you can take.
Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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