I am meeting a NHS manager at the end of august. Due to my daughters medical history she had to have all the immunisation she had as a baby again at age 3. the health visitor cut her leg with the needle and has caused physical and mental scarring. We have great difficulty with her many hospital checkups due to tia now having a fear of nurses. The NHS wants to discuss compensation.
I dont want to seem like im after money but what do people think is a reasonable amount of compensation or another form of compensation suitable?
it has to be equated to something tangible really and is very complex, best way is to consult a solicitor as they have a database of previous similar cases that they can look into and find comparable stuff to give you an idea of a figure
but medical cock-ups make my blood boil so my personal advice...take them for EVERY penny you can get
I have a lot of experience with the legal profession. The crux for any legal case is the definition of 'loss' and Emu's advice is spot-on. Solicitors are well versed in cases like yours and will be able to refer to case law and payment guidelines to work out what should be paid. Ultimately, it will be a bit of a horsedeal unless you took the matter to court, which I would not advise.
It looks like the NHS are taking the lead on this so are likely to have a figure in mind which is your starting point. My advice follows Emu, speak to a solicitor and get advice. If the NHS are volunteering a settlement then you can ask the solicitor to work 'at risk' as they should be able to see this is a winning case with the NHS picking up their costs. The solicitor can either stay in the background and advise you privately which will keep negotiations friendly and open, or you can take them with you which may not be as productive as I find this makes people watch what they say and become very guarded.
I would get them to suggest a figure, and whatever it is take it.
Slip ups do happen, no body is perfect, these things unfortunately happen. My son has been through the mill, and because of problems when he was born he has had to have very serious operations. Someone made a mistake with him, after major surgery which caused more issues that made him extremely poorly. We didn't ask for compensation, because these things happen and they were doing all they could to make sure my child could survive. I respect everything they have ever done and they have worked 12 hour shifts for weeks to care for my son and make sure he has familiar faces around him at all times. Children are quite hard to administer injections to, several times needles snapped in my son and he ended up having to have an IV drip into a vein in his scalp because of how much he would involuntarily spasm when he was having injections.
All these operations have been absolutely awful experiences for him, but we have been told that children cope better when their parents cope with it better. I feel that maybe it's actually you that has had the most mental suffering and because its made you anxious it has made your child anxious. Children are amazing and Ive seen with my own eyes how easy they bounce back. I'm not saying that as a negative thing, it's fully understandable, but maybe thinking about having some counselling for you and your child might be a help with future appointments.
I agree with MrsMcx. No amount of money can reverse the childs fear of needles, and we all make mistakes in our jobs, its just with the medical proffesions it dealing with peoples lives and feelings. It depends on what you want to be compensated for? Your daughter won't have loss of earnings, or need alterations to the home as in a wheelchair user. If your looking at paying for councelling for the psycological difficulties and cosmetic surgery for the scar, then you will have to get a few quotes to find out how much that will cost if that's what you want compensating for. If I would you I'd talk it through with your partner or close family member and a solicotor to talk through what you actually want to achieve from your your claim. I wish you and your daughter well and hope that she grows up to be strong, confident and unafraid. Being a mum is so hard isn't it? you just want to solve all their problems for them.
I agree with MrsMcx. No amount of money can reverse the childs fear of needles, and we all make mistakes in our jobs, its just with the medical proffesions it dealing with peoples lives and feelings. It depends on what you want to be compensated for? Your daughter won't have loss of earnings, or need alterations to the home as in a wheelchair user. If your looking at paying for councelling for the psycological difficulties and cosmetic surgery for the scar, then you will have to get a few quotes to find out how much that will cost if that's what you want compensating for. If I would you I'd talk it through with your partner or close family member and a solicotor to talk through what you actually want to achieve from your your claim. I wish you and your daughter well and hope that she grows up to be strong, confident and unafraid. Being a mum is so hard isn't it? you just want to solve all their problems for them.
My daughter was diagnosed with cancer at 19 months. I originally just complained about this. The person dealing with our case brought up the compensation idea. Maybe taking what they offer is a good idea