NHS Serious Incident Claims

NHS Serious Incident claims

If you have suffered injury, illness, harm or a loved one has unexpectedly died and their death may have been avoided, you may have a case and may be entitled to bring an NHS Serious Incident claim against the care provider for general medical negligence, hospital negligence or GP negligence.

You will require specialist legal advice and representation from an expert medical negligence solicitor, such as those at Blackwater Law.

You can call Blackwater Law and get free initial advice from a specialist medical negligence solicitor. The expert solicitor that you speak with will quickly be able to tell you whether you may have a case against the healthcare provider. Your medical negligence solicitor will explain the process involved in such a case to you and will be able to answer any questions you may have.

What is a serious incident?

Instances of a serious incident

Serious Incidents in NHS care are adverse events including those that involve avoidable or unexpected serious harm and injury. In the most severe cases, they can involve the avoidable or unexpected death of a patient. There is no definitive list of Serious Incidents but Serious Incidents requiring investigation by an NHS Trust or Health Board would include:

• Misdiagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Delays in treatment
• Birth injuries to mother
• Birth injuries to babies
• Surgical errors
• Medication and prescription errors
• Misinterpretation of test results
• Serious pressure ulcers
• Accidents on-premises
• Safeguarding issues
• Assault/Violence

Serious Incidents also include systematic and organisational failures such as serious IT failures, issues surrounding ward closures and bed availability for patients in need, as well as any adverse event or incident affecting an  NHS Trust or Health Board’s ability to provide quality healthcare.

Will you know if a Serious Incident has occurred?

NHS England stipulates in its Serious Incident Framework guidance document that patients, carers and families should be informed if a Serious Incident has occurred during the delivery of their care or the care of a loved one. If you have received notice of that fact a Serious Incident has occurred or been reported, this may be in the form of a letter, email, telephone conversation or a conversation in person.

However, it is reasonable to believe that this may not happen in every instance and that a Serious Incident may have occurred or may have been reported but you have not been informed of this. Therefore, if you think a Serious Incident has occurred but you have not been contacted about this by the healthcare provider, you may still have a case. Blackwater Law will be able to undertake the necessary investigations or provide you with advice on how you can find out.

Blackwater Law research into NHS Serious Incidents

Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors undertook the first piece of research to look at the frequency and type of Serious Incidents being recorded at all hospitals and by NHS trusts across England and Wales and published their results in February 2018.

Our research showed NHS trusts and health boards across England and Wales were recording 20,000 Serious Incidents annually.

Our research identified that Serious Incidents are occurring at all NHS trusts and health boards and the nature of these Serious Incidents was worrying indeed. For more information on the findings from our NHS Serious Incident research, see our Serious Incident infographic.

Commenting on the research, Jason Brady, Partner at Blackwater Law and one of the medical negligence solicitors responsible for the research, said:

 “It was concerning to see so many Serious Incidents being reported by NHS trusts. It is important that those that suffer from these incidents are given the answers and support they deserve. Blackwater Law is here to help them secure those answers and get the financial support they need to compensate and support them into the future.”