Compensation culture

[david51058]

Why is it when anyone is a victim of someone making a mistake in everyday life there is always someone who wants to cash in ot it by making some kind of compensation claim? The worst culprits are those who try to claim off the NHS over something like a misdiagnosis. Where do they think the money comes from to pay them out? Other patients care and treatment of course!
The only justification for any compensation being paid is if the 'victim' suffers a loss of earnings and any other expenditure, that is all, nothing else.
Yes it's heartbreaking when anyone loses a loved one through negligence but why then do they want to claim thousands in compensation? It won't bring them back. They must think that everyone has a price and just see it as an easy way to make a fast buck.

[LewPaper]

Hiya woofgang. Solicitors' advertising may have made it a little easier for you, but you could've managed with the adverts. Isn't it better to work problems out by yourself than to always have someone to give you the answer?

[Sqad]

Misdiagnosis and negligence are not necessarily the same thing.

Every doctor has misdiagnosed, but not every doctor is negligent.

If one has listened to the patient, examined the patient, conducted all the tests that are reasonable, routine and generally accepted in that particular case, but comes up with the wrong diagnosis, then that is not necessarily negligence.

[LewPaper]

Sorry. That should've read 'but you could've managed without the adverts.'

[ljdksa]

I think lew is right. Wiring a plug and jump-starting a car are not examples of "common sense"- they are learnt behaviours. Common sense is something most people consider to be logical, without being taught. Such as, not looking where you're going is your own fault.

[woofgang]

Nope lew couldn't have managed it alone, needed legal help and didn't need some idiot with no experience guiding us wrong and costing a fortune.

[bobjugs12]

The compensation "I'm gonna cover my arrse" attitude pervades every level of the NHS. We're constantly fighting a battle against it as well.

Example:
Mrs A is a 90yo woman who has had a simple fall with no injuries. She's unable to get herself back up so presses her lifeline pendant. Ambulance crew comes out, checks her over and finds no sign of injury. Crew then carries out basic obs and notices that she has a slight arrythmia in her heart. She is fine in herself and at her age it,s to be expected, although she was unaware of the problem.
It's Friday night and A&E is going to be full of p1ss heads and junkies, so obviously the crew want to avoid taking the lady in if possible. The best option would be an Out Of Hours GP visit to make sure all is good, or a visit by her own GP the following morning (if possible). So crew goes through the process of treating on scene.
The initial call is too Ambulance Control to speak to the On-duty nurses for authorisation to leave her at home. Nurses respond with "speak to OOH GP". Phone OOH GP, who responds with "I'm not happy to authorise that. Take her in to A&E"

Crew then has to explain to dear old Mavis why, although she's fine and nothing is wrong with her, they are going to have to take her from her nice warm home out to the truck, down to A&E, where she could be sat for a few hours in a waiting room full of vomitting morons and tw@ts trying to punch security guards. You then have to explain that this is all because, although we're happy to leave her at home after having met her, examined her, gone through her history, spoken to her carers/NoK; a nurse who wasn't on scene wasn't happy to trust our judgement and covered her arrse decided to give it to a doctor, who wasn't on scene and decided that he wanted his arrse covered.

The little old lady in this case ended up in hospital, and we made sure she got somewhere away from th

[bobjugs12]

The little old lady in this case ended up in hospital, and we made sure she got somewhere away from the noise and chaos of the only A&E in Portsmouth. She ended up in a side room on the Paediatric A&E thanks to a really good Sister.

But this is one example of how Compo Culture drives the mindset of the NHS. I know ambulance crews who will only do basic life support when off duty because they are worried about insurance when not at work. I know of nurses who have refused to help at RTCs because they are not insured. I know of GPs who have refused to give pain relief to a casualty because they are not their patient therefore they are worried about the risk of being sued if the patient has a reaction.

I also know of relatives who have sued the Ambulance Service because their loved one was hurt, refused to go to hospital, then died at home alone. I watched a mate get the sack due to that one. He was nailed because upper management had decided he should be, and he didn't have a union. He was nailed to appease the grieving, yet totally irrational, family. The pt did not want to go, and there was no legal reason to force him. In that situation we can either wait around till the patient slips into unconcioussness or goes into cardiac arrest, or we can just explain the risks and go onto our next job.

[LewPaper]

Sorry woofgang but you've misunderstood my comments. Of course you needed help in the legal processs; I was making the point that although solicitors' advertising may have made it easier to select one, you could still have chosen one without much difficulty without the adverts.