‍Inquest into the death of VH who took her own life following numerous failures at NHS Trust

MDS Medical law represented the family of a 19-year-old woman, VH, who tragically took her own life after going missing 10 times.  She was a high suicide risk and had been sectioned numerous times.  She had already tried to take her life several times before she, sadly, finally succeeded.

 What Happened?

Our investigations established that:

• When VH, who had been under the mental health system moved from the Child Mental Health Services to the Adult Service, she fell through the net.

• Having been sectioned and diagnosed with emotional unstable personality disorder, there were failures to keep her diagnosis under review and amend her diagnosis which became more serious.  Had this been done, it would been recognised that she presented as a high suicide risk and different measures may have prevented her from taking her own life.

• VH was discharged into the community when she was at high risk of taking her own life.

The 4-day Inquest

MDS Medical Law’s Specialist Inquest lawyers represented the family at the 4-day Inquest into VH’s death.

Coroner Issues a Prevention of Future Deaths Notice

MDS Medical Law represented the family at the 4-day Inquest during which the Coroner identified numerous failings on the part of the NHS Trust and issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Notice.  The Coroner concluded that there were multiple missed opportunities to save VH’s life – including poor diagnosis, a lack of local inpatient beds and a lack of adequate community psychiatric services.  

 The Coroner’s findings and the Notice have resulted in changes being made by the NHS Trust, including improvements in co-ordination of mental health care and putting in place a new specialist psychiatric service for women. 

The Legal Claim for Negligence

After the Inquest, MDS Medical Law represented the family in their claim for compensation.

The Trust initially refused to accept that any different course of action would have altered the outcome. They put the family to proof that any preventative measures would have made a difference.

However, despite the Trust’s comments, MDS Medical Law secured compensation for the family.

 Losing a loved one

How can MDS Medical Law help?

Losing a loved one is one of the most emotionally painful experiences anyone can go through – even more so when that loss is sudden, unexpected or where it is unclear why they passed away.    

 Where there is an Inquest, we can provide legal representation for this.  

We will guide you through the process and help you to obtain the answers that you need about the cause of death and the events leading up to the death of your loved one.  If the death was avoidable, then we can then represent you at the Inquest and in respect of a claim for compensation on a no-win-no-fee basis  

While no amount of compensation will ever be enough for the loss of your loved one and your loved one’s suffering, if your loss is as a result of healthcare negligence, we can help you through the legal process for investigating your concerns against a healthcare professional and your negligence claim if there is one.

We will do this by providing legal representation on a no-win-no-fee basis to investigate what happened, help you get some answers, help seek justice, and help to secure compensation which you/ the deceased’s dependents may be entitled to.

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