07/12/22, Written by Ellie Jones, Paralegal in Medical Negligence
On 8 December at 6pm, you may notice the flare of orange candlelight in windows across the UK and you may wonder what this means.
This candlelight signifies National Grief Awareness Week which has grown to become a national event. National Grief awareness week, or NGAW, is a national initiative run by the Good Grief Trust and is dedicated to raising awareness of the impact of grief and loss. This year’s theme is to ‘open conversations and normalise grief’. This can be achieved by simply reaching out, stopping for a chat, and having open conversations. The Good Grief Trust aim to break the taboo around the topic of grief, encouraging discussion and providing vital support services in the community that are often not known to the family.
NGAW takes place each year between 2 – 8 December. When families are left with the grief of losing a loved one, many can start to feel incredibly lonely, isolated, and even experience severe mental and physical side effects as a result.
At Hugh James, we understand that the loss of a loved one is always a difficult experience, but in cases where their death may have been avoidable, or following poor medical treatment, it can be that much harder to accept. Our Clinical Negligence Team have helped hundreds of families whose loved ones have passed away due to medical negligence including complex cases involving:
- delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis
- substandard or negligent treatment
- surgical or medical error
- infections leading to sepsis
Whilst bringing a claim may not be an immediate concern when a family member passes away, it is important to investigate any potential claim for clinical negligence at the earliest opportunity. The three-year time limit for commencing proceedings begins to run from the deceased’s date of death and therefore legal advice should be sought as soon as reasonably possible.
Following a death as a result of medical negligence, there may be internal reviews or investigations carried out by the hospital and the local Coroner may look to open an inquest into the death to investigate the circumstances surrounding how they died.
Here at Hugh James, we have a specialist inquest team headed by Partner Lynda Reynolds. Our inquest team has considerable experience in representing families in inquests which relate to deaths in hospitals and care homes where medical negligence is likely to have been a factor.
Once any internal investigations and/or inquests draw to a close, a clinical negligence claim can be investigated. Fatal claims can often be very complicated in nature and can often take years to conclude, depending on the circumstances.
The Medical Negligence team at Hugh James have many years of experience in assisting families with claims following the death of a loved one. We appreciate and anticipate the complexities that these claims often bring, and we take the utmost care to ensure that families are supported through the process of bringing a claim.
