Accident Claims
SUICIDE OR ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
According to the charity Mind and an adult psychiatric morbidity survey last published in 2016, 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience issues with their mental health each year.
Mental health conditions span a wide spectrum of illnesses with examples including:
- depression (3.3%)
- generalised anxiety disorders (5.9%)
- mixed anxiety and depression (7.8%) and
- post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD (4.4%)
Of those:
- 20.6% have suicidal thoughts and
- 6.7% have made suicide attempts
6,507 suicides were registered in the UK in 2018 – an increase of 11.8% from the previous year.
Patients and their families can have a reasonable expectation that the professionals who are looking after a patient with mental health conditions use their medical judgment to keep the patient safe. Unfortunately this is not always the case. At times, failings by mental health professionals can lead to patients attempting suicide leading to either serious injuries or death.
These failings may include (but are not limited to):
- A failure to recognise that someone is suffering an acute mental health crisis
- A failure to recognise that a chronic condition has significantly deteriorated
- A failure to recognise or act upon warning signs of a suicide risk
- A delay or failure in providing necessary treatment, including an admission to a hospital or another facility
- A lack of communication between healthcare professionals
- A lack of monitoring medication changes
Such attempts can lead to serious, and sometimes life changing, injuries, which the patients and their families have to live with for the rest of their lives. In cases of suicides, grieving family members and friends are left behind, trying to come to terms with their loss.
If the following criteria apply to you, please contact Shantala Carr on 01304 784784 for a free chat about whether you may have a claim:
- You must have been seriously injured through a suicide attempt or are a family member/friend affected by the suicide of a loved one.
- If the latter, there must be a living spouse, partner, child or parent (if the deceased was under the age of 18) or you must have been dependent on the person who has died.
- There must be an alleged failing by a healthcare professional which you feel resulted in the suicide attempt/suicide.
We appreciate that when being faced with a serious injury or suicide of a family member, times can be difficult for affected patients and their families and that making contact with a solicitor can seem daunting. However, we can reassure you that we will handle your case sympathetically and sensitively at all times.