Mental Health and Clinical Negligence - written by Freya Johnson, Trainee Solicitor, Clinical Negligence

Clinical negligence not only can cause immediate, short-term damage for those affected, but it can also leave some with long lasting psychological effects.

Some of the most common effects of medical negligence are anxiety, depression, and PTSD. In cases where patients experience ongoing pain, they often resent their lower quality of life.

In severe cases, the pain may be ongoing or chronic, which can lead to frustration and depression as people struggle to live with it.

The link between ongoing pain and depression is widely acknowledged. Studies have shown that anywhere between 25% and 50% of people who complain of chronic pain also report being depressed, and 65% of people with clinical depression experience ongoing physical pain. When this pain results from poor medical care, it can be even more frustrating and psychologically debilitating for patients.

Mental health claims can be made for medical negligence. This is a situation where the doctor or hospital does not act to a standard that you as a patient could reasonably expect from them. Compensation may be awarded when life changing injuries lead to psychological damage.

No one sequence of events can be expected to always produce the same psychological effects for all people. Therefore, every claim is treated on a case-by-case basis.

We deal with many claims whereby clients have been impacted by clinical negligence which later led to excessive drinking, drug consumption and other addictive traits to try and block out what has happened to them.

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If you are or know someone who has experienced medical negligence which later impacted your mental health, please get in touch.