How can i get justice for my late husband?Was being treated for constipation & died from bowel cancer !?

Question

I took the case to the GMC but they've cleared all doctors concerned of negligence.I can't afford a solicitor but i need to stop incompetent medics from destroying lives so painfully..My lovely man was only 53 when he died and my life has been ruined but it would appear no one is responible..Why ?

Answer 1

Trish my thoughts are with you, my husband died aged 35 from a heart attack so I've been in that wilderness. I think if you really want to pursue it you have to keep knocking at the doors of the media, try the national tabloids GMTV, your local paper, someone may latch onto this and be prepared to follow it through for the publicity for themselves. Take care and as you say he was a lovely man in time this will be your main thought instead of feeling robbed you will realise that you were very lucky indeed to have had such a wonderful man as your partner. Take care

Answer 2

If teh GMC has cleared the doctors concerned of negligence, then that may well be the end of the matter. As another poster replied, they are very fair, and i have seen a number of people have to undergo more training, or even have their registration suspended.

Bowel cancer, especially in someone of just 53, is less likely than a range of other conditions, but you don't give much information. Was he being seen by the hospital, which department, or by his GP? Also, how was the diagnosis of bowel cancer made? it is quite common for someone with symptoms of constipation to be treated as such, and then investigated further if the symptoms persist, which may well have happened in this case. Clearly the diagnosis was made at some point. It may also be that the constipation was not a symptom of his bowel cancer, and that it was an independant symptom. If all people who had constipation were investigated quite invasively, this would be a) unnecessary and b) wasting resources. I am aware in this case the end result has not been the case, but it is simply not practical to order investigations on everyone with minor bowel symptoms.

I think the best course of action is to make an appointment to see the clinician in charge of his care, and to discuss his notes. Don't shout and accuse when they are being explained, as you will never get the answers you want that way, but listen to what happened, and why investigations weren't ordered, or why events unfolded as they did. Also, may i suggest you contact a bereavement organisation? The need to blame and anger are common in your situation, but having someone to talk things through with may help.

Answer 3

Cancer is a hard thing to diagonise, some docs/medics will only come across it once in there professional life. My cancer was mis-diagonised for a year before they evently found out, i dont know about your husbands case, but my cancer appeared in a very common place that cyclist get infections because or in-growing hair. No one is to blame for your husbands death, cancer can happen to the fittest of people. I think speaking to a councilor may help you get over your lost, sueing a doctor and getting him/her removed from the profession wont give you any closure, all it will do is put pressure on a already stretched health service.
Im sorry for your loss

Answer 4

Doctors can get away with murder and some often do. I had a transplant of a cornea and for eight months I went every month for my anti rejection drops Maxidex one time the doctor would not sign the prescription and I told the receptionist I would have to have it I asked if Icould talk to the doctor. When I phoned her back she said the doctor doesn't want speak
to you and you are not getting the drops
I even told told her my new transplant cornea would reject if he didn't give me the drops,, they were on my prescription. Ten days later I was rushed into hospital with abscess on my new cornea, also the infection crossed over to my other eye and destroyed an earlier transplant.
I had more operations and now I am partically sighted I had been on that surgery for forty years. The receptionist said she could not remember anything as she had lost her memory and would not back me up.
My ophthalmic surgeon was really angry. He had to bring In a consultant microbiologist and he ordered the operation also a second one the next day to remove my lens.
I was kept in hospital for eleven days. Another doctor from the practise came to visit my handicapped child who had been sick and when I told him what had happened he was shocked
and he told me he would ask the doctor concerned why he didn't give the Maxidex on his visit to see my child he said Dr X said he didnt know what the drops were for.
I was then sent a letter asking me to find another doctor.I must say this the rest of the doctors at that surgery were lovely real nice doctors.But the one one i got was the senior one. One of the head doctors at the hospital told me that all doctors have a book on their desk telling them what every drug is for.
I am only telling you this because you have had a horrible time of it but try and move on God will punish the wicked they don't get away with it.I truly believe we will see our loved ones again. God Bless.

Answer 5

I am so sorry for your sad loss I would suggest the best thing to do is consult a solicitor who specialises in this sort of thing contact your citizens advice bureux for free advice if not sure where to start you may be entitled to legal aid. Unfortunately cancers of this kind are sometimes very difficult to diagnose and the symptoms can mimic other conditions obviously this does not help but my nan was told she had arthritis which turned out to be bone cancer and died within a few months of being diagnosed I felt similar to you but eventually accepted it as one of those terrible things in life that occurs sometimes. I wish you lots of luck and hope you start to feel better soon.

Answer 6

Dear Trish, I just wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss which must seem so needless. Have you tried contacting PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) at the hospital where your husband was treated? Each hospital has this free service which can help signpost you in the direction of further help and advice.

I wish you all the love and luck in the world in your search for answers. As stupid as this may sound now, try not to let how your husband died become your entire focus, remember him as he was in life, the way he would have wanted you to do x

Answer 7

Sorry to hear about your loss, but from my experience they will never take responsibilty, I know how you feel and you want to protect others from the same but its a long hard road to prove negligence and they always have an answer. When my mother was in hospital for heart surgery she caught MSR, only when they were pushed into the corner did they finally admit to her having it, when questioned as to why we were not told the surgeons reply to me was " i have given her another 10 years of life " she died 7 months after his life saving operation, I also wanted to protect others but realised there was little i could do, i do hope you are stronger than me and wish you all the luck in getting justice for your lovely man.

Answer 8

The GMC is I truly believe a fair and just body. It has both professional and lay members.

I am deeply sorry for your loss and you have my condolences. I know no details of the case but have to say when someone we love dies we often are desperate for a reason or someone to blame, sometimes there is neither.

I am frankly very disturbed, but not at all surprised to find a queue of answers from people knowing nothing about the case suggesting that you must seek legal aid as the doctor must be wrong!

Answer 9

I hate to say it, but in my experience, most doctors are complete idiots/crooks. They have the "pet" diagnosis and try to cram everything they see so that it somehow fits that.

My mother, who is a type 2 diabetic went to see a doctor who specialized in heart work because her normal doctor was away. My mother has NEVER had heart trouble.

Anyway, he recommended a "heart catheterization" which was a simple outpatient procedure to make sure her heart was fine. She went in, and in an hour they were done and, as we suspected, no heart problem.

That was, until she got the bill. A one hour outpatient procudure in which she was given only local anesthetic - $18,000.00!

Yep, that's right, a totally unnecessary procedure for a condition she never had or complained of and bam, $18k.

I wonder what kind of new sportscar that doctor (er, crook) is driving now?

Answer 10

Probably you have not taken him to a correct person (Oncologist) to find the disease and treat him properly. By getting a best oncologist you could have postponed the end only and not avoided the death AS CANCER IS STILL AN ENIGMA. Anyway i feel sorry for you and for your family.

There is nothing to get as justice. Now I request you to forget whatever happened and pray for him, since you are not going to get him back.

To your satisfaction, I suggest you to work for the cause of Cancer Patients in whatever manner you can associating yourself to the local organizations, information centers, or hospitals to conduct cancer awareness programs. This will give you some mental relaxation and satisfaction -