At the time of writing (April 2021) there was no independent authority charged with investigating injuries or even deaths whilst in psychiatric care. This situation can be extremely frustrating when:-
- The death was violent
- The death was via suicide
- The actual cause of death was classed as “unknown”
- The death occurred whilst the patient was on leave from the psychiatric hospital or mental health institution.
When a loved one is injured or dies in a psychiatric hospital, the conclusion drawn by the family is to blame the staff or owner. Although that is a natural assumption, it is not always the case. However, the ultimate responsibility for your loved one’s safety rests with the hospital.
You must appoint ourselves, or a solicitor as soon as possible so that staff can be interviewed while the matter is fresh in their minds.
There may be circumstances where the death is of shared responsibility, the situation may be:-
- The patient was given wrongly labelled medication
- Patients, medical equipment was faulty
- The patient died in the care of agency staff
If you have been bereaved in this way, you are entitled to expert representation throughout this process. Whether you have not been offered an inquest, or require legal advice as part of the process, our caseworkers can support you.
Duty of Care
The psychiatric hospital has a “Duty of Care” to its residents. That means it is responsible for ensuring that its patients are protected from abuse and harm. Management is responsible for making sure nurses, technicians, and staff are fully trained in every aspect of their responsibilities. Furthermore, the hospital is responsible for ensuring they hire enough personnel to safeguard and care for the residents so that no neglect of its residents occurs. Therefore, even in the case of self-inflicted injury or death, rape or abuse by other patients, staff, or vendors, the hospital bears the majority of blame through their duty of care responsibilities.
Requesting an inquest
We can represent you should you wish to launch an inquest into the death in the home, when there is death this is known as an Article 2 inquest, we would collate statement, obtain independent medical opinions and so on to help you find out exactly what happened. Should a claim be successful we would, as a matter of course, seek to get you a refund of costs paid to ourselves. As an interested person, you will be able to ask questions at the inquest.
If the results of the inquest are unsatisfactory, or further evidence has been revealed, it is possible to appeal that within a time limit. We can advise you on whether your appeal is valid. Should that not be the case, you can still challenge the inquest by judicial review. This does not have the same limits. We can guide you on which suits your case and prepare and represent you throughout the proceedings.
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