A practice in the Birmingham area

3. Mrs A complains about aspects of the Practice’s care and treatment in February 2022. She complains that after being referred to a physiotherapist and having a cortisone injection treatment for her trigger finger (a condition affecting the tendons in the hand), her symptoms and pain worsened.

4. Mrs A says since having the injection she cannot lift her finger, it just stays in one position and will not bend. She says it has affected her life and caused a lot of stress. She says she cannot sleep, cook, clean, write, lift or hold anything with her left hand and needs help showering.

5. Mrs A is seeking compensation.

6. The Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 (the law) says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is (or was) unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Mrs A to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed, but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

7. Mrs A says the Trust’s treatment is the cause of her ongoing suffering, resulting in pain, loss of sleep and the ability to do everyday activities. We have identified she may have a legal route available to her, and we have considered if it is reasonable for her to pursue this.

8. Mrs A would like financial compensation of £9,950. She has not yet approached any solicitors about taking legal action. She says she does not have the money to pay for a solicitor, but there are no other barriers that would make it difficult for her to take legal action.

9. We appreciate Mrs A is concerned about the cost of taking legal action. Clinical negligence claims can be funded by a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement. Only a solicitor would be able to confirm if they can take on Mrs A’s claim on this basis. We consider it would be reasonable for her to get legal advice to see if she could use this arrangement.

10. Mrs A is seeking a large amount of financial compensation. We do not consider financial compensation in the same way as the courts. A court would be able to carefully consider and assess an appropriate amount of compensation for the impact Mrs A says the events have had on her. We would not want to disadvantage Mrs A by investigating her complaint when it would be more appropriate for her to go through a legal process.

11. Given the amount of compensation Mrs A is seeking and it not being unreasonable for her to take legal action, we are not investigating the complaint. If there are any outstanding outcomes that cannot be achieved by legal action, or if Mrs A is unable to pursue legal action for any reason, she can bring the complaint back to us to consider further.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about a practice in the Birmingham area (the Practice). We are very sorry to hear about Mrs A’s concerns and appreciate this has been a difficult time for her.

2. We are not investigating the complaint further because Mrs A could take legal action to pursue this further.