3. Mrs A complains about an incident at the Trust in April 2023. She says there was a failing in the lift she was using and it came to a crash stop (a stop that is immediate as the lift falls to prevent injuries).
4. Mrs A says she was left with severe pain in her knees, lower back and neck. She says it is still affecting her daily life.
5. Mrs A would like:
• the Trust to investigate the complaint more thoroughly • an apology • a financial payment.
6. In April 2023, Mrs A attended an appointment at the Trust. She was in the lift when it started to fall and came to a crash stop.
7. Mrs A told us she went to her GP practice as she was experiencing pain in her knees and lower back. She thinks it started within a week of the incident.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Mrs A told us she did not immediately get medical advice when the incident happened because she had to get home. Mrs A later saw her GP about the pain and they referred her for an X-ray of her knees.
12. Mrs A wants a financial payment as one of the outcomes for her injuries. We can achieve this when we find a failing that has caused an injustice.
13. We are sorry to hear about Mrs A’s experience. The law says if there is a legal route available to resolve a complaint, this needs to be explored. We think Mrs A could use the legal route by making a claim to the Trust for her personal injuries.
14. We asked Mrs A how much money she was looking for. She told us she did not know and would discuss this with a solicitor. She said she wanted an amount that would be worth claiming for.
15. Mrs A told us she did not expect go to a hospital appointment and leave in pain from the injuries she got from the lift suddenly dropping. We can appreciate this was a shocking experience.
16. Mrs A told us she had not considered legal action and she was concerned about the cost. Often personal injury claims can be funded by ‘no-win no-fee’ agreements. There are also other funding options Mrs A may be able to consider. Mrs A can discuss the funding options available with a solicitor.
17. There do not seem to be any barriers to Mrs A looking into legal action and she told us she will do this to see if she is able to make a claim against the Trust.
18. We do not achieve financial outcomes in the same way as a court does. It would seem that legal action would be the best route for Mrs A to achieve her main outcome of a financial payment.
19. We considered Mrs A’s other outcomes. She wants the Trust to investigate the complaint more thoroughly and she wants an apology.
20. A court cannot directly achieve an apology and cannot direct the Trust to investigate further. But, this may happen as a by-product of successful legal action. If Mrs A has outstanding outcomes after taking legal action, she can return to us. She should be mindful of our time limit if she would like us to reconsider her complaint.
21. We do not wish to underestimate the impact this had on Mrs A. We are sorry to hear how her physical condition is affecting her daily.
22. We will take no further action on the complaint and thank Mrs A for bringing her concerns to us.
1. We have carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We think Mrs A could take legal action and have seen no evidence to suggest it is unreasonable for her to do this.
2. We do not wish to underestimate the impact the event had on Mrs A. We are sorry to hear her physical condition is affecting her daily.