12. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action, unless we consider it is (or was) unreasonable under the circumstances.
13. A person may pursue a clinical negligence claim and seek compensation if they believe poor care and treatment caused them an injury. This can also include psychiatric (emotional) injury.
14. Miss Y tells us Mrs M’s sad death on 17 November 2020 could have been avoided had the Trust provided correct and timely treatment. She says this had a significant emotional impact on her. Miss Y is seeking £10,000 or more financial remedy and wants the Trust to acknowledge its mistakes.
15. We understand Miss Y did not approach a solicitor in the years following her mother’s death. We discussed these matters with Miss Y alongside the outcomes she wants to better understand if legal action may have been available to her.
16. Miss Y says she sought answers from the Trust in the time following her mother’s death and it was ‘never about legal action or pursuing this route’.
17. She says financial remedy is the only outcome she will now accept, alongside acknowledgment of failings, to show the Trust is genuinely sorry for the way it treated Mrs M and for the impact this had upon her.
18. We asked Miss Y if there were any barriers to her seeking legal advice following her mother’s death in late 2020 to when she approached our Office in late 2023. As previously set out in this statement, Miss Y told us she was seeking answers, and the Trust were best placed to provide this.
19. While we recognise Miss Y sought answers from the Trust during the complaints process which is her right, this would not preclude her from also seeking legal advice in the three years following her mother’s death. Miss Y could, for example, have taken her concerns to a solicitor and there is the potential her claim could have been considered on a ‘no-win-no-fee’ basis.
20. It is clear Miss Y feels she should be awarded a significant sum to put right the emotional impact she experienced.
21. We are also aware it has been some time since the events took place and legal action may now not be available to Miss Y. We have therefore thought very carefully about whether our Office should consider her complaint.
22. We have decided we cannot further consider Miss Y’s complaint as we see she may have had a legal route open to her in the years following her mother’s death which could achieve the outcomes she is now seeking. As set out at the beginning of this statement, the law applies to someone who may have had a legal route open to them.
23. We recognise Miss Y has been through a traumatic experience, and we do not wish to add to this. We must, however, consider her complaint in line with the law, and in doing so, we have decided we cannot consider it any further.