Failure To Prevent Suicide

Losing a family member to suicide is always tragic and can have a profound impact on the rest of the family. But knowing that the death could have been prevented if your loved one had received better care can be even more devastating.

If you have lost a relative to suicide that may have been preventable, we may be able to help you make a claim and provide you with the support and advice you need through any subsequent inquest.

Our experienced clinical negligence lawyers work closely with bereaved families, both helping them come to terms with what has happened and seek legal redress for the shortcomings in their relatives’ care. Our team are experts in these kinds of cases, combining detailed knowledge of the legal and medical technicalities with a compassionate, jargon-free approach.

These cases are often complex with many factors and issues to consider. We will thoroughly investigate how your loved one’s suicide was allowed to happen. We’ll collect and review evidence, including examining medical records and consulting independent mental health and medical experts, and use this to build your case. Preventable suicide claims are often settled out of court. However, we are experienced in pursuing these cases through the court where necessary, to ensure that you and your loved one receive the justice to which you are entitled.

What is a preventable suicide?

A preventable suicide, also sometimes referred to a ‘failure to prevent suicide’ or ‘psychiatric suicide’, is one that could have been avoided if healthcare professionals responsible for your loved one’s safety and wellbeing had recognised that they were at risk and had taken action or alerted others to protect them.

Typical examples of preventable suicide include:

• Failure to correctly diagnose and treat mental illness.
• Failure to admit a person to hospital when they were a suicide risk.
• Failure to provide appropriate treatment or medication in hospital or to prescribe these in the community.
• Inadequate application of safeguarding procedures during detention in a psychiatric unit, particularly around access to drugs and/or dangerous objects,
• The incorrect or premature discharge of a mentally unstable patient from a hospital setting
• Inadequate assessment of a hospitalised patient’s suicide risk.
• Failure to adequately supervise an at-risk patient.
• Failure in the management of medication withdrawal.

Preventable suicide – Inquests

In most cases, and especially when the circumstances are unusual or unclear, an inquest may be held to establish the facts around the death of your loved one. Our specialist solicitors have extensive experience of inquests and can help guide you through proceedings and ensure your voice is heard. Inquests can also be valuable in gathering crucial evidence ahead of your compensation claim for preventable suicide due to clinical negligence.

See our Inquests page for more information.

Why make a preventable suicide claim?

Nothing we or anyone else do can take away the pain of losing a loved one to a preventable suicide. But a legal claim can still deliver some positives that you and your family may find helpful:

• You may be able to secure an apology – a recognition of the shortcomings of the care your loved one received.
• A successful claim is likely to lead to a review of procedures, which should help to ensure that other people in a similar situation do not experience the same failures of care.
• You may be able to secure compensation. Of course, this can’t bring your loved one back, but it can help you to pay for:
  • funeral expenses
  • childcare costs
  • loss of earnings if you are unable to work as a result of the impact of the event
  • loss of dependent income or ‘services’ if you were financially dependent on the deceased
  • any counselling you or your family need

Who can make a preventable suicide claim?

In general terms, any dependent may be able to make a claim for clinical negligence resulting in preventable suicide. Typically, this would include:

• The husband or wife of the deceased
• A former spouse of the deceased, if they continued to depend on an income from the deceased
• A civil partner of the deceased (provided they been living with the deceased for at least two years immediately prior to death)
• A child of the deceased
• A parent of the deceased
• A brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or cousin of the deceased

It may also be possible for the executors of the deceased’s estate to bring a claim for injury or losses incurred by the deceased prior to death, and for any expenses falling upon the estate that arise from the death. We will ask if there is a will or not. If there is one, then the executor will bring the claim and if not then we need to look to appoint an administrator.

How much will your preventable suicide claim cost?

In many cases, we will be able to support you on a no win no fee basis, meaning that if your claim is not successful, you will not have to pay any legal fees.

Whatever your case, we offer a free initial consultation to help you understand the process and the likely funding basis of your claim.

How long do you have to make a preventable suicide claim?

You have up to three years from the date of death to make a claim for clinical negligence resulting in preventable suicide.

How much compensation could you receive?

In cases of preventable suicide, the courts will generally look at a variety of factors. They will seek to understand the pain, suffering and loss of amenity experienced by the deceased’s dependents. Of course, no amount of money will ever compensate you for the loss of a loved one, but it can help by making provision for the future needs of your family.