Nanny to Mommy

Healthcare providers hold a duty of care when looking after their patients, whether they are children or adults, but medical negligence is still all too common. Here, we discuss the ways medical negligence can affect a child’s life.

Medical negligence can have a significant impact on a person’s life, no matter their age. However, compared to adults, children’s mental health is often impacted in such instances, potentially causing them to suffer from trauma and other mental impacts.

In some instances, medical negligence can sadly result in the death of a child. If your child has died while under the care of a medical practitioner and there is suspected negligence, their cause of death will be investigated by a coroner. A medical inquest solicitor will be able to provide sensitive advice and support during this difficult and emotional period, including seeking compensation.

To learn more about how a child’s life can be impacted through medical negligence, keep reading...

When you are receiving medical treatment, the doctor, nurse, surgeon, or another type of healthcare professional overseeing the treatment owes you a duty of care. They must act in a way which is reasonably expected of someone with their skill set, qualifications and expertise.

Should they fail to do this and, as a result, you experience a new injury or a pre-existing condition worsens, this is called medical negligence.

If the negligence causes the child to suffer an injury, there is the potential for this to impact them for the remainder of their life, depending on the severity of the injuries they have suffered.

If their injuries do cause lifelong complications, there is more of a likelihood that their quality of life will be affected. They may not be able to attend a mainstream school, make friends as easily as other children, their school grades may be impacted, and they may be unable to do the common activities that other children do and much more.

Medical negligence can also cause further healthcare problems down the line. For example, their injuries may require them to need surgery in the future, attend frequent hospital and doctor appointments, etc. Therefore, parents should seek help from people like these birth injury solicitors as quickly as possible once the injury has been found in order to secure compensation for the child's injuries, which can then be put towards the costs of treatment and care.

Unfortunately, long-term injuries that follow individuals into adulthood can cause considerable issues. Along with the ones listed above, they may also not be able to work, potentially putting them into financial difficulty.

Like with the long-lasting physical impact medical negligence can cause a child, there is the potential for psychological consequences, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They may experience detachment, estrangement, memories of the trauma, flashbacks, nightmares and more. Each person’s PTSD will be different and based on their own experience.

Depending on the type of injury the medical negligence causes, this could leave the child suffering with a considerable amount of pain. In some instances, this pain and suffering can last for a long time, potentially years to come.

Unfortunately, children who have suffered from injuries during their younger years can sometimes grow up to resent their peers. This is especially the case if they have been unable to attend school, go on school trips, do sports, and do other things that children who haven’t experienced medical negligence are able to do.

Anger and resentment can also be passed on to other individuals in their life, such as family and friends.

Most typical children are able to live a normal childhood without needing hospital and doctor appointments or experiencing pain and suffering due to medical negligence. They are able to go to school, and their only concern is about homework, chatting with their friends and what TikTok video they’ll make that evening.

But, for a child who has experienced medical negligence, depending on the severity of it, there will be a considerable number of streamlined things they aren’t able to do.

After listing the different implications that medical negligence can have on a child’s life, it’s clear to see the severity of it. These are only a handful of examples.

Medical negligence shouldn’t happen but, unfortunately, it does, and it can potentially ruin a child’s chance at living a standard life.