RM Bariatrics Ltd

The right opinion for your clients

Every clinical negligence solicitor wants to know which of their many cases to devote their precious resources to.

RM Bariatrics (Medicolegal) Ltd specialise in providing screening reports that are authoratative, accurate and definitive, for many of the largest clinical negligence solicitors in the UK.

Advice on the merit of a claim is provided by a trusted clinically experienced partner, where and when you need it - at the earliest possible stage.

Early, objective and expert advice prevents the investment of your team's time and financial resources in cases with limited prospects of success at the expense of higher value cases.

Specialists in screening reports

Bringing forward the first risk assesment in a clinical negligence claim requires getting the case in front of an experienced clinician.

Early involvement of a trusted expert in screening liability and causation reporting can add huge value to your team's case assessment.

Additional poor practice is commonly identified at this screening stage allowing a more focussed and detailed letter of claim.

We can tell you immediately if your client has received care that falls below published guidelines, recommendations or benchmarks of current UK practise.

Guaranteed results for your clients

A standard fixed fee for any screening liability and causation report - regardless of the complexity of the case - means there will be never be additional unexpected costs.

RM Bariatrics (Medicolegal) Ltd uses Lean processes to achieve outstanding turnaround times. We guarantee to deliver an expert definitive signed and CPR-compliant screening report within three working days of receipt of the case notes.

We are so confident of our promise, if we dont report within three working days, we dont charge.

Informed Consent

Fully informed consent has always involved the communication of alternatives. There are ALWAYS treatment options available and, of course, the option of declining intervention exists for everyone.

Was your client offered ALL the information - in a form they could understand and use - that they needed to make a considered choice of the options available? Was a discussion of the options, risks and benefits fully documented?

The recent supreme court judgement has irrevocably altered the landscape around informed consent, bringing the law into line with GMC guidance.

This judgement will have profound implications for clinical negligence lawyers dealing with both current and historical cases.

Advice from a currently practising NHS consultant surgeon will point out where consenting practise has fallen below the standard required.

Nowhere is communication and consent more vital than in the emergency care setting. Emergency patients are uniquely vulnerable and emergency admissions constitute 90% of in-hospital deaths - and a similar proportion of complaints. Did your client receive poorly-explained, substandard or delayed unplanned care?

Experience matters

Provision of high-value clinical negligence advice requires a detailed knowledge of the way healthcare fails.

Regrettably, patients are harmed every day in UK hospitals, and often the patterns of failure are similar across specialities and Trusts. Many years experience of clinical negligence reporting, root cause analysis, investigation of serious incidents and familiarity with current research on patient safety allows us to focus on specific areas of poor practise.

Communication: Is there written evidence that your client was made aware, in language they could understand and with the avoidance of medical jargon, of the risks of a course of action? Was the person explaining the procedure or treatment to them adequately experienced and qualified to do so?

Experience: Junior doctors spend much less time in training grades than they used to. Was your client assessed and treated by an appropriately experienced clinician? Did that doctor ask for advice from the right person at the right time? Was your client's clinical deterioration recognised early and treated appropriately?

Teamwork: Hospital doctors now work in teams and on shifts. This means that many juniors cross-cover specialities and patients at night and weekends that they are unfamiliar with. Effective handover of unwell patients is vital to prevent avoidable catastrophe. Was your client's complication noticed and acted upon, or was there a delayed response or evidence of 'shift-drift'? The NHS is evolving into a consultant-based service - was the delegation of your clients treatment to a doctor-in-training entirely appropriate?