Apology and compensation obtained for inadequate psychiatric care

Posted 04/10/2012

Mr T, a student in his early 20s, tragically took his own life in 2010. He had a history of depression and had been voluntarily admitted to a local psychiatric unit but had then been given leave to go out unaccompanied. He did not return from the leave but instead committed suicide.

Ashtons Legal’s Sharon Allison has worked with his bereaved parents to obtain an admission from their local NHS Foundation Trust that they mismanaged Mr T’s psychiatric care. If the level of risk that he presented to himself had been assessed properly, Mr T might still be alive today.  

Sharon Allison comments: “In cases like this, the main aim is to obtain an apology for the failure in care, and to ensure that procedures are improved so that the same thing will not happen again to someone else. This is what has been achieved here.”