Dying Matters Awareness Week: trauma informed lawyering | Medical Negligence and Personal Injury Blog | Kingsley Napley

As a lawyer specialising in medical negligence and personal injury claims, talking to my clients about difficult and sensitive issues is a significant part of my job. This includes having to communicate effectively about issues such as death and terminal illness and the associated trauma. In order to provide the best service to my clients it is vital that I consider the difficulties they face and adapt my practice to suit them and their circumstances.

Hospice UK’s Dying Matters campaign seeks to create an open culture where people are comfortable talking about death, dying and grief. This year their Dying Matters Awareness week has a theme based on ‘the way we talk about Dying Matters’ which focuses on the language used around death and dying. Considering this in the context of my own work has prompted me to set out some ways in which, in our team here at Kingsley Napley, we seek to provide the best service and support to those affected by death and who also are dealing with the added complexity of bringing a legal claim or attending an inquest hearing.

Trauma informed lawyering

I believe strongly in the benefits of trauma informed lawyering, which is extremely relevant to working with clients whose legal claims relate to, or involve the death of a loved one, as well as those who may be facing an earlier death as a result of negligence. In these circumstances, dealing with a legal claim for compensation is invariably very difficult. Trauma informed lawyering involves recognising the impact of trauma on those you are working for and holding this at the forefront of your mind when acting for them, showing compassion and respect at all times.

It is important as lawyers for us to understand that those suffering from grief and trauma can find that this is exacerbated by various aspects of bringing a legal claim. These can include having to recall upsetting events in detail in order to give a witness statement or having to obtain more information about a medical condition and it’s prognosis, for example, when there has been a delay in diagnosing a disease.

In practising trauma informed lawyering, I seek to avoid further harm being caused via the legal process and where possible, to make the process empowering for clients. This includes working on building trust, being empathetic, caring, non-judgemental and having an open dialogue with clients. It also involves providing a unique and tailored approach to every client and their circumstances, considering what adjustments are needed in order to make the process as easy as possible.

Supporting the family of those who die during a medical negligence or personal injury claim
 

Unfortunately, some clients who start the process of bringing a legal claim die before the claim is completed. In these circumstances, the claim will often be continued by a family member. This can be very challenging and is a particular time when a trauma informed approach is vital to reduce the stress of the legal process as much as possible. One of the first hurdles to overcome will be changing all claim documentation and funding arrangements into the name of the person taking over the claim. This can be overwhelming at a time when there is so much else to think about, and we recognise that it is extremely important that clients are given clear information and time to ask as many questions as necessary.

Supporting clients facing a terminal illness
 

Some clients will be facing a terminal illness because of negligence – for instance as a result of a delay in diagnosis of cancer. In these types of claims being able to speak about issues around dying in the way that the client wants to is very important. Bringing a legal claim for compensation involves getting expert evidence about a client’s prognosis but understandably, not everyone will want to know their prognosis. At Kingsley Napley, we always seek to ensure that we work with clients to understand their wishes about what they want to know about their prognosis.  In practical terms, where circumstances allow, we will seek an interim payment of compensation (an early payment of some money before the claim is concluded). This can, for example, allow clients to access particular therapies or experiences that may be beneficial to them.

Our experienced and compassionate team works with clients to meet their individual needs, by building trust and through strong communication with the aim of making the process of bringing a claim in difficult circumstances as straightforward as possible.

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About the Author 

Kirsty Allen is a highly experienced medical negligence solicitor who undertakes a wide variety of cases with particular specialisms in child cerebral palsy and adult brain injury cases, fatal claims, loss of sight cases, as well as failure to diagnose cancer and gynaecological claims