Pressure Ulcer Claims & Coroner’s Court | Navigating Litigation

Due to the prevalence of pressure ulcer claims, nurses are more frequently called to give evidence at Coroners’ Court inquests. This can be an incredibly daunting experience and one which the sessions below can help and support with preparation towards. Hear from incredible speakers who have vast experience with attending and giving expert guidance in a Coroner’s Court setting. They offer guidance for how to prepare effectively, but equally address the route cause of litigation and how we can avoid pressure ulcer claims and fundamentally prevent patient harm.


The Impact of Litigation and Deaths Due to Pressure Ulcers

“When you look at why an organisation is being litigated against and you pull that apart, you realise it’s often due to lack of communication between different areas or parts in the system.”

David has been involved in preventing, investigating and researching pressure injuries for his whole career. Given his nursing background, this means David has seen first-hand how litigation can arise within a system and therefore what can go wrong to result in that pressure ulcer claim. Hear David explain a little more about why system failures may occur, the challenges of leading a service and finally a series of case studies that he has been involved in that have gone to Coroner’s Court. Moreover, David poses the question, given the number of deaths as a result of pressure ulcers directly, have we normalised this happening?


Where Lapsed Care Has Led to Pressure Ulcer Claims

“We don’t want to cause patient harm. I believe that the only way we can prevent this from happening through transparency, communication and never taking short cuts.”

Hear from Prof. Steven Jeffery about identifying themes where lapsed care has led to negligence and pressure ulcer litigation. Steven has frequently instructed on negligence claims where a pressure sore has developed, as well as coroner’s enquiries. He will use his experience and give tips on how to prevent discomfort in the dock.


The session delivered by Alison Parnham, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Tissue Viability, focused on simulating a Coroner’s Court experience. This was developed in conjunction with the University of Nottingham and with input from a coroner to ensure it is as true to a Coroner’s Court proceeding as possible. The session was exclusively available to our in-person attendees only, however more details on Alison’s work with pressure area care and the human impact of pressure ulcers can be found here.

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