An independent provider in the Halton area

3. Ms J complains about her treatment with the Provider on 28 February 2026. She complains the Rehabilitation Assistant decided to conduct the session outside without a risk assessment, backup assistant or wheelchair.

4. Ms J says the Rehabilitation Assistant’s actions led to her breaking her leg. Ms J’s mobility has been severely limited since breaking her leg. Previously, she was able to walk with support of a walking stick for short distances and use stairs. She is now reliant on a wheelchair and cannot walk up stairs. Ms J is now confined to her flat which has impacted her social life and ability to see her family.

5. Ms J required surgery on her leg which inserted metal plates under the skin to heal the break. This has led to recurrent infections. Ms J was hospitalised for sepsis and continues to be prescribed antibiotics for extended periods of time which have side effects. If these infections persist, Ms J has said doctors will consider amputating her leg.

6. By bringing this complaint to our office, Ms J seeks an apology from the Provider and assurances this will never happen again. She also seeks a financial remedy.

7. On 28 February 2025 a Rehabilitation Assistant from the Provider attended Ms J’s home in for a planned therapy visit. The Rehabilitation Assistant was to carry out a planned indoor exercise, however, despite Ms J only having a risk assessment for indoor exercise, the Rehabilitation Assistant took her outside for a walk. The Rehabilitation Assistant was on his own and a second person with a wheelchair was not present for the walk.

8. During the walk Ms J grew tired and requested the walk was paused. The Rehabilitation Assistant then decided to fetch a wheelchair, leaving Ms J alone, leaning against a wall for support. In this time, Ms J fell and broke her leg. When the Rehabilitation Assistant returned and saw she had broken her leg, instead of calling 999 from the scene, he left her again to find help. After the Rehabilitation Assistant had left, two carers found Ms J, called an ambulance and supervised her until the ambulance arrived. Ms J was then taken to hospital.

11. The Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to get an answer to their concerns by taking legal action, unless we consider this is unreasonable in the circumstances.

12. We have discussed this with Ms J to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she would like. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to. Ms J told us her mobility has been significantly impacted by breaking her leg.

13. Ms J believes if she was not taken outside and left standing up on her own, during her therapy session on 28 February 2025, she would not have broken her leg. If Ms J had not broken her leg, she would not be experiencing the ongoing impacts of this. Namely, her limited mobility, reliance on a wheelchair and ongoing infections which have led to her being hospitalised on several occasions. These are significant claimed impacts.

14. The nature of the complaint and claimed failings indicate Ms J may be able to pursue a legal claim for clinical negligence. Negligence, in law, is an act or failure to act (omission), that does not meet the level of appropriate care expected, which results in injury or loss. If a doctor or health professional is negligent when giving you medical treatment, this is called 'clinical negligence'.

15. As a legal cause of action is available to Ms J, we then went on to consider whether it is reasonable to expect her to pursue this.

16. Ms J said she would be looking for a significantly larger financial redress than we typically recommend for her to consider her complaint resolved. Ms J may be able to achieve a higher sum of financial redress through legal action. As the financial remedy our service offers would not match Ms J’s desired outcomes, a legal claim may offer a viable chance of achieving Ms J’s desired outcomes.

17. Ms J stated there were no barriers to her seeking legal action. Ms J did not raise any physical or health issues that would make it difficult for her to complain. She also has the support of her daughter who helped her bring the complaint to us.

18. We understand a no win no fee solicitor is available to Ms J, and she has recently signed paperwork for a solicitor to start work on her case. The solicitor will only charge a fee if there is a payout, therefore funding issues are not a consideration in this case. No-win-no-fee conditional agreements typically cap fees by law at 25%. Whilst 25% is a significant amount, Ms J may be able to achieve a higher amount of financial remedy that would mean the fee is proportionate.

19. There is a possibility Ms J could achieve the other outcomes of service improvements, an apology and explanation by bringing the complaint to our office. An apology and service improvements are unlikely to be a direct outcome of legal action but may be a by-product of successful legal action as the organisation is likely to want to take steps to avoid this happening again. Ms J is therefore more likely to achieve all of her aims through legal action and it is therefore proportionate for us to direct Ms J to pursue this complaint further through the courts system.

20. Ms J can return to us to consider any issues not remedied by the courts. We will take no further action on this case to allow Ms J to exhaust this route before returning to us if needed.

21. We thank Ms J for bringing her complaint to us. We are very sorry to hear of Ms J’s experiences and the ongoing impact they have had on her. We recognise Ms J and her family have had a very distressing experience and do not doubt the impact this has had and continues to have. We hope we have provided reassurance and guidance regarding the next steps for Ms J’s complaint.

1. We have carefully considered Ms J’s complaint about an independent provider in the Halton area (the Provider). Ms J complains about her appointment with the Provider’s Rehabilitation Assistant. Ms J states failings during this appointment led to her breaking her leg, which has severely limited her mobility and led her to become dependent on a wheelchair. We are very sorry to hear about the impact this has had and continues to have on Ms J and her family.

2. We have decided not to take further action at this time because we consider it is reasonable for Ms J to take legal action on the issues she brought to us.