A man who stabbed his wife to death is suing the NHS for failing to properly treat his mental illness before he attack her.
Neil Cumming stabbed wife of 16 years Jane to death at their family home in Longforgan, Perthshire, in July 2011.
Shortly after he deliberately crashed his car into a lorry at 100mph on the outskirts of Dundee in an attempt to take his own life.
But, following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, he was found not guilty of murder when a judge ordered a jury to acquit him by reason of insanity.
Cumming, 48, was ordered to be detained at the State Hospital at Carstairs without limit of time and remains there today.
Now he has lodged an action against Tayside Health Board at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
It is understood Cumming believes the NHS failed to exercise proper care towards him before the incident.
A court earlier heard how doctors wanted to admit Cumming to a mental health facility the day before the killing – but couldn’t as no beds were available.
The case was due to call for the first time today.
A spokeswoman for law firm Thorntons, who are representing Cumming in the action, said the sum of money being sought had not yet been established.
She said: ‚It is very much in the early stages. We are still making investigations into this.‘
The High Court in Glasgow previously heard that Cumming had a long history of mental health problems, having been diagnosed with persistent delusional disorder in 1999 when he believed his wife was poisoning him.
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He also thought he was being spied on when he worked at the Michelin tyre factory in Dundee.
He had been admitted to the Carseview Centre at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital – a mental health unit – in the February before the killing.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC told the court in a joint minute of agreed evidence read to a jury that Jane, 40, had tried to have him re-admitted to Carseview again days before her death.
On Monday July 11 Jane had spoken to Cumming’s community psychiatric nurse over her concerns for his mental state.
The following day the CPN, a Mr Menzies, came to see Cumming and arranged for him to be seen later in the week by a Dr McLaren, who met the couple on Thursday July 14.
Cumming’s ‚paranoia was obvious‘ during this meeting and he was asked if he had ever considered harming himself.
He replied that he had not and that he loved his wife and children.
Dr McLaren thought his medication needed to be reviewed and thought it best that was done with the accused being admitted to Carseview, but there were no beds available.
It was decided that the accused would be referred to the Acute Mental Health Response Team who would monitor his condition in the community until a bed became available.
The following morning he launched the violent attack – stabbing her 36 times with a knife on the body, arms and hands.
He then drove at upwards of 100mph towards the outskirts of Dundee where he deliberately slammed into a lorry in an attempt to kill himself.
Tests later showed he had a cocktail of drugs in his system at the time.
Cumming told a nurse who had phoned Jane’s mobile phone after she died that: ‚I have committed a terrible crime.‘
Asked what he meant, he would only speak about his medication, telling her it had been tampered with and it was ‚fake‘.
An appointment was made for him to attend at Carseview at 3pm that afternoon, an appointment he never kept.
Cumming was trapped in his car with multiple fractures and abrasions. Firefighters and a trauma team freed him before taking him to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
He was unconscious for several days in intensive care.
Once he was deemed well enough, he was arrested and charged and Perth Sheriff Court convened at his hospital bed where he was fully committed for trial.
John Hamilton QC, for Cumming, told the High Court in Glasgow: ‚He is at pains to express publicly that he loved his wife dearly and still can’t understand the events that led to him hurting her
‚He is truly sorry for what he has done and he appreciates that it will sound hollow given these tragic events. However, he wants to say sorry to his daughters and hopes they will understand he was ill when he did what he did.
‚He also wants to say sorry to both families and thanks them both for their support.‘
An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said today: ‚As this is a legal matter we are unable to comment.‘
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