As patients, we all have the right to place our trust in medical professionals to look after us properly and give quality care. However, despite our reliance upon these professionals, there are times when they have caused their patients to suffer more harm or injury because of negligent medical treatment. If you believe this has happened to you, read on to find out more about what constitutes as medical negligence, and what you should do if you are a victim of medical negligence.
What is Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence (also known as medical malpractice) occurs when a medical professional causes injury or harm to a patient under their care through an act or a failure to act. This act or failure to act, such as treatment or failure to provide treatment, must be below the acceptable standard of practice in the Australian medical community, and harm must be reasonably foreseeable by the medical professional.
How do I establish that Medical Negligence has occurred?
To establish that there has been medical negligence, the following must be proven:
- Duty of care: It must be established that there was a duty of care owed to the patient by the medical professional. The law has now deemed that medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. Legally, this duty of care requires that the medical professional must exercise reasonable medical care in treating their patients and should use their professional skill and judgement to provide competent medical treatment and advice.
- Standard of care: In proving that a medical professional’s treatment was negligent, it must be proven that their treatment did not meet the standard of care. What courts consider as the acceptable standard of care is whether the medical professional did or did not reasonably meet the Australian standards of the medical community. This judgement is based on the opinion of a large number of other respected medical professionals in the same field.
- Causation and Damages: The medical professional’s actions or omissions must have caused the patient to suffer physical or psychological harm, and this harm was reasonably foreseeable by the medical professional. It must also be established that any harm or injury the victim suffered was caused due to the negligent medical treatment and if the medical professional’s negligent treatment had not been performed, the patient’s injuries would have been avoided.
What are some examples of Medical Negligence?
Some examples of Medical Negligence include:
- Performing medical treatment or surgery without reasonable care or skill
When the medical professional’s treatment causes a patient further injury, when such an injury should not have occurred in the first place. ie. birth trauma, cosmetic surgery errors, dental negligence or surgical errors. - Errors in prescriptions or medications
When the medical professional has given the patient the incorrect prescription or medication. This could happen in nursing homes, or resulting in cases such as wrongful death. - Failure to correctly diagnose (misdiagnosis)
When the medical professional has failed to consider all of a patient’s symptoms or medical history and, as a result, fails to provide a correct diagnosis. - Providing a correct diagnosis, but in an untimely manner
When the medical professional has correctly diagnosed the patient’s condition, but the diagnosis did not occur in a timely manner - Failure to warn or advise of all associated risks
When the medical professional has failed to warn the patient of all the risks and, had the patient known of the risks, would not have gone ahead with the treatment and therefore, suffered an injury - Medical product liability
When a patient’s medical product or device is faulty.
Example of medical negligence: A case study
Case Study Background:
Lilly was almost 6 months old when she was taken to a hospital emergency department by her parents due to fever, vomiting and other symptoms. Lilly’s symptoms were caused by the development of a virus, which unfortunately was not considered by the doctors at the emergency department at the time of her presentation. As a result, commencement of appropriate treatmnent was delayed by a number of hours, leading to Lilly suffering profound brain damage.
Lilly’s parents retained solicitors to investigate what happened to Lilly and the treatment she received, but were advised that Lilly had no case for compensation for misdiagnosis and malpractice. It was at this point Lilly’s parents called Schreuders Compensation Lawyers.
How we helped Lilly and Lilly’s mum and dad
Prior to her injury, Lilly was a typical 6 months old. Lilly’s father was a busy professional, and her mother decided to stay home for the first few years to care for Lilly, with the intention of eventually returning to work. Following the episode with Lilly that resulted in her injuries, her parents approached one of the medical negligence firms in Sydney, who advised that Lilly did not have a medical negligence case for compensation. This meant Lilly would not be able to receive financial support to help treat her injuries, which was devastating news for Lilly’s parents given the catastrophic brain damage she had sustained, which would impact her and the entire family for the rest of their lives.
When Lilly’s parents approached Schreuders Compensation Lawyers, they discovered that the prior advice provided by Lilly’s previous lawyers was wrong and that they had failed to properly investigate the significant delay in starting treatment, and that she was not given the correct dosage of treatment.*
We, however, were able to obtain the medical evidence necessary to make a compensation claim arising from the delay in administration of appropriate treatment and the inadequate dosage.
In addition to the devastating impact on Lilly herself, the injuries had huge psychological and financial effects on the rest of her family and their quality of life, with Lilly’s parents no longer able to work. This resulted in high stress and anxiety.
We took the necessary steps to completely understand the physical and emotional struggles Lilly and her family were going through, as well as the financial losses they had suffered and would continue to suffer, and made a commitment to do everything possible to make a successful compensation claim. We looked beyond the obvious, took the time Lilly’s case deserved and invested significant effort to thoroughly understand the impact of Lilly’s injuries on her day to day life, and the day to day life of her family. Through careful and thorough preparation, we were able to obtain evidence to support not just Lilly’s claim, but also, her parents’ nervous shock claims, in contrast to the advice provided by Lilly’s previous medical negligence lawyers. We built a strong case for Lilly and her parents so that they could all make a strong medical negligence claim and receive the financial compensation they deserved and were entitled to.*
* in order to protect their privacy, our clients’ names, images and key case facts have been altered.
What should I do if Medical Negligence has happened to me?
If you have suffered an injury or harm due to medical negligence, you may be entitled to make a medical negligence claim. This claim allows for victims of medical negligence to be compensated for the negligent actions of their medical professionals.
A medical malpractice claim can be brought against an array of medical professionals such as doctors, surgeons, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, midwives or radiologists. These medical professionals are required to have professional indemnity insurance in the event of a negligence lawsuit, and therefore, their insurance company will usually pay the patient’s compensation.
How much compensation you can receive for these damages will vary depending on your individual circumstances, and are calculated based on the amount of harm or loss you have suffered, rather than on the degree of negligence.
For more information about a medical malpractice claim, contact Schreuder Partners today.