Medical Negligence

Medical negligence (also known as medical malpractice) happens when a medical professional causes injury or harm to a patient under their care by an act or a failure to act. This conduct or lack of action, such as treatment or failure to offer treatment, must be below the Australian medical community’s accepted standard of practice, and the injury must be reasonably foreseeable by the medical practitioner.

While the vast majority of health-care providers strive to offer the best possible care to their patients, we occasionally receive care that is less than sufficient. Unsatisfactory care can sometimes result in harm and/or death that could/should have been averted. If this happens to you, you may be able to seek compensation through the legal system.

When a person is treated by a medical or allied health care professional (such as a hospital, doctor, dentist, pharmacist, or other health care provider), they are generally owed a duty of care, which requires that the treatment be performed with reasonable skill and care. The duty of care is deemed to have been broken when the treatment falls below the established level of care.

If the violation was found to have caused or significantly contributed to an undesirable event, such as damage or death, monetary compensation may be awarded to the victim and, in some situations where death was caused, to the dependents of the deceased victim. 

Examples

There are many examples of Medical Negligence, we run through a list of some of the top ones below:

• When a medical professional’s treatment results in further injury to a patient who should not have been injured in the first place.
• When a medical expert gives the wrong prescription or medicine to a patient.
• When a medical professional fails to take into account all of a patient’s symptoms or medical history and, as a result, makes an incorrect diagnosis.
• When a medical expert accurately diagnoses a patient’s disease but does not make the diagnosis in a timely way.
• When a medical expert correctly diagnoses a patient’s disease but does not do so quickly enough.

We sat down and spoke to the team at The Law Office of Conrad Curry, they mentioned that clinical nurse consultants in the fields of emergency/critical care, trauma, surgery, midwifery, and aged care are available to their law office. Using their services guarantees that the clinical difficulties are properly assessed right away.

What can be done?

If you have been injured or harmed as a result of medical malpractice, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim. This claim permits victims of medical malpractice to be paid for their medical practitioners’ carelessness.

Medical malpractice lawsuits can be filed against a variety of medical professionals, including doctors, surgeons, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, midwives, and radiologists. In the case of a negligence lawsuit, these medical practitioners are obliged to carry professional indemnity insurance, and their insurance company will normally pay the patient’s compensation.