We understand that medical negligence can be a deeply challenging and complex issue. At Foye Legal, our compassionate team of experienced lawyers is dedicated to supporting you through this difficult time. We’re here to guide you every step of the way, working tirelessly to secure the best possible legal outcome for you and your loved ones.
In short, it is a claim for compensation arising from an injury suffered due to negligent treatment provided by a health care practitioner, in most circumstances, by a doctor. If you have been mistreated or injured through the negligence of a medical practitioner, you deserve compensation.
All medical practitioners, including hospitals, specialists and GPs must adhere to a reasonable standard of care that is widely accepted in Australia as competent professional practice. What is reasonable will depend on what other experts in the same field think. If you think that the care you have received falls below that standard, it will be necessary for us seek in independent and expert opinion from a practitioner with expertise in that area.
A very important aspect of a medical negligence case is the use of the right medical experts to support your case and diagnosis.
At Foye Legal, we collaborate with the best medical experts in Australia. We have a long-standing relationship with a diverse group of experts to support you in achieving the best possible compensation result.
Our team of leading medical negligence lawyers have the expertise to ensure that your case is handled with the utmost compassion and care.
Let’s talk about the professionals who fall into the Medical Negligence category.
Time Limits Apply
A claim must generally be made within 3 years from the date that you become aware of the negligence. It is best not to delay, and take action quickly, as it can take time to gather evidence and assess a claim.
Steps to take if you think you have suffered from medical negligence:
There are a number of different situations, environments and settings where medical negligence can occur. Common matters include misdiagnosis, errors during surgery, failure to correctly treat illness or injury, administration of incorrect type or dosage of medication, illness or injury sustained from faulty equipment, injury or illness to you or your baby during pregnancy and birth.
Some specific examples of these include:
Medical misdiagnosis occurs when a health care practitioner either fails to diagnose or erroneously diagnoses an illness or condition.
Do you believe you have a medical misdiagnosis claim?
Misdiagnosis does not always amount to medical negligence. To do so, it must be shown that:
If your baby was stillborn or died shortly after birth as a result of negligent care, you and other members of your family may be able to make a claim for pain and suffering as a result of any psychological injury you have suffered.
If you have been unable to attend work as a result of psychological symptoms you can make a claim for pain and suffering, loss of earnings, both for the past and future, as well as expenses in relation to counselling.
Another area you may look to pursue is to claim funeral expenses.
If your baby has been injured due to lack of oxygen supply as a result of negligent care during the labour and has cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia or any other birth injury, a claim can be made for your baby in relation to pain and suffering, the costs of extra care and equipment your child may require, and future loss of earning capacity.
When something goes wrong during, or just after, surgery as a result of that surgery which could have reasonably been avoided.
Surgery is a highly skilled area of medical practice and there are risks involved with every surgery. Although the standard of surgical care in Australia is generally high, things can go wrong. Sometimes, complications arise despite excellent medical skill and care being provided.
However, sometimes things go wrong that are avoidable.
Examples of surgical errors:
An error can occur at any point during any type of surgery.
Anaesthesia errors, while rare, can have devastating consequences for patients. If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to negligence during anaesthesia in Australia, you may be entitled to claim medical negligence.
These errors can arise at various stages, including:
When a patient is prescribed the wrong medication or dosage. Prescription errors can occur for several reasons:
Situations can also occur where the risks of surgery are not properly communicated to a patient, causing a patient to undergo surgery they would not have had if they had been made fully aware of the risks involved.
In such circumstances, if the undisclosed risk materialises, causing damage or injury to the patient, the patient may be able to sue the doctor or hospital for damages.
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, but were not offered a triple test breast examination, and your diagnosis therefore led to worse outcomes than what would have been expected, you may be entitled to compensation.
Breast symptoms are commonly seen by GPs, but while most changes are not due to cancer, it is important to use the triple test to either confirm or exclude a diagnosis of breast cancer.
If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer and when you went in for a breast check, you were not given a triple test breast screening, you may be entitled to legal compensation for:
When a medical product is faulty or defective and results in harm to the recipient.
A claim for compensation arising from a defective medical product lawsuit is different from a claim in medical negligence because with a defective product, the claim is usually brought against the manufacturer of the product rather than the medical practitioner who used the product.
There are some cases, however, where the line between medical negligence and product liability law can become blurred, such as where it can be argued that a medical practitioner ought not to have recommended or used a certain product because they ought to have known that it was faulty or substandard.
Defective product cases are often litigated as part of a class action, as they frequently affect more than one person.
Examples of defective product claims in the medical sphere include claims concerning faulty contraceptive devices such as IUDs, faulty hip or knee implants, faulty artificial heart valves and faulty medical equipment used during surgery.
When a dental professional performs a procedure that involves an existing medical condition being worsened by a dental professional you may be entitled to compensation.
If you have been injured after seeing a dentist, orthodontist or other dental professional you may qualify. Dentists have a duty of care and are expected to provide their patients with a standard of treatment that would be expected of any other reasonable dentist in the same situation.
If a dentist is found to have breached their duty of care, an injured patient may be able to sue the dentist for medical negligence.
Types of dental malpractice cases:
This refers to travelling to another country for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment in that country.
Increasing numbers of Australians obtain medical treatment overseas in an effort to reduce costs, particularly in the areas of cosmetic surgery and dental treatments.
There are Australian companies that offer medical tourism, specialised travel insurers and support from some private health insurers.
Whilst data is limited, there have been quite serious complications that have been reported across the media. Compensation in these instances may be available for medical tourism negligence from surgical or post operative care errors, and will be dependant on where the medical treatment was performed.
This refers to travelling to another country for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment in that country.
Increasing numbers of Australians obtain medical treatment overseas in an effort to reduce costs, particularly in the areas of cosmetic surgery and dental treatments.
There are Australian companies that offer medical tourism, specialised travel insurers and support from some private health insurers.
Whilst data is limited, there have been quite serious complications that have been reported across the media. Compensation in these instances may be available for medical tourism negligence from surgical or post operative care errors, and will be dependant on where the medical treatment was performed.
This refers to travelling to another country for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment in that country.
Increasing numbers of Australians obtain medical treatment overseas in an effort to reduce costs, particularly in the areas of cosmetic surgery and dental treatments.
There are Australian companies that offer medical tourism, specialised travel insurers and support from some private health insurers.
Whilst data is limited, there have been quite serious complications that have been reported across the media. Compensation in these instances may be available for medical tourism negligence from surgical or post operative care errors, and will be dependant on where the medical treatment was performed.
This refers to travelling to another country for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment in that country.
Increasing numbers of Australians obtain medical treatment overseas in an effort to reduce costs, particularly in the areas of cosmetic surgery and dental treatments.
There are Australian companies that offer medical tourism, specialised travel insurers and support from some private health insurers.
Whilst data is limited, there have been quite serious complications that have been reported across the media. Compensation in these instances may be available for medical tourism negligence from surgical or post operative care errors, and will be dependant on where the medical treatment was performed.
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Yes. There are strict time limits applicable to medical negligence claims depending upon your circumstances. You have 3 years from the date that the negligence is discoverable to commence your case in Court. However, claims may still be made outside of this time frame in certain circumstances. In every situation, it is always better to act quickly.
The purpose of the law is to put a person who has suffered injury as a result of someone else’s negligence back in the position they would have been, but for that negligence. The only means the law has for doing this is financial compensation.
If negligence is proven, then there will be compensation payable. The losses also need to be proven but damages or “compensation” can be claimed for:
Every claim is different and depends entirely on your individual situation. We can give you an idea of how much compensation you may be entitled to receive after we confer with you, obtain your records and discuss your matter with our medical experts. The first step would be to prove negligence and if that can be proven, then we will advise you how much a judge is likely to award you and the value of your claim in compensation.
It is difficult to say how long a claim may take, however, one of our priorities is to ensure the speedy finalisation of your matter, ultimately through a settlement outside of Court. Most matters move quite quickly from the time that the case is commenced in Court. The Court ensures that parties cannot unnecessarily delay matters and obliges parties to adhere to strict Court timetables.
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