HAVE YOU BEEN LEFT IN PAIN, STRESS OR IMPAIRMENT AS THE RESULT OF MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE?
Our hospitals and healthcare system play a crucial role in maintaining the wellbeing of our society. Medical providers such as doctors, surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists and other specialists are legally required to use their professional knowledge, skill and care when diagnosing, treating or giving advice. Where a health care provider fails in this obligation, and their actions result in physical, psychological or financial harm, it may be considered medical negligence, also known as medical malpractice, and you may be entitled to claim compensation.
There are many types of medical negligence. Here are some of the most common:
- Errors made during surgery, including anaesthesia
- Misdiagnosing a condition or delaying the diagnosis
- Failure to provide treatment or refer a patient for specialist advice
- Errors in obstetrics, including causing injury, stillbirths and neonatal deaths
- Making an existing condition worse
- Errors with prescriptions and administration of medication
- Failure to provide post-operative care
- Incorrect reporting or interpreting of test results
- Plastic and cosmetic surgery errors
- Brain and spinal infections resulting from surgery
For a free assessment of whether your circumstances qualify as a compensation claim, please call the medical negligence lawyers at Carbone Lawyers on 1800 369 888 or complete the questionnaire on this page, and one of our team will contact you.
What can you be compensated for?
How much compensation you receive depends on the severity of the injury and its impact on your life. It is based on the harm the victim has suffered rather than the severity of the malpractice. The purpose of compensation awarded in a medical negligence claim is to help the claimant restore the quality of life they would have enjoyed had the negligence not occurred. It takes into account factors such as:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Pain and suffering and the loss of enjoyment of life
- The cost of car and home modifications you require as a result of your injury
- The financial value of care provided by friends and family
- Loss of earnings – past and future
Proving Medical Negligence
Making a claim against a hospital or practitioner for medical negligence can be daunting and complex, especially if you or your loved ones are still recovering. Carbone Lawyers has highly qualified medical malpractice lawyers who will help navigate and support you through the process.
For your medical negligence claim to succeed, you need to prove that:
- That there is a direct link between your injury, pain and suffering and the actions of a medical professional;
- The practitioner’s actions or treatment was below the professional standard that a peer would have provided in the same circumstances;
- The harm would not otherwise have occurred had the treatment been appropriate.
Depending on your case, you may need to lodge your claim within a specific time frame. Don’t wait too long to seek advice from our medical negligence lawyers. Contact Carbone Lawyers today.
Medical Negligence FAQs
What constitutes medical negligence?
Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional fails to provide the standard of care expected, leading to harm. This can include surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and incorrect treatment. Unfortunately, complications do sometimes occur in medicine that don’t constitute negligence, for a successful medical negligence claim you must prove that the medical professional’s action or inaction was below the standard that could be reasonably expected, that this caused the harm you’re seeking compensation for, and that the harm wouldn’t have occurred otherwise.
Who are medical negligence claims against?
Medical negligence claims can be made against any professional persons or institutions that provided substandard medical care that directly resulted in harm that would not have otherwise occurred. This includes doctors and nurses, but also for example workers in an aged care facility that incorrectly dispense medication, or the institutions themselves.
What is the process for filing a medical negligence claim?
A medical negligence claim for adults must be lodged within 3 years of when the negligence and its resulting harm should have reasonably been discovered and involves, at minimum, proving damages that are a result of a medical professional’s action or inaction that would not have happened had the treatment been appropriate and that a peer would not be expected to have caused in the same circumstances. These cases often take several years with potential court visits and negotiations with medical institutions and their legal teams, it’s strongly recommended that you contact the experts at Carbone Lawyers for an assessment of and the best chance of compensation in your case.
What’s the average medical negligence payout in Australia?
While statistics aren’t publicly available on the average payout for medical negligence claims, you can view real examples from Carbone Lawyer’s Case Files, including a client who received in settlement hundreds of thousands of dollars after breaking his hip after staff ignored his complaints of dizziness following a CT scan, or another client who received over $750,000 in a settlement after doctors failed to diagnose her fracture.
