Medical Negligence

A medical negligence claim can be brought against any professional or hospital that you believe has contributed to or directly caused your suffering or injury. These can include:

– Doctors
– GPs (General Practitioners)
– Surgeons
– Orthopaedic Surgeons
– Nurses
– Dentists
– Radiologists
– Midwives
– Pharmacists
– Public and private hospitals
– Allied healthcare professionals (e.g.: chiropractors, physiotherapists, etc.)

Laws vary between states and territories in Australia. In most cases, three key things must be able to be proven in order to receive compensation:

– The medical professional or hospital’s treatment did not meet Australian standards
– The poor treatment had an injury or undue suffering as a result
– The harm (physical/psychological) was directly caused by negligence

There are strict thresholds in Australia for medical negligence cases that set out how significant your injury must be in order to submit a claim. As your lawyers, AJB Stevens can advise on what this means to you once we have a full understanding of your unique situation.

If you have been injured by a medical facility or practitioner, you may be able to receive compensation. You can potentially take legal action if there has been a failure to:

– Timely diagnose a condition (or if there was a misdiagnosis)
– Treat your condition or refer you to a specialist
– Use reasonable skill/care to perform a medical procedure
– Monitor your condition
– Advise on risks associated with a medical procedure
– Provide post-operative care at an adequate level

To prove your negligence case, you will need to show evidence that the treatment fell below the Australian standard of care reasonably expected from a medical professional.

If the practitioner or hospital in question acted in a way that would be considered acceptable in the opinion of a large number of respected practitioners in the same field, you may not have a claim. However, we would begin by assessing your situation and organising appointments with professionals who can assess your injury and its root cause.

In most cases, a three-year time limit applies to medical negligence and medical malpractice claims. However, it is important that you seek legal advice as soon as possible to ensure that all deadlines are met. Working with AJB Stevens will ensure that anything time sensitive is immediately dealt with and your personal injury claim is lodged appropriately.

The compensation entitlements you can claim is dependant on your case. No two cases are the same. Once your AJB Stevens medical negligence compensation expert has assessed your situation they will be able to advise all of the entitlements you can claim. Generally, in most cases, you can claim for:

– Loss of income
– Hospital expenses
– Rehabilitation Costs
– Home Assistance
– Pain/Suffering
– Loss of Life Enjoyment

Each claim is unique, and therefore there is no standard claim payout. It’s impossible to guess how much compensation you may receive at the outset of a claim. However, once evidence is gathered, your lawyer will have a better idea of the amount of compensation you can expect.

In Australia, all medical practitioners are required to have PII (Professional Indemnity Insurance) by law. In the event of an accident or injury, the insurance company pays the compensation, not the actual person who may have performed the medical negligence.

We work hard to ensure the medical negligence compensation claim process is easy. Our top lawyers will assess your situation to ensure that you have a solid case. From there, we look further into the situation that caused your injuries, taking care to ensure we gather all the information we need. Once we have that information, we will work to seek compensation through negotiations either with insurance companies or persons at fault. If negotiations do not work then we will take your claim to Court and guide you through the Court process.

This all depends on your case. Compensation claims can take anywhere from one to three years. However, the process may take longer depending on:

– Any injuries that have not yet been stabilised and maintained.
– Negotiation difficulties
– Delays in Court if your case reaches that point

Your appointed AJB Stevens lawyer will be able to give you an estimate of how long things will take to progress and for you to receive entitlements, always making sure you are updated with any changes.

At AJB Stevens, we understand that many Australians may not seek legal help for compensation cases as they believe the cost to be too much. This is why we always stand by our No Win No Fee claim. This means that if we don’t win your medical negligence compensation case you don’t pay our legal fees.

This policy backs our claim that we believe every Australian deserves the right to legal representation when they need it most, regardless of financial situation.

In some cases, we can introduce a funder to ensure that you still have access to legal services.

Begin by gathering all relevant information and documentation related to your claim. The more information you can provide, the more we will be able to assess your claim and assist your case. We may advise that you see a professional expert as well and may ask that you share information with them as well during your assessment.

If you are unable to provide documentation, the professional expert will still do their best to address your concerns based on any other information we can give them.

You can always represent yourself during a medical negligence claim. However, the law surrounding medical negligence is complicated. This is further complicated by the hard truth that medicine itself is a difficult practice, and medical providers can’t be expected to be perfect. Sometimes treatment is unsuccessful or results in injury, but this is not sufficient evidence to bring about a medical negligence claim. You will need to prove your treatment was more than a reasonable mistake.

That’s why it’s important to talk to professionals who understand the complexities of the law in relation to the medical profession. If you think you’ve experienced medical negligence, contact us today and we can help you better understand the process and advise you on your options.

 

No. AJB Stevens handles a variety of legal disputes, including will & estate disputes, criminal law, compensation, and family law. If you have a case that involves any of these areas, we’re happy to hear your story and help advise you on next steps.

When you’re ready to talk, we’re ready to listen. To learn more about medical negligence and how we can help you, contact the team at AJB Stevens.