The majority of us will require nursing care at some point in our lives. Luckily, Australia offers a high standard of nursing care. However, as with every profession, mistakes happen and nursing is no different. Sometimes, someone makes the wrong decision, resulting in the worst-case outcome for a patient. This may rise to medical negligence or nursing malpractice, as it is also known.
If you or someone you know has experienced an illness, injury or loss as a result of medical negligence in Sydney, you may be entitled to compensation. If you choose to make a claim, it isn’t the nurse directly at fault who you essentially sue, but rather the nursing home’s insurance company that will be forced to pay your compensation.
What Counts As Nursing Home Medical Negligence
There is a wide range of things that could go wrong in a care or medical setting and finding fault can be challenging. However, several key areas suggest medical negligence.
· Failure to call for a doctor when their experience or assistance is required
· Failure to clearly communicate to the patient and take care of them
· Improper checking of equipment
· Improper patient monitoring
· Failure to provide proper nutrition
· Failure to provide adequate hygiene assistance
· Unexplained psychological issues
· There are visible bruises or injuries
· Administering the wrong dosage of a medication or the wrong medication altogether
· Making errors during procedures or failure to comply with procedures
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it covers many of the situations that indicate medical negligence. If this doesn’t fit your experience, you should still reach out to a lawyer to discuss your options.
Before you do, consider whether the treatment given resulted in an illness, injury or other loss. Consider whether the treatment you were given would be considered below what was expected from a nurse. Would your injury, loss or illness have been avoided if you were given better care? If you answer yes to these questions, you should be able to pursue compensation.
What To Do If You Suspect Medical Negligence
Ideally, you should seek specialist advice to address an injury or illness. For example, if the injury is related to your brain, seek the opinion of a neurologist rather than a general practitioner. Keep all of the relevant paperwork, information, and facts about your injuries, illness or loss and how they occurred. You want to gain as much information and understanding about what happened as possible.
The first step in filing a claim is to speak to a legal expert. The process is an intense investigation and you don’t want to do it without an expert on your side. Often, there are valid claims that don’t provide a compensatory sum worth the pursuit.
Not every claim is successful and that is often down to improper preparation or presentation of the claim. As time goes on, evidence can be compromised and witnesses are often unreliable. The sooner you act, the better, especially if more than one person is responsible for the injury, illness or loss. You want to ensure testimony is gathered before people have a chance to agree on the story and gather the facts before tampering can take place. A lack of evidence can hamper your claim.
As some medical professionals will band together to evade a medical negligence claim, you need a legal expert to handle the witness interviews to ensure the success of your claim. Compensatory sums are often inadequate, but the strength of your case will determine how much is paid out. If you have a lot of evidence to support your claim, and you have a serious injury or illness, then you may receive a sum sufficient to sustain you for life.
When To Seek Legal Help
Once you conclude that you, or someone you love, are the victim of medical negligence, you should reach out for professional legal help.
Medical negligence claims are serious, and you could receive a claim in the amount of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on how severe your illness, injury or loss was. You can seek compensation for a loss of income due to time off work, travel expenses, medical expenses, pain, suffering, and domestic assistance. Using a lawyer to file your claim will ensure you maximize your chance of success and get a fair claim.
How AJB Stevens Can Help
The claims process is a complex one, and it involves the nursing home, the insurance company, and the medical staff. So, when a nurse operates under the supervision of other medical professionals, it can be difficult to determine who is at fault. Medical negligence lawyers will take time to familiarise themselves with your case and advise you on the next steps and how much your claim may be worth.
If you need medical negligence lawyers, AJB Stevens can help. We are experts in medical negligence law and we can help you navigate the system as you file your medical negligence claim.
