Professional guidance for all medical negligence claims
If you’ve undergone a medical procedure or treatment that has caused you to suffer harm or injury as a result of medical negligence, make sure to contact Barbante Personal Injury Lawyers.
We’re here to make sure you’re taken care of and compensated according to your rights and what you deserve.
What you need to know about medical negligence
Doctors and medical professionals have a duty of care in regards to their patients.
They are expected to use reasonable skill, care, and judgement in all aspects of medical service, including:
- Examinations
- Diagnoses
- Treatment
- Advice
If that duty is breached, the medical professional may be liable for any harm caused and you may be able to claim for compensation.
Understanding what constitutes medical negligence
The term medical negligence refers to instances when medical treatments fall below an acceptable standard and causes serious harm or injury as a result.
Medical negligence can include any of the following:
- Failure to perform surgery
- Failure to provide post-operative care with reasonable care and skill
- Delay in diagnosing, providing the appropriate treatment and/or referral
- Failure to provide the proper treatment or referral
- Incorrectly prescribing or administering medication
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a condition
- Cerebral palsy caused by medical error
- Making an existing condition worse
- Incorrectly reporting test results
- Medical errors during childbirth
- Stillbirths and neonatal deaths
- Anaesthesia errors
- Defective products
- Surgical errors
Understanding the medical profession
The medical industry is complicated and medicine is a challenging area of law as well. Potential claims of medical negligence are subject to thorough investigations.
The process of such investigation can be complicated and lengthy, especially when a serious injury or death is involved.
Sensitive, personalised service for all medical negligence matters
Our lawyers are not just well-seasoned experts in medical negligence claims. They’re also capable of offering sensitive and personalised service to help make what can be a difficult experience as easy as possible.
Every case is different. Every client deserves a personal touch. If you’d like to discuss the particulars of your claim of medical negligence, please contact us today.
Medical negligence frequently asked questions
Who can make a medical negligence claim?
Medical negligence claims can be made if your medical provider’s negligent treatment caused physical, psychological or financial harm.
What can be claimed?
You could be eligible to claim the following under medical negligence:
- Costs associated with a trustee managing your money
- Home and vehicle modification expenses
- Loss of life expectation
- Paid care and help such as from nurses
- Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
- Past and future loss of earnings
- Past and future medical expenses, such as surgery and equipment
How is compensation calculated?
The amount of compensation you receive for your injury is based on the level of harm and/or loss suffered rather than the degree of negligence.
As a result, the monetary value of the compensation is placed on the gap between your standard of life before the incident and your standard of life since the incident.
Who is considered a medical provider?
Medical provides include:
- Hospitals (public and private)
- Doctors including general practitioners (GPs) and surgeons
- Radiologists
- Pharmacists
- Dentists
- Pharmacists
- Nurses and midwives
- Assistants
- Allied health providers such as physiotherapists and chiropractors
How do you prove medical negligence as part of a successful claim?
For your medical negligence claim to be successful, you must be able to prove that:
- You endured negligent medical treatment.
- The treatment resulted in an injury or some harm that would not have otherwise occurred.
There are strict thresholds in medical negligence which set out how severe or significant your injury must be before you can make a claim. Medical negligence is a complex area of law and the thresholds are strict in their application.
When you come in to see the Barbante Personal Injury Lawyers team, we’ll talk through the particulars of your situation. Once we understand the facts of the claim, we can explain everything to you with advice tailored to your case.
Suffering from injuries and negligence is hard enough, so we’ll go the extra mile to keep everything as simple, supportive and stress-free as possible.
Who pays the compensation?
All medical practitioners in Australia are required by the law to have Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII). Therefore, in the event of an accident or injury, their insurance company will pay compensation and not the actual person who was negligent in their conduct.
How long do claims take?
Every medical negligence case is different, and so it is hard to say how long it will take from the outset. However, our team will assess and prepare your case from the beginning and do our best to ensure the process is as quick and seamless as possible
What are the time limits for claiming?
In Victoria, a three-year limit is applicable for medical negligence cases. This limit period starts from the date of the negligent act and, in some cases, from the date that the negligence was discovered.
Therefore, a claim can be outside of the time limits if the injury or harm was not immediately apparent.
Given the complexity of medical negligence cases, please call our team to discuss your circumstances as soon as possible. By starting the process of evaluating your eligibility to claim, we’ll ensure that time is on your side in allowing us to achieve the best possible outcome.
