Posted on 28 Aug 2024
Understanding medical negligence: Common causes and your rights
By Slater and Gordon
In Australia, medical negligence results in up to 18,000 deaths and more than 50,000 permanent injuries annually. Sadly, many of these cases are entirely preventable and occur during non-invasive, routine medical procedures.
But what exactly is medical negligence, and what should you do if you believe you’re one of the 140,000 diagnostic errors reported each year?
It's helpful to understand your rights and entitlements to help you take your next steps on the road to recovery.
What is medical negligence?
Medical negligence occurs when the care provided by a healthcare professional falls below the reasonably expected standard. This can include errors in diagnosis, treatment, or aftercare.
Unfortunately, in 2022 alone, more than 1,000 Australians died unnecessarily due to preventable surgical errors, often as a result of communication failure between practices.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that an injury doesn’t need to be life-threatening or permanently debilitating to constitute medical negligence. Injurires can be chronic, acute, or even psychological.
Likewise, if you do decide to make a medical negligence claim, remember that your compensation won’t come from the healthcare professional personally. In Australia, all healthcare professionals are required by law to be insured, so rest assured that the insurance company will pay out any compensation.
Common medical negligence claims
Medical negligence claims encompass a wide range of injuries across various medical fields and can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, income, or social status.
The most common areas for medical negligence claims cover:
Failure to refer to specialists, investigations, and emergency treatment
If you believe you’ve experienced medical negligence from an invasive or non-invasive procedure, it’s understandable to feel a complex brew of emotions. You might even blame yourself or convince yourself that you’re overreacting.
However, it’s important to listen to your body and ignore that little voice in your head telling you it’s no big deal. After all, no one knows you better than yourself, so if you’re feeling worse off after medical treatment, no matter how esteemed or experienced the health professional is, you should speak up.
Find out where you stand
Medical negligence is a particularly complex area of law and any potential claim must be investigated thoroughly. If medical treatment or consultation has left you worse off than expected and think that you have a medical negligence claim, start your free claim check or call us.
What are my entitlements?
Medical negligence can change your life in an instant, so it’s important to understand your rights and entitlements at every step of the journey.
In Australia, you may be entitled to compensation for the following if you’ve experienced medical negligence:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of past and future earnings
- Past and future medical/care costs
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Importantly, if you decide to pursue a claim, our medical negligence lawyers operate under our No Win, No Fee* arrangement. This means if you don’t win, you don’t pay for our professional fees for work on your case. You may still be liable to pay third party costs and disbursements.
After all, legal costs shouldn’t get in the way of getting you the help you need as soon as possible.
Losing a loved one
Losing a loved one is a heartbreaking reality in medical settings. Tragically, these losses often occur during routine procedures due to allergic reactions to anaesthesia, surgical errors, infections, and post-operative complications.
If you’ve lost a loved one during a medical procedure, you have the right to make a claim. Seeking justice and compensation can help you find closure and support during this difficult time, and you shouldn’t feel guilty for seeking answers.
Moreover, we understand how devastating it can be to lose a loved one, that’s why we offer free social work services to all our clients. These services help those affected by financial hardship, substance abuse, mental health issues, and much more.
How do I make a medical negligence claim?
You can see if you’ve got a claim in just three minutes through our free online claim check.
Note that in Victoria and NSW, you must make a claim within three years of the injury as time limits apply.
Understanding medical negligence is important for protecting your rights and seeking justice. Recognising common causes such as diagnostic errors, surgical mistakes, and medication issues helps you identify when care may fall short of acceptable standards.
If you suspect you’ve experienced medical negligence, consulting with legal professionals is essential. Our experienced medical negligence team can guide you through evaluating your case and pursuing potential compensation. Staying informed about your rights and the signs of negligence can significantly impact how you move forward with your life.
We offer a No Win, No Fee* arrangement. This means that if you don’t win, you don’t pay the fees for the work we do on your case!
The contents of this blog post are considered accurate as at the date of publication. However the applicable laws may be subject to change, thereby affecting the accuracy of the article. The information contained in this blog post is of a general nature only and is not specific to anyone’s personal circumstances. Please seek legal advice before acting on any of the information contained in this post.
