What is the process involved in a medical negligence claim?

If you have suffered injury, loss or damage as a result of a failing on the part of a healthcare professional, such as a doctor, nurse or physiotherapist, to provide their treatment of you in accordance with the relevant standard of care, then it may be open to you to bring a claim against the healthcare professional.

To succeed in such a claim, it is necessary to establish to the satisfaction of the court, that the healthcare professional did not act in accordance with peer professional opinion as to what was acceptable medical practice. The mere fact that you are dissatisfied with the treatment which has been provided is not in itself sufficient to establish an entitlement to a claim. You must prove that there has been a breach of duty of care by the healthcare professional and that the breach caused or materially contributed to the injury, loss or damage suffered by you.

To proceed with such a claim, it is first necessary to recover all of the relevant evidentiary material available. This will include clinical notes, reports, and other documents from your treating doctors. Once that material is available, ordinarily same will be reviewed by an expert who is familiar with the preparation of reports for use in these types of proceedings. The purpose of the expert opinion is to determine whether a breach of duty of care can be established and if so, whether the breach caused or materially contributed to the losses claimed. The expert is called upon to identify the peer professional opinion that will establish the relevant standard of care that the healthcare professional must meet, and it is this criterion that is used to determine whether breach of duty of care can be established.

Once the breach of duty of care is established, it is then a question of determining whether the breach has caused or materially contributed to the injury, loss or damage suffered. If so, then you would be able to recover damages for said injury, loss, or damage. To enable us to determine same, we would recover all the medical reports from your treating doctors and other evidentiary material as to any other losses including letters from your employer to establish wage loss, taxation records and the like.

In a successful medical negligence claim, you would be entitled to recover damages for non-economic loss (pain and suffering), past and future medical treatment expenses, the value of past and future gratuitous care provided by family members or friends (subject to a threshold of care being provided being six hours per week for six months), medical aids, vehicle and home modifications if required, together with a significant allowance towards your legal costs.

Brydens Lawyers are experts in the prosecution of all medical negligence claims. If you or someone you know has suffered any injury, loss, or damage as a result of the treatment provided by a healthcare professional, then expert legal advice should be sought as to whether a claim is available. Strict time limits apply to the prosecution of these claims so do not delay. Contact Brydens Lawyers on 1800 848 848 or at brydens.com.au for a no-obligation, free assessment of your claim.