Most likely we’ve all heard the terms “medical negligence” and “medical malpractice”, whether on TV or in real life. What exactly constitutes medical negligence though, and when do you have a right to claim compensation for any damages incurred due to malpractice?
If you believe you’ve suffered due to medical negligence, to fully understand your patient rights and whether you have a genuine claim for medical negligence compensation, you’ll really need to talk to a specialist medical negligence lawyer.
Let’s now take a closer look at medical negligence, what it means, as well as a few common examples.
Medical Staff & Facilities Have a Duty of Care
When you go to work you expect to be in a safe environment. You believe your employer will follow workplace health & safety regulations and provide a safe and secure place of employment.
It’s the same when you visit your local GP, spend time in the hospital or undergo surgery. It’s your right to expect both a safe facility, as well as appropriate duty of care from medical staff, whether they be doctors, interns, nurses, orderlies and so on. Everyone is responsible for the care of the patients within their facility.
If you go into a hospital injured, you don’t expect to become more injured in some way. You go there to seek help and to heal. Likewise, if you get admitted to hospital to treat a broken arm, you don’t expect to come out with an infection or having contracted a disease.
Some Examples of Medical Negligence
One of the most common horror stories you hear on the news or in some documentaries is when a patient has undergone surgery and then suffered pain, severe discomfort or illness once they’ve gone home to recover.
Upon further examination when symptoms don’t resolve on their own, it’s discovered that a medical instrument, surgical sponge, or some other foreign object was left behind inside the patient’s body.
It sounds like a bizarre thing to happen, but it’s actually more common than you’d like to believe.
The patient then needs to undergo another surgery to remove an item that shouldn’t have been there in the first place. The patient may then heal up fine, or they may suffer even more complications due to damage from the surgical instrument being left behind.
Either way, this is definitely a very clear cut case for a medical negligence compensation claim.
Some other possible cases of medical malpractice or negligence are not as easy to prove or substantiate. An example might be if a patient contracts a disease or infection whilst hospitalised. The problem may only become evident after the patient has been discharged. Therefore, the hospital could claim the patient contracted the disease/infection elsewhere.
Let’s face it, hospitals are basically filled with sick and injured people. That’s why they’re there. Picking up an illness during a hospital stay is also fairly common, but can it be proven that it was due to medical negligence on the part of the staff?
Part of the process of determining whether medical negligence was the cause of an injury or illness is by having other medical professionals examine all the procedures that took place to see if the doctor/staff followed medical best practices, or whether someone was in fact negligent.
If it’s determined that the procedure was below acceptable standards, that healthcare worker (no matter what their role) may be seen to have breached their duty of care towards the patient.
Can You Make a Claim for Medical Negligence?
The very best way to determine if you can claim compensation for a case of medical negligence is to talk with a lawyer who specialises in personal injury and medical negligence compensation claims. You can also visit URL here to learn more.
Many law firms will offer the initial consultation for free, so you have nothing to lose by speaking with a professional to see where you stand.
Your lawyer will help determine whether there is a case to answer to, and if there is, will discuss with you the possible outcomes.
Until you chat with an expert who knows the law, then you’ll only be guessing what your rights are and where you stand. For your own peace of mind it’s best to get in touch with an experienced lawyer.
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