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What you'll find on this page:
- Understanding medical negligence
- Common types of medical negligence claims in Brisbane
- How to identify medical negligence
- How do you prove medical negligence?
- The legal process for medical negligence cases in Brisbane
- Meet some of our medical negligence clients
- Why Maurice Blackburn
- Frequently asked questions
- Meet our Brisbane team of medical negligence lawyers
- Contact a Brisbane medical negligence lawyer
Understanding medical negligence
Understanding your rights when it comes to healthcare can be confusing. It’s important to know what is a reasonable standard of medical treatment and what may be considered medical negligence.
What is medical negligence?
All medical providers in Brisbane are legally obliged to provide a reasonable standard of care to their patients. They must uphold their ‘duty of care’ by exercising reasonable skill, judgement and care when examining, diagnosing, treating and advising you. When a medical provider fails to adhere to these obligations – and this results in harm, injury to, or the death of a patient – this may be considered medical negligence or medical malpractice.
Legal significance of medical negligence
When you see a medical practitioner or healthcare provider in Brisbane, you expect they will adhere to their duty of care when treating you. In situations where they act negligently or do not provide a standard of reasonable care, it can cause devastating injuries and trauma for victims. Medical injuries can seriously affect you, your loved ones and your quality of life – especially if your injuries result in total and permanent disability – so it’s important to understand your rights, who is liable for harm caused and your options for getting justice.
If you have been injured while in the care of a medical professional in Brisbane, you may be eligible to make a medical negligence compensation claim.
We understand that no amount of compensation can make up for trauma caused by negligent treatment, but it can help alleviate the financial burden so that you can focus on your rest and recovery. Our expert medical negligence lawyers can also help you in dealing with the medical institutions and seeking explanations, formal apologies, access to health records and making official complaints with the relevant governing body.
Common types of medical negligence claims in Brisbane
Mistakes made during surgery are not only dangerous but can be very traumatic for survivors. Some common surgical errors can include:
- Foreign objects being left in a patient
- Operating in the wrong place
- Operating unnecessarily
- Incomplete surgeries
- Damage caused during post-op care
If you have been injured due to surgical errors or negligent medical treatment before, during, or after surgery in Brisbane, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
We have represented many clients in Brisbane who have suffered devastating consequences of medical misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. When a medical provider makes an incorrect diagnosis, doesn’t diagnose a medical condition within an acceptable amount of time (such as after routine screenings or tests), or misses a diagnosis entirely, it can lead to dire patient outcomes.
Not receiving the correct treatment or timely treatment can be considered medical negligence. If you or a loved one has been misdiagnosed, we can help you understand your options for making a medical negligence claim.
Medical negligence claims in relation to obstetrics and gynaecology can be particularly distressing and also very complicated. If you or your baby have suffered injury or harm due to negligent treatment from your obstetrician, gynaecologist, doctor, midwife or hospital (more than a reasonable mishap or mistake) during your pregnancy or childbirth, you may be able to make a claim.
Read more about this type of medical negligence claim.
When a patient is not administered the correct dose of anaesthesia, the results can be fatal. Anaesthesia errors can be life-threatening, but they can also result in brain injuries, stroke, nerve damage, adverse reactions (if the wrong anaesthesia is provided) or even the patient waking up during surgery.
If you have experienced injury or harm due to negligent treatment from your anaesthesiologist or medical provider, you may have a medical negligence claim.
A nervous shock claim, or psychological injury claim, relates to the psychiatric disorder that can occur after experiencing a traumatic event. You may be able to make a psychological injury claim if your mental health has suffered due to a medical injury, or the loss of a loved one from medical malpractice.
If a loved one has died as a result of the negligent medical treatment they received, and you were dependent on that person (for example, a spouse or child), you may be able to make a dependency claim for loss of income.
These types of claims are complex and are different from personal injury medical negligence claims, so it’s best to seek legal advice if you think you may be eligible for a dependency claim.
How to identify medical negligence
Understanding what may be medical negligence or medical malpractice is important when you are receiving medical treatment of any kind in Brisbane.
Signs of medical negligence
Medical negligence can present in a number of ways, from medication errors to surgical mistakes. Signs that your medical provider is not providing a reasonable standard of care could include:
- Not properly informing you of the risks associated with a medical procedure or method of treatment
- Not reviewing your tests or screening in a timely manner and delaying a diagnosis
- Incorrectly reporting on test or screening results
- Failing to provide reasonable post-operative care
If you feel that your medical provider is not providing an acceptable level of care, it’s important to consider your options and seek alternative medical care as soon as possible if needed.
You have the right to ask your doctor for more information or tests, request another doctor, source a second opinion, or make a complaint with the applicable institution. If you have experienced any injury or harm as a result of malpractice, you may also be eligible to make a medical negligence compensation claim.
If you think your medical practitioner’s behaviour may be a risk to other patients, you also have the option to make a formal complaint with the appropriate regulator in your state.
Read more: Adverse outcomes following medical treatment: what you should consider
How to determine if you have a medical negligence case
If you have been injured as a result of the medical treatment, advice, examinations, inaction or diagnosis error from any medical provider (this can be an individual medical professional such as a GP, or a medical institution such as a hospital), this may be considered medical negligence. It’s important to seek legal advice as soon as possible to determine if you have a medical negligence case, as strict time limits can apply.
How do you prove medical negligence?
Medical malpractice laws in Queensland can be complicated. Even if you've received negligent treatment from your healthcare provider, you cannot make a claim if this hasn’t resulted in harm or injury.
Elements required to prove medical negligence
In order to prove medical malpractice and make a medical negligence compensation claim, you must be able to demonstrate:
- The treatment you received from your healthcare provider did not meet the expected standard of medical care or that they have otherwise acted negligently.
- That as a result of their negligent medical treatment, you have suffered physical or psychological harm that would not have occurred otherwise.
- You are able to support this claim with independent expert evidence.
Standard of care and its importance
Queensland healthcare providers are legally required to provide a standard of care that is in line with the benchmark set by the professional medical community in Australia.
Determining whether this standard of care has been breached is the basis for a medical negligence claim.
Role of expert witness
The role of an expert witness in making a successful medical negligence claim is crucial. An independent expert witness must be able to support your claim that the treatment you received from the healthcare provider fell below an acceptable standard and that your injury is a result of that negligence.
Our team of medical negligence lawyers can work with you to locate and brief an appropriate witness and guide you through the process of making a claim.
The legal process for medical negligence cases in Brisbane
1. Gathering evidence and filing a medical negligence claim
In Queensland, there is a strict pre-court process which requires you to take a number of steps before you are able to bring a claim in court. One of the most important steps is gathering evidence, such as medical records, bank statements or expert witness evidence.
Our team of expert medical negligence lawyers can guide you through this process every step of the way, help you understand what evidence you will need to support your medical negligence claim and help you access it.
2. Settling your claim out of court or going to trial
If you have suffered an injury as a result of medical negligence, we can help you seek the compensation you are entitled to. We have an outstanding record of settling medical negligence cases out of court and achieving the best possible results for our clients.
In situations where it's required to take a case to court, our medical malpractice lawyers will advise you, advocate for you and keep you informed through the entire process.
3. Engaging a medical negligence lawyer
Getting in touch with us as soon as possible is the first step. Our team of medical malpractice solicitors in Brisbane can meet with you in-person, over the phone or via video call. In your initial obligation-free consultation, we’ll go through the details of your claim and explain the entire process to you.
We can also assist you in dealing with the governing bodies, medical institutions or other solicitors in seeking formal apologies, medical records, reimbursements and more.
4. Timelines and expectations of your claim
There are strict time limits for making a medical negligence claim in Brisbane – in most cases, you have up to 3 years after the incident to make a claim. More time can be given under certain circumstances, such as if a child is involved.
It’s best to speak with a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible who can help you understand your options, request extensions if needed and help set your expectations of what’s to come in the process.
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Why Maurice Blackburn for your medical negligence claim?
No win no fee medical malpractice lawyers
Our medical negligence Brisbane team can help with malpractice claims on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, meaning that if we don't win, you don't have to pay our legal fees.
One of Queensland’s largest law firms working for you
We have the localised expertise in Brisbane with the support and resources of a national firm to help you with your medical negligence claim.
Maximise compensation while minimising stress
We are dedicated to protecting the rights of you and your family. We will work on your behalf to get the maximum medical negligence compensation you’re entitled to so you can focus on your recovery.
Frequently asked questions about medical negligence
Pay-outs differ from case to case. There are a number of factors which affect a person's entitlement to compensation, including their personal circumstances, the type of injury they have suffered and the impact that the injury is having on their day-to-day life.
Every injury and every medical negligence claim are different. Some claims can be resolved within a matter of months and others can take up to 1-3 years depending on the complexities of the case.
Some examples of medical negligence in Brisbane are:
- Negligent advice and treatment: such as medication errors, failure to obtain informed consent, surgical errors, misdiagnosis, making an existing condition worse, delayed diagnosis, not providing the appropriate treatment or referral, failure to perform surgery, not providing acceptable post-operative care, incorrectly reporting on test results.
- Women’s health, pregnancy and childbirth complications: such as failure to advise of abnormalities or risks during pregnancy, not providing options or advice for abortion, injuries caused by failing to recognise a high-risk pregnancy, injury to a new-born due to poorly managed delivery, injury to a new-born due to inadequate neo-natal care, misdiagnosis of a condition leading to infertility or hysterectomy, contraception prescription or procedure errors, mistakes made on pap smear tests, failure to detect cancers.
- Medically negligent death: when medical malpractice results in the death of a loved one such as incorrect or delayed diagnosis, mistakes made during surgery, failure to perform surgery, failure to interpret test or screening results, inadequate emergency treatment.
If you bring a successful claim, you may be awarded compensation for pain and suffering, past and future loss of earnings, care and assistance and other financial losses.
We have an outstanding record of achieving successful outcomes for our clients. Our team of lawyers in Brisbane are here to listen to your story, help you understand your options and provide you with the best legal advice, including the likelihood of a successful outcome. Get in touch today to speak with our team.
You may be eligible to claim medical negligence compensation if:
- you have suffered a physical or psychological injury as a result of malpractice
- you have lost a loved one as a result of medical negligence
- you are able to prove that there was negligent medical treatment and that the injury or harm that it caused would not otherwise have occurred
Speak to our medical negligence lawyers, we can help you understand the eligibility requirements and your options for making a claim.
Our medical negligence lawyers in Brisbane work on a 'no win, no fee'* basis, meaning you don't have to pay our legal fees if your claim is not successful.
Your first consultation is also obligation-free, so speak to one of our specialist medical negligence lawyers today.
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