Medical Negligence Lawyers: Seeking Restitution | BPC Law Blog

If you have been the victim of medical negligence, a specialist lawyer in Sydney can help you get compensation. But what do you need to do?

Firstly, you need to work out if you have a case at all. To fall under the definition of medical negligence, a medical practitioner has to have been negligent in their care of you. The negligence could be that:

• They did something they shouldn’t have (like operate on the wrong part),
• They did something without your consent
• They didn’t explain everything to you and warn you of risks so your consent could not be fully given
• They caused you injury

So now you know if you qualify as a victim of medical negligence, what next?

Anyone can say anything about anybody, but if you want to be successful in court, you need to show evidence. Whenever you go in for a medical procedure, it’s a good idea to hold onto reports and letters relating to your condition for your medical history and for insurance purposes, but if you do become a victim of medical negligence, these will become the backbone of your case. You need to show that what the doctor did wasn’t what you discussed or what the reports and letters recommended. Here are a few examples of things to hang onto:

• Letters from your GP
• Letters from specialists
• X-rays and ultrasounds
• Blood test results and any other test results

Of course the evidence gathering doesn’t stop after the procedure. Some of the things you can do to prove that what the doctor did has harmed you can include:

• Photographs of the affected area (if applicable)
• Invoices and bills from other medical professionals you’ve had to see as a result of medical negligence (e.g. needing additional surgery)
• Test results, x-rays, and ultrasounds that prove that you are still suffering from the condition you went in with, or alternatively, proving that they did something wrong (e.g. operated on the wrong part)

What you’ll need to gather and keep will, of course, depend on the individual case of your medical negligence.

Once you have your evidence, it’s time to start talking to lawyers. Remember, if you come forward to say that doctor did something wrong, you could be saving someone else from going through the same pain you did.

Poor Records and Medical Negligence

Medical negligence lawyers in Sydney and around Australia are incredibly important. We presume that because we live in a first world country that our hospitals are some of the best in the world. They are not and there are plenty of opportunities for medical negligence lawyers to help patients achieve some sort of justice.

In June, the poor medical record keeping practices in Australian hospitals were highlighted when a woman was awarded $360,000 compensation for the death of her newborn son. Estimates have suggested that 18 thousand people die every year because of a medical error, while another 50 thousand suffer permanent injuries due to medical errors.

However, there is no system of collection and linking when it comes to data regarding medical errors, so the figures could be even higher. The Medical Error Action Group says that they receive around 50 complaints a day that can be called medical errors.The Medical Error Action Group also suggests that one in ten patients will fall foul of a medical error, if they’re particularly unlucky, an error that involves the wrong surgery site or even the wrong patient. Other cases have involved patients dying from being given medication they are allergic to because doctors have not checked their records or the medical records are incorrect.

There is the strong belief held by those who have seen the results of medical errors or experienced them themselves that even after the 1995 Quality in Australian Health Care Study found that medical errors occurred with 16.6% of patients, doctors and medical organisations are covering things up.

This is where victims need to seek the help of medical negligence lawyers. It is thought that around three per cent of practising doctors are accounting for half of the complaints of medical negligence. Presumably the same errors keep happening. These doctors need to be taken to court and the patients properly compensated to prevent it from continuing to happen.

If you are looking at medical negligence lawyers in Sydney, call BPC Lawyers on (02) 8355 4002, or enquire online at http://www.bpclaw.com.au.

Medical Negligence in Canberra Hospital

It can be easy to think that we do not need medical negligence lawyers in Sydney, or anywhere else in Australia for that matter, but that is simply not true. You need to have only opened a newspaper or logged onto a news website in the last six months to see that the field of medical negligence lawyers is still greatly required throughout Australia. Previously, we have seen negligent Queensland doctors forcing a change in the Queensland Board of the Medical Board of Australia members and the creation of a specialist Health ombudsman, and we have seen Dr Jayant Patel return to the courts for a retrial over three counts of manslaughter. But there is still even more recent cases of medical negligence in Australia, this time in the nation’s capital of Canberra.

In the mid-90s, Dr Gerald McLaren raised concerns about Canberra Hospital’s former head of neurosurgery, Dr Raymond Newcombe. There was an initial investigation, and, in 1998, an audit. In particular Dr McLaren was concerned about Dr Newcombe’s surgical skills. Another investigation was conducted in 2003 and in 2007 the Australian Capital Territory Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal held a hearing into allegations against Dr Newcombe of medical malpractice. The decision was released at the end of last month: Dr Raymond Newcombe went against standards of practice by failing to maintain public protection and safety.

What the Tribunal found is quite shocking and disturbing. It says that Dr Newcombe performed surgery on the wrong part of the brain of a patient, he used the wrong instrument during one or more surgeries, he failed to provide suitable and satisfactory post operative and clinical care, and he also failed to ensure accurate and complete clinical records about a patient.

Dr Raymond Newcombe retired in 2004 and Canberra Hospital believes enough changes have been made since Dr Newcombe to prevent a similar or repeat incident. Of course, time will tell if this is really true.

With such a recent instance of disturbing medical malpractice, it is more important than ever that Australian patients are aware that there are medical negligence lawyers at hand if they need them. If you are looking for medical negligence lawyers in Sydney, call BPC Lawyers on (02) 8355 4002, or enquire online at http://www.bpclaw.com.au.

Medical Negligence Claim Explained

To help you better understand what medical negligence is and what constitutes it, we have compiled more information for you below.
A medical negligence claim is a claim for compensation made by a person who has sustained an injury caused by negligence of a medical professional, a doctor, or hospital.

It falls under one of two categories below:

• A claim that the medical care or treatment that the complainant received was below accepted standards; or
• A claim that the doctor or medical professional failed to disclose or warn the complainant about the risks involved in the treatment that had been the cause of injury.

Some of the examples of actions that are deemed below standard that could be the basis of medical negligence claims are the following:

• The doctor or medical professional did not use proper care and skill when conducting a surgery
• The doctor or medical professional misdiagnosed or failed to diagnose a disease or condition in a timely manner
• The doctor or medical professional provided the wrong dose or type of drug
• The doctor or medical professional did not provide suitable or sufficient post-operative care
• The doctor or medical professional reported test results erroneously.

How can negligence be proven? What constitutes it?

Because negligence is a defined legal concept, it must be proven that:

• The doctor or medical professional owed you a duty of care
• The doctor or medical professional failed to provide care, or have breached their duty to care
• The negligence of the doctor or medical professional is directly responsible for your injury or harm
• The damage or injury that you have sustained

If you believe that you have sustained any injury caused by a doctor or medical professional’s negligence as described above, consult with a medical negligence lawyer right away.

We can help. Call BPC Lawyer today on 02 8355 4002.