Within your initial consult with our team, explain what you experienced and we will be able to advise what legal options are available to you so you know whether or not you can proceed with bringing forward a claim for medical negligence.
Medical Negligence Lawyers Sydney
What is considered Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence, is also commonly referred to as medical malpractice, and it consists of healthcare providers failing to take reasonable care, correctly or promptly diagnose a medical condition, misdiagnosing a health condition and errors in providing medical treatment.
Who is eligible to commence a Medical Negligence Compensation Claim?
If you have experienced a personal injury due to medical malpractice you might be entitled to make a compensation claim for medical negligence. An additional compensation claim might be available to you if you suffered the loss of a family member as a result of the medical malpractice.
Types of Medical Negligence Claims
You can prove medical malpractice or negligent medical treatment has occurred in a variety of different practice areas. Some of these practices involve:
- Trauma and injuries that occurred while giving birth such as, neonatal deaths and stillbirths.
- Misdiagnosis or diagnosis not completed in a timely manner.
- Not referring the patient to a specialist for a second opinion or more treatments.
- Not ordering more complex tests and investigations
- Not receiving appropriate treatment.
- Mistakes made during surgery and incorrect anaesthesia procedures.
- Inept post operative care.
- Malpractice at the dentist.
- Prescribing the wrong medication or incorrect dosages.
- Mistakes made administering medication.
Sydney Medical Negligence Lawyers
Meet Our Team
Sydney Medical Negligence Lawyers No Win No Fee
Upon an obligation free examination of your medical negligence claim, we will decide if we would be willing to take on your claim on a ‘No Win No Fee‘ arrangement. If this is the case, our medical malpractice lawyers and negligence lawyers will advise you about your chances of a successful claim. At Turner Freeman, we are primarily concerned with helping you rebuild your life in circumstances where you have been injured. For this reason, we operate on a “No Win, No Fee” basis.
We will fund the entire cost of running your case from start to finish. A proportion of your legal fees will be paid by the insurance company in addition to your compensation pay out. You will not be out of pocket to our law firm even if you are unsuccessful in achieving compensation in your case at the finalisation of your matter.
Beginning a Medical negligence claim in New South Wales
Our Sydney medical negligence lawyers are ready to help you commence your medical malpractice claims. They will prepare you with sound legal advice and act for you and your interests in your medical negligence claim. In order to achieve a successful outcome and gain the best compensation result, they will work side by side with you.
Time Limits Involved
It is very important to know that there is a time limit to making a medical negligence compensation claim which is why we advise that you contact a lawyer as quickly as you can. You have 3 years from the date that the negligence is discoverable to commence your case in Court. However, medical negligence claims may still be made outside of this time frame in certain circumstances.
In every situation, it is always better to act quickly. You need to call Turner Freeman as soon as you suspect that you have received negligent treatment. This gives us the advantage of time when trying to achieve the best possible outcome for you.
Proving Medical Negligence
There are several thresholds that you have to meet in order to prove medical negligence or medical malpractice.
- The first threshold is that the healthcare provider who owed you a duty of care breached their duty of care through their treatment of you. To do this, we must show that the medical professionals actions were unreasonable and/or inappropriate.
- Then we must then prove that you have an injury that is worthy of compensation. The level of your injury must meet the thresholds imposed by the law.
The whole process requires extensive collaboration with our medical experts with whom we have developed a very strong relationship over a long period of time.
What are my next steps to commence my medical negligence claim?
It is difficult to know whether you have a medical negligence case or not, especially when you hear different things from people. This is where we come in.
Our medical negligence lawyers will investigate your case on a “No Win – No Fee” basis and without any risk taken on your part. We will have specific regard to your instructions and the medical records. If your case appears to have merit, then we will brief the relevant medical experts to get independent medical evidence. If we advise you to commence your case in Court, then again, we will pay the necessary costs in order to do further investigation and prepare your case for that course of action. If you do not win your case in Court, then you pay our firm nothing.
WANT TO KNOW MORE
Frequently asked questions
What time limits are involved in creating a medical negligence claim?
Prior to starting a claim there is a ‘pre-Court’ process that we must follow. Any insurance matter must start with a ‘Notice of Claim’ that has to be sent to the party that is at fault. This has to happen as quickly as possible. In any case, the claim must begin in Court within three years of the negligent treatment or duty of care breach that resulted in personal injury claims or loss.
How long does the claim process take?
It is difficult to say how long the entire process of a claim may take, however, one of our priorities is to ensure the speedy finalisation of your matter, ultimately through a settlement outside of Court. Most matters move quite quickly from the time that the case is commenced in Court. The Court ensures that parties cannot unnecessarily slow down the legal process and obliges parties to adhere to strict Court timetables.
Can I claim compensation for other expenses as a result of medical negligence?
After your injury or injuries have stabilised you can claim compensation for:
- any pain and suffering you have experienced
- not being able to enjoy your life as fully as you did prior to the injury, an example is not being able to play sport anymore
- lost income
- future lost income
- lost, and future lost superannuation
- expenses caused by future treatment and rehabilitation as well as financial burdens caused by these,
- nursing care, modifications to your home and domestic assistance
What kind of claims are covered?
- Not advising of potential risks;
- Failing to diagnose medical conditions or diagnose in an acceptable time frame;
- Not referring a patient to the appropriate specialist in an acceptable time frame;
- Causing added damage by negligent performance of a medical procedure;
- Actions that made an existing medical condition worse;
- Not properly reporting or misinterpreting test results;
- Not giving reasonable treatment, follow up care or advice following surgery.
To successfully receive compensation for medical expenses caused by injuries and/or loss, we must demonstrate that their injuries were caused by the medical professional or healthcare providers mistake.
Not all injuries and illnesses are the result of negligence, unfortunately, some are pure accidents. Similarly, you can’t always prove that some medical or surgical errors caused injury or loss. However, there are many cases where the law can be used to that prove the negligent medical treatment caused their injuries.
Who does the law deem to be a medical practitioner?
When bringing forth a medical negligence claim, there are a wide range of people considered to be medical practitioners, some of these include:
- public and private hospitals
- doctors
- surgeons
- nurses
- midwives
- paramedics
- medical assistants
- lab personnel
- radiologists
- dentists
- pharmacists
- cosmetologists
- or other allied health professionals.
Who pays the bill for my medical negligence claim?
When bringing a compensation claim for medical negligence against a doctor, medical facility or allied healthcare professionals, normally the claim is paid for by insurance that the medical professional or institution has. It would be very unusual under medical law for the claim not to be covered by an insurance policy.
Will I have to go to court?
It has been our experience, that very few serious medical claims and negligence cases end up proceeding to court. Only a fraction of our cases end up in a court room. It is very unusual for a medical negligence claim to need court supervision and most of these cases can be concluded early. Our goal is for claims to resolve as early as possible as this allows our clients to receive the best results possible.
However, not every medical negligence case will settle early so it is good that we have the experience and knowledge to handle your case if it does proceed to the courtroom.
Why should I work with a lawyer?
We have a team of experienced medical negligence lawyers who will provide you with guidance about the outcome of your medical negligence case and what you can expect moving forward. They will work with you step by step until we receive your desired outcome.
What sets Turner Freeman Lawyers apart from the rest?
We have been practicing in Australia for more then 70 years. Because of this we have vast experience across a myriad of different medical negligence claims. We are passionate about achieving the best results possible for our clients and will fight to help your protect your rights.
Medical Negligence Claims