Everyone has the right to expect professionalism and care from their healthcare provider. If you believe you’ve been injured by a medical professional, you might be entitled to claim for compensation for your injuries.
Suffering medical negligence can be extremely distressing. It is not unusual for patients to have difficulty identifying an injury caused by their medical or other health care provider, particularly if their treatment has been complex and involved long periods of hospitalisation. Often what patients articulate is a “sense of wrongness” about their treatment.
If you believe that your medical treatment has compromised or significantly impacted the outcome that you expected, have suffered that “sense of wrongness” or believe that you have been injured by your health care provider, we may be able to help.
Generally, health care in Australia is usually of a high standard, however, sometimes things go wrong. Failure to provide reasonable medical care to a patient is called medical negligence. It may be as a result of the conduct of a doctor, hospital or other health professional. This area of law can be complex and difficult to navigate, so if you believe you may have a claim, you should contact one of our expert lawyers today on 1300 57 25 18.
Our medical negligence lawyers offer legal services in this area on a No-Win No-Fee basis, and will provide you with a free initial consultation.
That means you don’t have the added burden or stress of up-front legal fees. You simply focus on you and your family and leave the investigation, prosecution and resolution of your claim to us.
Call us on 1300 56 50 16 for a free initial discussion with one of our lawyers today.
There are three main elements you need to prove to succeed in a medical negligence claim. These are breach, causation and damage:
It’s important to note that not all undesirable or adverse outcomes are due to medical negligence. Sometimes complications can occur, these are often referred to as risks of a procedure.
If you have suffered a negative outcome, ask your doctor for more information regarding why this poor outcome has occurred. An apology is not an admission of guilt, yet health professionals are often reluctant to apologise to patients.
Medical negligence and medical malpractice cases are highly-specialised areas of the law. Making a medical negligence claim requires an expert lawyer with years of experience.
We understand that these types of cases are often very distressing to individuals and their families, and our lawyers approach each case with care, consideration and empathy. Our practice is to ensure that we work with you to achieve the compensation that you deserve to help you rest, recuperate and hopefully fully recover.
How successful are medical negligence claims?
In order for a medical negligence claim to be successful, it must be shown that a practitioner has acted or administered their services in a way that would not be considered competent or professional. As a patient, your medical practitioner/s have a duty of care.
When this duty of care has been breached and the result is pain, injury or loss as a result of that breach, then you may have a successful claim for compensation against that practitioner.
What can I claim compensation for?
The compensation you claim for may include the pain and suffering which you have endured, medical costs resulting from additional treatment required after your procedure, loss of your income if you were not able to work after the procedure and additional travel and home care expenses which have resulted from the event or procedure you have undergone. Your lawyer can help you to formulate a full account of your expenses and which kind of expenses will qualify as part of your compensation case.
How long do I have to make a claim?
There is a 3-year time limit for pursuing a medical negligence claim. After this period, your right to make a claim expires (although extensions can sometimes be granted by the court in limited circumstances).
What’s involved in the investigation?
Medical negligence claims are generally very complex and often require a six to twelve month investigation period to obtain medical evidence to support the claim before filing it in court. This investigation stage involves meeting with you, getting your medical records, taking a statement from you, obtaining an expert opinion from specialist doctors and reporting to you with our advice on whether you have a viable claim.
It is helpful to keep records of your medical appointments/investigations/surgeries and to keep records of your ongoing costs or losses, including receipts for all out-of-pocket expenses, any time off work and any help you may have needed at home.
Our team at Gordon Legal also draw on the assistance of medical experts who can help review your case and provide independent analysis which will help to strengthen your claim.
Will I have to go to court?
It is quite common for these types of medical compensation claims to be settled outside of court.
We will usually negotiate directly with a medical insurer for a lump sum payout which covers your costs and damages. This way, there is no appearance before a judge and your lawyer is able to arrange the terms of your settlement either on your behalf, or by advising you.
If your claim does go to court it can take between 18 months to three or more years to be finalised, depending on the complexity of the claim and whether the injuries have stabilised enough to be assessed.
Our expert lawyers will run your claim as quickly as possible to allow you to move on with your life. This includes making all reasonable attempts to resolve your case out of court in a timely manner where possible.
If you think you may have a claim, contact one of our lawyers today on 1300 57 25 18.
Paul is one of the most experienced and successful personal injury litigators in Australia, having obtained many millions of dollars in compensation for clients. Paul ran one of the largest medical negligence practices in Australia. He has been instrumental in building our firm and continues to mentor our lawyers and their cases to ensure our clients have the benefit of his decades of experience.
Paul is also a Director for several companies, including the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
Sheri is an Accredited Specialist in personal injury law, with particular expertise in medical negligence, civil liability and workers compensation claims. She has experience acting in complex claims for seriously injured people across various areas of personal injury law. Sheri brings a strong understanding of regional NSW, hailing from Dubbo where she remains an active member of the community. She has won a number of professional awards, including the NSW Young Business Executive of the Year in 2017.
Jenny is an accredited specialist in personal injury law. She is dedicated to representing injured people in their fight to access compensation.
Jenny is committed to upholding the values of the union movement and applies her legal skills to the wider community through her role as a volunteer lawyer at West Justice.
In December 2018, Jenny was appointed to the Western Health Foundation Board. She is a passionate supporter of the mighty Western Bulldogs.
Anastasia is an accredited specialist in personal injury law. She has 10 years’ experience in Workers’ Compensation fighting for the rights of injured workers against large companies and insurers. She has also acted for people injured in motor vehicle accidents as well as in public and private premises.
Anastasia has served as a committee member of the Victorian Branch for the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
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