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Whilst there is little doubt that the larger majority of health care professionals aim to provide the very best of care to their patients, sometimes the care we receive is less than adequate.
On occasion, unsatisfactory treatment may lead to injury and/or death, which could/should otherwise have been avoided. If this occurs to you, you may have redress through the legal system for compensation.
“When a person is treated by a medical or allied health care professional (such as a hospital, doctor, dentist, pharmacist, etc.), they are owed what is known as a ‘duty of care’ requiring that the treatment is rendered with reasonable skill and care,” said Conrad Curry, from the The Law Office of Conrad Curry. “In circumstances where the treatment falls below the accepted standard of care, the duty of care is said to have been breached.
“Where that breach can be shown to have caused or materially contributed to an adverse outcome such as injury or death, then monetary compensation may be available to the victim, and in certain cases where death has been caused, to the dependants of the deceased person.”
Medical negligence (medical malpractice) is an extremely complex area of law where the claimant requires an expert representative with a thorough medical knowledge and extensive experience in fighting medical negligence claims.
Example 1:
- Bill suffered shoulder and arm pain. He went to the Emergency Department (ED) of the major tertiary hospital in town. Bill was designated as potentially an Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) patient and transferred to the coronary ward. His wife and children went home reassured that Bill would be monitored carefully overnight. Unbeknown to them, a miscommunication between the ED and the ward saw Bill’s status as ACS removed and he was not monitored as he should have been. Bill died that night in hospital. If Bill had been monitored as ACS the blood gas results would have showed rising troponin levels and he would have been taken to the cath lab and his blocked arteries stented.
The Law Office of Conrad Curry supported Bill’s wife in suing the hospital for the mental harm caused to her and for the loss of financial and domestic support from her husband. The hospital settled the case at mediation for several hundred thousand dollars.
“From a disciplinary perspective there are a number of state and federal agencies and specialty-specific boards which have the power to investigate complaints against health institutions and members, make recommendations and take action with respect to the registration of members. The Health Care Complaints Commission is most prominent among them,” Mr Curry said.
Example 2:
- Lisa cut the base of her right index finger at work whilst preparing food for the sandwich bar for lunchtime customers. The cut was deep and affected the extensor tendon. She presented to the local Emergency Department where she was seen by an emergency doctor. The wound was clean and stitched. However, she was not referred to a specialist hand surgeon or given a prophylactic antibiotic as she should have been, even after two further presentations to the same ED over the next couple of days. The wound became infected and she developed septic arthritis resulting in the amputation of her right index finger. Lisa’s life will never be the same. She is severely limited in the work she can do and in her daily living activities. Lisa’s case is currently before the Court.
The Law Office of Conrad Curry can provide expert advice in assessing the strength of a claim and the likelihood of success, with access to the best experts in each speciality to provide expert opinion on the breach, causation and assessment of the size of your claim.
“Once we have analysed the claim and the relevant medical material and we are satisfied that your claim has good prospects of success, we offer a no-win-no-fee option with respect to our legal fees,” Mr Curry said.
For more information, call (02) 4050 0330 or visit www.conradcurrylaw.com.au.
