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Sydney Man Compensated $200,000 After GP Fails to Identify Heart Attack

Case Overview
  • Our client suffered a heart attack 2 days after he consulted with his GP who failed to take into account the seriousness of his symptoms.
  • As a result of the heart attack, our client suffered permanent heart damage with life-long disabilities and a reduced life expectancy.
  • During negotiations, Gerard Malouf & Partners helped him in getting a settlement of $200,000.

In this matter, our client had a family history of heart disease. On one occasion, our client consulted with his GP due to severe chest pains. The GP failed to take into account the seriousness of our client’s symptoms, and his family history, and did not refer our client to the local emergency department.

Within 2 days following the GP consultation, an ambulance was called to our client’s home and transported him to the local emergency department. There he was diagnosed as having suffered a heart attack and received appropriate treatment for this.

“As a result of the heart attack, our client suffered permanent heart damage with life-long disabilities, and a reduced life expectancy.”


Jonathon Tannous
Our Approach

Concerned about the delay in receiving treatment of his condition, our client approached Gerard Malouf & Partners to investigate a potential medical negligence claim. Medical negligence lawyer Jonathon Tannous handled his case, and sought and obtained independent expert opinion on the delay in diagnosis of our client’s heart attack. Gerard Malouf & Partners was able to obtain independent expert opinion that, had the delay not occurred, our client would have avoided any serious heart damage.

It was decided that the best option for our client to reach a positive outcome would be to enter into settlement negotiations between the parties by way of a mediation.

At Gerard Malouf and Partner’s we pride ourselves on assisting those who are mistreated, misdiagnosed and inadequately cared for by the health system. We are highly specialised and focused medical negligence lawyers with our firm being small enough to care intimately for our clients, but large enough to have the solid, financial, medical and expert resources our clients need to match the big insurers we fight every day.

For free over the phone advice or to take advantage of our free face-to-face consultation call Gerard Malouf and Partners on 1800 004 878 and ask to speak with one of our experience medical negligence lawyers.

The Result

Mr Tannous and his team, including an expert barrister, negotiated a settlement of $200,000.

Jonathon Tannous

Jonathon Tannous

Senior Associate
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Frequently Asked Questions

More Information

Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that another in the same position would prudently exercise. The harm caused by negligence is considered to be due to carelessness, rather than a specific intent or determination to cause harm.

While negligence can include misconduct in a variety of circumstances, malpractice is reserved for professionals who fall grossly short of their obligations — and harm others in the process. As a result, malpractice is often called “professional negligence”. If a licensed professional (such as a doctor, lawyer, or accountant) fails to provide the accepted standard of care and subsequently causes harm to the plaintiff, this form of negligence may be known as malpractice.

Medical malpractice is specifically used in reference to medical workers who have committed acts of negligence.

Demonstrating that a doctor fell short of their duty of care can be a challenging process. While most doctors try their best to correctly diagnose conditions and provide timely medical treatment, they can’t always be right. In every state, protections are in place to shield practitioners from some litigation. These give practitioners peace of mind on the job and protect hospitals that are doing their best with limited resources. However, these laws also set the bar for receiving compensation incredibly high.

Overall, to win a favorable judgment, you must be able to prove Duty, Breach and Damages.

If you have been injured or an existing condition has got worse following a medical procedure, or even just a visit to the doctor, then you may have been the victim of medical negligence and you may be eligible to make medical negligence claims against the professional who caused your injury.

If you can first show that you have suffered harm, and secondly, that a medical professional failed in their duty of care towards you then you may be entitled to compensation.

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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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