Family sues state for failing to save their daughter
A claim has been filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria by the family of Marlene Sako, a 25-year-old nurse who set herself on fire and died in 2015. According to The Age, Sako’s surviving relatives are suing Northern Hospital in Epping, Northwestern Mental Health and the triple-zero emergency phone line operators over Marlene’s death. Sako’s family […]
Health 2019 Financial Audit reveals numerous medical mistakes
The latest edition of the New South Wales Auditor-General’s report on the health care sector revealed 22 so-called “sentinel events:” problems that have to be addressed in the months and years ahead. While the goal of the NSW medical system is to reduce the number of sentinel events year over year, these occurrences are actually on the […]
$1 million compensation payout for PTSD upheld by Supreme Court
A compensation payout of more than $1 million awarded to a former Queensland police officer was upheld by the Supreme Court in a decision made earlier this month. The officer’s claim was for coverage of a medical condition, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that he developed after witnessing a fatal car accident while on the job. The insurer […]
Doctors to be held responsible for anti-vaccination disinformation
Anti-vaxxers were back in the news this month after one Instagram influencer referred to Samoa as “NaziSamoa” after they put in place a mandatory vaccination programme. Samoa has seen an alarming number of measles cases among children in the country, due in part to online influence campaigns around the world that cite untrue dangers of […]
Family sues hospital over death after common gallstone operation
When 55-year-old Delphine Murphy went into the hospital in February 2016 to have a gallstone removed, she and her family expected her to be released from the hospital the next day. Instead, she remained in the hospital for 12 days until she died of complications that led to organ failure throughout her body. Her family […]
Repeated negligence turns routine wrist injury into yearslong ordeal
In 2015, Katrina Vella fell and broke her wrist. It was a routine fracture that required doctors to X-ray and reset her wrist, but four years later, Vella is still suffering the consequences of mistakes made by several medical professionals in Queensland. Intense pain ensued Doctors reset her wrist at a 45-degree angle, the first X-ray shows. […]
Case on PTSD claim heard by NSW Supreme Court
In what may prove to be a landmark settlement, a volunteer firefighter has just received significant compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which he reports was primarily caused by his time working in the Rural Fire Service, beginning in 2002. Following negotiations at the Supreme Court, the man reached a settlement with the NSW government. […]
Queensland hospital’s mistake causes permanent damage to patient
A Queensland woman is suing Townsville Hospital for medical negligence after staff improperly set her broken wrist, causing irreparable damage. A small error that caused permanent pain and suffering Katrina Vella broke her wrist following a fall on a bar’s dance floor in June 2015. After an X- ray at Townsville Hospital showed her wrist […]
Botched beauty treatment as plaintiff wins medical negligence claim
A beauty salon customer left with facial skin depigmentation and dimpling after a seemingly ‘very safe and non-invasive’ treatment has been awarded nearly $25,000 and costs in a recent case brought before the state’s District Court. How was this cosmetic surgery claim resolved? Background of the case The plaintiff attended a beauty salon in Sydney, NSW to […]
Surgeon claims Sydney hospital is a medical negligence risk
A Sydney-based surgeon has hit out at the new Northern Beaches Hospital at Frenchs Forest, claiming that the facility is a medical negligence risk for incoming patients. Here we investigate the facts behind this claim. The Northern Beaches Hospital inquiry The accusations come as part of a NSW upper house inquiry into the Frenchs Forest-based medical centre, […]
