Our client contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners to determine if she had a medical negligence case due to a failure in care provided by a prominent hospital in Sydney.
Our client, a 63 year old female, suffered an unwitnessed seizure at her home. She was found by her daughter who was visiting her house. Our client was taken by Ambulance to the Defendant’s premises. Despite being assessed as requiring intensive care, no beds were available in ICU. Consequently, our client was transferred to another hospital.
After receiving treatment for two days in ICU she was transferred to the ward. She further received treatment from a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, neurology team and nursing staff. A few days later our client suffered loss of unconsciousness and was unable to be roused by nursing staff for approximately 30 seconds. Our client slowly regained consciousness afterwards.
When she lost consciousness, our client’s right hand had dropped into her hot dinner – causing extensive burns. Our client suffered from serious burns, scarring, nerve damage and contractures to her right hand. Additionally, she suffered from psychological trauma.
A report was obtained from an expert Registered Nurse, who concluded that the care provided by the hospital staff was inadequate. Our client should have been supervised to ensure she did not lose consciousness, given her medical history. We confirmed that our client had reasonable prospects of success and that we could proceed with her medical negligence claim.
On this basis, a claim was commenced at the District Court of New South Wales.
The hospital alleged that they were not responsible for the damage caused, and disputed that our client had any ongoing injuries and disabilities in her upper limbs because of the incident. The matter was extremely contentious given that there were no witnesses. Mr Raina arranged a settlement conference with the lawyers for the hospital, and was able to secure a settlement of $150,000.00 with strategic and decisive negotiating.
Medical negligence claims are complex and often involve numerous independent medical experts with differing opinions on whether the treatment provided was reasonable in the circumstances. If you have suffered damage as a result of medical negligence, it is imperative that you speak with an experienced solicitor such as Mr Raina that understands the intricacies of such cases. Contact Gerard Malouf & Partners on 1800 004 878 or complete our email enquiry form for a free consultation with one of our Medical Negligence solicitors, to discuss how we can assist you on a No Win No Fee basis.
