Our client was an 86 year old man who sustained a serious injury resulting in the amputation of his right leg after developing a pressure sore whilst in hospital for an unrelated procedure. At the time of his injury, our client was enjoying his retirement and he and his wife remained active. Following his injury, our client was unable to enjoy a number of activities he had previously enjoyed.
Following his injury, our client required significant domestic care and assistance around the home and his wife, also in her 80s, was taking on most of this responsibility. As a result, our client and his family decided to call Gerard Malouf & Partners for more information and to see if they had a claim.
We opened a file on our client’s behalf and requested all of his clinical notes from the hospital and his other health care providers. We took a careful history from our client and scrutinised every page of her clinical history. We then drafted a qualifying letter incorporating all of the evidence we had identified about our client’s treatment at the hospital.
We qualified a Nurse and an Infectious Diseases Specialist to provide an opinion. We also explored every aspect of our client’s damages and qualified an Occupational Therapist who was asked to comment on past and future need for care and equipment, a Prosthetist to comment on the future need for prosthetics and a Rehabilitation Physician who commented on his future rehabilitation needs.
Liability was admitted by the Defendant Hospital, however, they argued that the need for future care was minimal due to his age. We presented evidence that disputed this as our client was active and otherwise healthy.
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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In the spirit of reconciliation GMP Law acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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