What is Medical Negligence?
When you think of doctors and nurses you would normally think of professional caring people who help sick people get better. And the majority of the time you would be right, but unfortunately there is the odd occasion when things go wrong and a patient is left in worse condition than when they went in. When something goes wrong the patient deserves an explanation at the very least. A training doctor is actually required by the governing body, the General Medical Council to inform a patient when treatment has gone wrong.
In fact, if an injury is sustained as a result of a breach of care on the part of a member of a medical staff, including dental or nursing services then you might be entitled to financial compensation. A breach of care can occur at any point from the initial point of contact with a medical professional to the end of treatment. Examples include failed or delayed diagnosis, medication errors, careless surgical problems or failure to warn of risks in treatment. Negligent situations can arise out of system errors in the hospital where the treatment took place.
Other issues are cropping up all the time as well. From the use of unsterilized instruments, misinterpretation of medical equipment and liability for hospital-acquired infections. There have also been cases of claims being made for unexpected and dangerous reactions to certain drugs and vaccines, for example, the well-documented controversy over the MMR vaccine.
Making a claim of medical negligence against a medical professional is very different from making a personal injury claim following a road traffic accident for example. It is not so straightforward to establish whose fault the accident was. In order to make a successful medical negligence claim, it must be proved through the evidence of medical experts that there were serious errors in your medical treatment which no competent doctor would have made. Furthermore, it must be proved that the errors made have directly caused the injuries that you are now suffering from.
People who make medical malpractice claims are usually very upset, emotional and even traumatised by their experiences. Therefore, it is advisable to seek professional legal advice to act on the behalf of the patient as they will act as an impartial party. They will also be able to advise you on the different jurisdictions that exist across different countries and the best way to pursue your claim.
They will also inform a patient of the limitation period that is involved in claims of medical malpractice. This period may vary between jurisdictions, but is usually between one to five years. These limitation periods obviously have important implications for the length of time that medical records are retained.
If you think that you have a case for a claim then contact Accident Consult for more information.
Tags: competent doctor, doctors and nurses, financial compensation, governing body, medical equipment, medical experts, medical negligence claim, medical staff, medication errors, misinterpretation, personal injury claim, point of contact, road traffic accident |
