Medical Negligence Claim Information:
Medical negligence (often called clinical negligence) refers to severe or catastrophic medical injuries as a result of medical accidents, negligent medical treatment, GP error or clinical mistakes, inappropriate or delayed treatment, hospital negligence and delayed or mis-diagnosis.
Medical negligence includes negligence in relation to:
- Surgery
- Medication
- Diagnosis
- Delay in treatment
- Psychiatric care
- Psychotherapy
- Counselling
- Dentistry
- Childbirth (including damage to the unborn child)
It can also include things that have not been done that should have been done, such as not giving a person the treatment they need, or failing to warn about the risks of a proposed treatment.
The claimant needs to prove that:
- The doctor or other healthcare professional owed a duty to take care of the claimant and not cause injury;
- There was a breach of that duty to take care;
- That breach of duty has caused harm to the claimant; and
- Damage or other losses have resulted from that harm.
“It does not matter what kind of treatment is undertaken; if all the elements set out above are present, there is a potential claim for damages.”