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.”