Western Australia family wins case against hospital
A family won a major medical negligence case against the WA Child and Adolescent Health Service, after the Princess Margaret Hospital in Subiaco failed to provide proper care – even neglecting to give antibiotics – for the sepsis their daughter developed as a result of severe burns. The improperly treated sepsis led to the plaintiff […]
Family sues state for failing to save their daughter
A claim has been filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria by the family of Marlene Sako, a 25-year-old nurse who set herself on fire and died in 2015. According to The Age, Sako’s surviving relatives are suing Northern Hospital in Epping, Northwestern Mental Health and the triple-zero emergency phone line operators over Marlene’s death. Sako’s family […]
Hospital sued over death of middle-aged woman after common procedure
A 55-year-old Victorian woman died from multiple organ failure 12 days after a common surgical procedure took place, according to a statement claim filed in the Victorian Supreme Court. The claim alleges that a piece of medical equipment used in the procedure was not properly cleaned, and that the defendant is thus medically liable for the victim’s […]
Falling numbers of GPs may lead to medical negligence
A recent report by Deloitte revealed that the workforce of general practitioners in Australia will fall short of nationwide demand by nearly 10,000 individuals in the next 10 years. Australia’s health care workforce is already understaffed. Compared to the 254 GPs per 100,000 people in some parts of Europe, Australia currently only has 70.5 GPs […]
Health 2019 Financial Audit reveals numerous medical mistakes
The latest edition of the New South Wales Auditor-General’s report on the health care sector revealed 22 so-called “sentinel events:” problems that have to be addressed in the months and years ahead. While the goal of the NSW medical system is to reduce the number of sentinel events year over year, these occurrences are actually on the […]
Doctor Uses Unregistered Medical Device, Fails to Inform Patient or Medical Tea
In a highly unethical sequence of events, a New South Wales Doctor not only failed to disclose his personal interest in a medical device used in pelvic surgery, he also continued to use the medical device after it was stripped of registration. He also failed to inform patients it was being used, and then failed […]
$1 million compensation payout for PTSD upheld by Supreme Court
A compensation payout of more than $1 million awarded to a former Queensland police officer was upheld by the Supreme Court in a decision made earlier this month. The officer’s claim was for coverage of a medical condition, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that he developed after witnessing a fatal car accident while on the job. The insurer […]
Doctors to be held responsible for anti-vaccination disinformation
Anti-vaxxers were back in the news this month after one Instagram influencer referred to Samoa as “NaziSamoa” after they put in place a mandatory vaccination programme. Samoa has seen an alarming number of measles cases among children in the country, due in part to online influence campaigns around the world that cite untrue dangers of […]
Man dies of cancer after doctors fail to detect cancer
An Adelaide man recently died after medical professionals at Queen Elizabeth Hospital failed to properly diagnose him with stomach cancer in 2018. The 70-year-old had had bladder cancer 10 years ago, and went in for his regular screening in July 2018. At the time, he was told his scan had come back clear and that he was […]
Family sues hospital over death after common gallstone operation
When 55-year-old Delphine Murphy went into the hospital in February 2016 to have a gallstone removed, she and her family expected her to be released from the hospital the next day. Instead, she remained in the hospital for 12 days until she died of complications that led to organ failure throughout her body. Her family […]
