With a vast number of patients receiving treatment and care from Australian health professionals every day, the unfortunate reality is that cases of medical negligence are likely to occur from time to time.
The form which such negligence takes can vary. It may be that a patient is incorrectly diagnosed or not sufficiently warned about the dangers of a procedure.
Alternatively, there are many mistakes that can be made by medical personnel during surgery.
This includes when patients receive the wrong procedure, receive the correct procedure but in the wrong part of the body, or when surgical implements such as sponges are left in the body.
Australians who feel that they may be victims of such occurrences, and who have been injured as a result, may be entitled to compensation.
The best way to find out how successful your claim may be is to speak to specialist medical negligence lawyers.
Those who operate on a no win no fee basis can evaluate your case and won’t charge you unless you end up being successfully compensated.
An article recently published in the Sunday Age has brought the subject of medical negligence to light once more.
Doctor Catherine Crock, a paediatrician who also directs the Australian Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care, told The Age’s Julia Medew about how her own recent experiences as a patient had reminded her of the risk of errors in healthcare settings.
Dr Crock had recently been admitted to hospital for a small procedure and found herself observing the medical staff as they went about their tasks.
What she saw was worrying. As staff went about checks and moved between caring for different patients, there were lapses in the performance of basic safety measures.
“Some of these things weren’t being done, and at one stage I even saw a mix-up with two patients’ histories,” said Dr Crock.
Dr Crock says that even though she herself was a healthcare professional, she didn’t know whether to say anything about her concerns for her safety.
Victoria’s Health Services commissioner Beth Wilson told the Sunday Age that patients were often too scared to complain
“I frequently see people telling me about an incident but not wanting to make a complaint because they don’t want to get people into trouble,” said Ms Wilson.
If you feel you may be a victim of medical negligence, compensation lawyers in Sydney can thoroughly investigate your claim.
