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Man Receives $425,000 in Compensation Following Injury to His Right Leg

Case Overview
  • Our client attended a hospital complaining of back pain and right leg symptoms but was misdiagnosed and discharged home. 
  • Later he crashed his car and lost sensation in his foot and was diagnosed with right foot drop and peroneal nerve palsy.
  • He contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners, seeking help in this unfortunate situation and our team helped him receive compensation.

Our client lost balance, and a motorbike fell on top of him, injuring his right leg and leading him to take anticoagulants for a cardiac condition.Later our client attended physiotherapists, and after a massage, he experienced extreme pain down his right leg from his knee to his ankle.

He was taken to the hospital with back pain and right leg symptoms. He was seen, misdiagnosed, and discharged home. He attended the following day again and was diagnosed with foot drop with an unknown cause. He was discharged again and drove home. On his way home, he crashed his car, having lost sensation in his right foot. He returned to the same hospital.

When he was seen the following day, the misdiagnosis was recognized, and our client was referred to another hospital with a diagnosis of right foot drop and peroneal nerve palsy. The condition was attributed to a delay in diagnosing lateral compartment syndrome. The Plaintiff continued to suffer from foot drops and damage to the peroneal nerve due to this misdiagnosis.

"We obtained opinions from several eminent experts, including a general surgeon, orthopaedic surgeon, and emergency department specialist."

Keegan behrens
Our Approach

This matter was handled by Mr. Keegan Behrens, an experienced medical negligence solicitor with the firm. Mr. Behrens and his team worked tirelessly, obtaining all the client’s clinical records and drafting detailed letters of instruction to various experts, seeking their opinions on the matter. Mr. Behrens received from several eminent experts, including a general surgeon, orthopaedic surgeon, and emergency department specialist, who all opined that a fasciotomy could and should have been performed quickly. Our client would not have suffered from foot drop and permanent damage to the peroneal nerve if it had occurred.

Have you been affected by medical negligence? Give Gerard Malouf and Partners a call today to see how we can assist you in obtaining maximum compensation.

The Result

The matter ultimately proceeded to mediation, where Mr. Behrens and our expert barrister successfully negotiated a significant compensation payout of $425,000 to our client.

Keegan Behrens

Associate
It is with much pleasure and respect I forward this letter of appreciation to you to commend the services for an outstanding solicitor in Keegan Behrens. Without going into all the unfortunate circumstances, I take this opportunity to sincerely thank Keegan and his team for assisting my wife through the toughest time in her life following on from a medical negligence claim.
Frequently Asked Questions

More Information

Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that another in the same position would prudently exercise. The harm caused by negligence is considered to be due to carelessness, rather than a specific intent or determination to cause harm.

While negligence can include misconduct in a variety of circumstances, malpractice is reserved for professionals who fall grossly short of their obligations — and harm others in the process. As a result, malpractice is often called “professional negligence”. If a licensed professional (such as a doctor, lawyer, or accountant) fails to provide the accepted standard of care and subsequently causes harm to the plaintiff, this form of negligence may be known as malpractice.

Medical malpractice is specifically used in reference to medical workers who have committed acts of negligence.

Demonstrating that a doctor fell short of their duty of care can be a challenging process. While most doctors try their best to correctly diagnose conditions and provide timely medical treatment, they can’t always be right. In every state, protections are in place to shield practitioners from some litigation. These give practitioners peace of mind on the job and protect hospitals that are doing their best with limited resources. However, these laws also set the bar for receiving compensation incredibly high.

Overall, to win a favorable judgment, you must be able to prove Duty, Breach and Damages.

If you have been injured or an existing condition has got worse following a medical procedure, or even just a visit to the doctor, then you may have been the victim of medical negligence and you may be eligible to make medical negligence claims against the professional who caused your injury.

If you can first show that you have suffered harm, and secondly, that a medical professional failed in their duty of care towards you then you may be entitled to compensation.

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About Us
Gerard Malouf & Partners have provided friendly, experienced legal advice to communities across Australia for over 35 years. Our Personal Injury Lawyers have taken on ten’s of thousands of cases and we are proud to have won billions of dollars for our clients.
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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.
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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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