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Man Receives Settlement Worth $200K After Being Injured During Surgery

Case Overview
  • Our client underwent surgery at a public hospital to remove his gallbladder, where the surgeon caused damage during the surgery.
  • After complaining of pain, they had to reoperate our client and insert a stoma bag.
  • Concerned about his treatment, he approached Gerard Malouf & Partners to investigate a potential medical negligence claim.

Our client underwent surgery at an NSW public hospital to remove his gallbladder. The surgeon inadvertently caused damage to our client’s bowel during the surgery. The injury was not identified during the procedure, and our client’s surgical incision was closed, and he was transferred to recovery.

There was a delay in identifying the bowel injury by hospital staff despite our client’s complaints of significant abdominal pain following surgery and numerous other warning signs. Two days later, our client was finally taken into the operating theatre for the repair of the injury. Part of our client’s bowel was resected, and the bowel was then joined together (anastomosis). Unfortunately, the anastomosis failed, and our client required further surgery to insert a stoma bag.

Our Approach

Jonathon Tannous handled his case and sought and obtained supportive independent expert opinion that the causing of the bowel injury and the delay in identifying and treating it were both negligent.

It was decided that the best option for our client to reach a positive outcome would be to enter into settlement negotiations between the parties by way of mediation.

At Gerard Malouf and Partners, we pride ourselves on assisting those who are mistreated, misdiagnosed, and inadequately cared for by the health system. We are highly specialised and focused medical negligence lawyers with our firm.

The Result

We negotiated a settlement claim of $200,000

Jonathon Tannous

Senior Associate
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
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.

All professionals – including medical professionals – have a duty of care toward their customers. 

Our Medical Negligence lawyers manage cases brought against all forms of medical worker when they show neglect in their duty of care, including doctors, nurses, dentists, hospitals, cosmetic surgeons, chiropractors and physiotherapists

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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.
Lawyers
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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