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Woman receives over $700,000 in compensation for medical negligence

Case Overview
  • Our client suffered a fistula for which she went to the doctor’s office to treat.
  • The medical staff clamped her catheter and caused incredible harm to our client’s body, forcing her to retire early with no income for her family.
  • GMP were able to secure over $700,000 in damages for our client.

Our client suffered a fistula rendering her incontinent following a hysterectomy. She returned for further surgery and had a catheter inserted so her bladder could rest following surgery. Unfortunately, the catheter was clamped by nursing staff in the days following the surgical repair of the original fistula, causing further injury to our client’s bladder and the fistula to reform at two sites.

Because of the incontinence and urinary urgency, she had been forced to retire early from the workforce as she could no longer undertake the physically demanding role of a ward nurse. Even administrative roles were unsuitable due to her ongoing requirements to be close to a bathroom.

"Our client was required to travel interstate to receive additional gynaecological care to rectify her ongoing issues. After prolonged time since these surgeries, she continued to struggle daily."

Katie Ferrier
Our Approach

The team at Gerard Malouf & Partners was requested to investigate a possible medical negligence claim against the client’s local health district. The team obtained expert gynaecological evidence and supporting proof of her ongoing injuries and damages. 

With the information we needed, our law professionals could properly quantify her claim both physically and psychologically. The team commenced proceedings on our client’s behalf.

Gerard Malouf & Partners understand that a family’s financial circumstance may change due to the negligence of medical practitioners, hospitals and nursing staff. Our lawyers were committed to fighting and achieving the best possible outcome for our client. 

The client is now able to focus on bettering her health. The compensation has enabled her to access treatments previously financially unattainable and instead, she can put her negligently performed procedure behind her.

If you have an enquiry for a potential claim, please call us on 1800 004 878 or fill out an enquiry today.

The Result

We were able to secure over $700,000 in medical negligence damages for our client.

Katie Ferrier

Senior Associate
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 favourable 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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