Medical Negligence

As a patient of a medical practitioner, whether public or private, you are entitled to expect that you will receive the same standard of care as you would from any other practitioner of similar skill and specialisation. This principle was established in the case of Dunne v National Maternity Hospital¹.

Many people may assume that by signing a consent form accepting the risks in a particular procedure, they are signing away their right to sue should the treatment go wrong. This is mistaken. All medical procedures have some level of risk, and allowance has to be made for doctors to exercise their clinical judgment. However, this does not excuse medical care that is negligent by falling below the standard a patient is entitled to expect.

How to balance these considerations is something that requires an expert opinion from an independent doctor. This will inform whether there is a case or not, as it will first of all need to be established that there has been a breach in the standard of care before any liability for damages arises.

Given the serious consequences of medical negligence, it is important to have as full an understanding as possible of your options. Please get in touch if I can assist.