Medical negligence law is an area of legal specialty that requires considerable skill and experience. This applies particularly to claims arising in circumstances where a patient seems to have somewhat recovered. It is important that anyone injured is not discouraged by any advice that their injuries are too modest to matter; whilst it is true that the law can make these claims more difficult to pursue, a seasoned lawyer, with the foresight to navigate the area with skill, can properly advise a client about their prospects of success and the viability of pursuing such a claim.
Establish negligence
The first step in the process is that of establishing negligence. The question to be asked, simply, is whether the medical practitioner exercised reasonable professional skill and judgment. It is not only a legal standard but also common sense that a health care provider must provide treatment and advice that is competent. If that treatment provider fails to act in accordance with a reasonable standard of care, and as long as someone has suffered an ongoing injury and associated difficulties directly as a result of that failure, then an injured person becomes entitled to seek compensation for their loss.
If a “smaller” claim meets the requisite legal standards for negligence, it is almost always prudent to pursue that claim. Anyone who has suffered deserves legal justice. Specialised lawyers in the field will advise about the best way of progressing smaller matters, in an expeditious and cost-effective manner. Almost all of these cases can be resolved outside of a Court hearing and one of the key factors to a matter’s efficacy is the way in which costs are disbursed; put simply, incurring too much by way of costs may produce an undesired result for a client. For this reason, a lawyer who is a specialist in the field brings a certain advantage to this type of litigation.
At Turner Freeman, we have lawyers who specialise in medical negligence claims. Our Sydney Partner, Sally Gleeson, has a dedicated practice in medical law. If you or someone you know has suffered as a result of medical negligence, please phone us on 13 43 63 to speak with one of our medical law experts today.