Lidia Monteverdi on 2GB Chris Smith Show discussing Medical Negligence 15 May 2021

 ***********************

CS – Chris Smith/LM – Lidia Monteverdi /C1,2,3, etc – Callers

  ***********************

Listen to the podcast

Read the transcript below:

LM     Good morning, Chris. How are you?

CS       Very, very well thank you. Now, we’ve got some issues here with some of our listeners who’ve sent emails in. One here from Kim, I have recently been diagnosed with terminal skin cancer, I regularly get skin checks and had a skin cancer removed a few years ago, my doctors now have told me that the doctor who removed the skin cancer didn’t get it all the first time and it’s now come back. Do I have medical negligence claim?

LM     I’m sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Skin cancer claims such as yours are highly litigated and hotly contested areas of medicine and the law. In order to bring a claim you have to establish that the doctor you originally saw breached their duty of care to you which has caused you to suffer from some damage or harm. So in a claim like yours there’s usually two issues that we look at. The first is whether the margins of the excision were clear and that means looking at the report provided by the pathologist who examined your lesion. The pathologist comments on what the margins were around the lesion and whether they were clear and the second issue is whether the doctor appropriately reviewed and interpreted that pathology report and acted on it if it was appropriate. Skin cancer claims are complex and it’s really important that you get legal advice, particularly given your diagnosis.

CS       A lot of people would be in that boat, wouldn’t they?

LM     Absolutely, I mean Australia has such a high incident of skin cancer so it’s, as I say, a hotly contested area of medicine.

CS       Yeah, okay. One here from Rani, Rani says I had medical treatment two years ago that I think was negligent, are there any time limits for bringing a medical negligence claim and how do I start that claim?

LM     Rani thanks for your question, yes there are definitely time limits that apply to bringing claims in medical negligence. You have three years from the date upon which you discover negligence has occurred within which to commence an court proceedings. Now the discoverability provision is a little bit flexible so the earliest your limitation period could be said to expire is three years from the date of your injury but sometimes you don’t discover that anything untoward has happened until years after your treatment, so it’s really important to obtain legal advice regarding your rights as soon as you suspect that you might have had some substandard care.

CS       And a case like that would go for how long? Years?

LM     Yeah, it depends, Chris, it could go for 12 months it could go for years, it depends on the nature of the injury.

CS       Right, but as long as you start that case or claim within that 3 years, you’re on firm ground.

LM     Yes, correct. As soon as court proceedings are commenced the limitation period stops running. The best way to start a claim is to make an appointment at any of our offices across New South Wales to speak to our specialist medical negligence team and we can give you the appropriate advice.

Turner Freeman Lawyers is famous for getting people the compensation they deserve. Search Turner Freeman Lawyers. Call 13 43 63 or email your enquiry to 2GB@turnerfreeman.com.au