A famous study by Harvard Medical School determined that over half of all injuries caused by medical management (in other words, not caused by the patient’s initial injury or disease) were preventable, and another quarter of those incidents were caused by negligence.
Many victims of serious medical errors cannot work, or have huge expenses for ongoing rehabilitation or medical care.
Against such overwhelming financial odds, Australian victims of medical malpractice face an almost insurmountable challenge to obtain justice and fair compensation for their injuries. Here at Newport Law, we offer a “No win, no fee” service.
In Australia, over one third (34%) of all medical indemnity claims in the public sector arose as a result of a possible error or negligence in medical or surgical procedures.
These claims included failure to perform a procedure, having the wrong procedure performed, having the wrong body site operated on or treated, post-operative complications and failure of a procedure.
These finding were released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in a new report, Medical indemnity national collection (public sector): 2004-2005.
The report, the third of its kind by the AIHW, examines nearly 6,500 current, potential and finalised claims in the public sector between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2005.
‘Other less common, but still significant, claims related to diagnosis (21%) and treatment (15%),’ said AIHW spokesperson Dr Samantha Bricknell.
‘The three specialty areas with the greatest number of claims were obstetrics (18%), accident and emergency (15%) and general surgery (11%)’, she said.
Of all the claims examined, 58% related to adults, 19% to children and 10% to babies less than one year of age. Fifty six per cent of claims related to females.
The odds against medical malpractice victims are almost overwhelming. If you think you or a family member has suffered an injury or loss as a result of medical negligence it is critical to get proper advice. An experienced medical negligence solicitor can tell you if you have a potential claim and can advise you what you need to prove to have the best chance of winning your case.
Also refer to Medical Negligence Compensation for Additional Information
Call 1300 734 737 for a Free Assessment of your Claim.