Studies in Australia show that thousands of people die every year due to medical negligence. Many others suffer from permanent disabilities due to a careless medical practitioner, a doctor, or a hospital. Medical negligence occurs when a medical specialist, through an act of omission, does not fulfill the acceptable standards of medical care.
However, the entire gamut of medical negligence is overly complicated. It is not easy to prove a case of negligence until and unless certain conditions are satisfied, and extensive documents or proof are there to establish so. A medical negligence specialist is a person who has the expertise to evaluate the facts and evidence to help you build a case of compensation. These are people who have studied law and especially the laws on medical negligence – therefore, there could be no other knowledgeable person in this field than experienced and well-read medical negligence lawyers.
Proving medical negligence
As mentioned above, there needs to be detailed records and proof to prove medical negligence. You need to remember that to prove one; you need to meet certain criteria as below:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed. You need to give proof that you had hired the said doctor to offer his medical expertise, and he had agreed to do so.
- A casual piece of medical advice taken informally will not be enough to prove that the doctor is guilty.
- Once the doctor-patient relationship has been established, you need to prove that the actual negligence. It is not sufficient to say that you are not happy with the doctor’s work or the hospital and file a claim. The crux-of-the-matter is that you need to prove that the medical personnel, in this case, was careless and negligent and could not comply with the required standards of medical practice. Medical negligence specialists will be the right person to help you in this regard because you would require testimony from independent medical personnel or a body about the negligence. A lot of weight is given to this testimony, and if it is not strong enough or not from a competent entity, your claim might get completely rejected.
- Proving negligence is not enough, though, to get compensation. Further to this, you need to prove that the negligence caused damage and injuries, permanent or temporary. It could cause physical damage or mental anguish. It could be the death of the person. It could be the lost earning opportunity due to the medical condition of the patient. All of these need to be proven in the court of law to get maximum compensation. Only a proficient medical negligence lawyer can prove all this and more.
Finding the best medical negligence law firms
Evidently, finding the right law firm and lawyers can make or break your case. Also, the medical personnel or the hospital usually have a strong team of competent and well-practiced lawyers. The insurance company has a noteworthy legal team. Therefore, when picking a medical practice firm, ensure that you research diligently, take references, speak to past clients of the law firm, and more to get the best legal team to work for you.
