Medical Negligence

MW Keller & Son Solicitors LLP has a strong, proven track record in dealing with medical negligence cases. We recognise that medical accidents may have significant financial and emotional consequences for you and your family and our aim is to do everything we can to explain the issues and the legal processes involved in taking an action in a clear and concise manner.

Medical Negligence Advice

More often than not, medical professionals conduct medical procedures in a safe, adequate and diligent manner at the highest level of standard. In rare instances, medical negligence may occur.

Medical negligence can happen when you receive medical treatment that falls below the appropriate standard of care, resulting in injury or harm. Even if the incident itself was unavoidable, you may still have a claim if it contributed to or worsened your condition.

 

Proving Medical Negligence

Medical negligence cases are more complex than other types of personal injury claims. The injuries sustained must result from the negligence of someone who had a duty of care towards you at the time of the accident. To prove negligence, you must show that:

  • You were owed a duty of care by the healthcare provider
  • The provider breached their duty of care by failing to provide a reasonable standard of care
  • The breach of duty caused your injury or worsened your conditionMedical Negligence

The law only provides the opportunity for you to make a medical negligence claim if it can be shown on the ‘balance of probabilities’ that the treatment you received was carried out in a negligent fashion by the professional involved, and that this directly caused and contributed to your injury.

We offer practical and constructive advice to our clients in relation to medical negligence or any medical accidents, headed up by Margaret Fortune.

 

Examples of Medical Negligence

Every set of circumstances differ from one another, which sometimes can make it difficult to ascertain if there is a statable medical negligence case.

However, the following are a number of circumstances where it can be clearly argued that medical professionals have breached their duty of care to you:

  • Error or delay in diagnosis of an illness or injury
  • Error in administering treatment or administering drugsMedical Negligence
  • Error in performance of a procedure or operation
  • Failure to act on test results
  • Failure to fully communicate about risks and procedures

In cases of medical negligence, the court will consider if a competent medical professional would have acted in the same manner as the defendant medical professional.

Even where a medical professional has caused or contributed to your personal injury, their actions may not be deemed negligent if it can be shown that reasonable actions were undertaken, given the information available to them, or due to the specific circumstances of the situation.

In any potential case it must be considered if there is in fact an injury that is either physical or psychological consequence of a medical negligence that occurred.

Medical negligence can occur in a number of instances including medical care, cosmetic or medical surgery, birth, gynaecology.

It can have a number of adverse outcomes including surgical errors, failure to identify an illness, misdiagnosis, below standard care, injury, loss of quality of life and in extremely rare circumstances, death.

 

The Date of Knowledge

The date of knowledge is the date you became aware of your injury and its possible connection to medical negligence. The statute of limitations for medical negligence claims in Ireland is two years.

There are a few exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations. For example, if you were a minor when the injury occurred, the time limit starts when you turn 18. Additionally, if your injury was caused by a misdiagnosis that went undetected, the time limit starts when you discover the misdiagnosis.

As a minor, you are still entitled to pursue a compensation claim before your 18th birthday, however a parent or guardian must act as your ‘next friend‘.

 

Types of Compensation

If you are successful in a medical negligence claim, you may be awarded compensation for:

General Damages: Pain, suffering, and loss of amenity of life

Special Damages: Out-of-pocket expenses, such as medical costs, lost earnings, and travel expenses

Special Damages, as evidenced above, are expenses incurred as a result of the accident, and can be claimed for once receipts are kept in respect of same. This may also include loss of earnings.

 

Seeking Legal Advice

Medical negligence cases are complex and require specialized legal expertise. It is important to seek the advice of an experienced medical negligence solicitor as soon as possible after you suspect you have been the victim of medical negligence.

If you’re seeking medical negligence advice, please contact our team by filling out the form below.

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