CURRENT LEGAL ARTICLES

Medical negligence arises from an injury caused by a healthcare professional who did not provide proper care. The professional could be a doctor, a nurse, a cosmetic surgeon, or even a dentist. Negligence occurs from errors in a diagnosis or a mistake in the treatment, but it can also emerge from surgery. 

A three-stage test determines whether there is medical negligence:

1. The healthcare professional owes a duty of care

2. A breach of this duty is found

3. A loss or damage has been caused by the failure to complete the duty of care

Those elements need to be satisfied as general requirements. The relationship between the patient and the doctor implies a duty of care. Furthermore, a breach of duty is the failure to take reasonable care in all circumstances. The seriousness of the harm caused suggests that the medical staff failed at its standard of reasonableness. 

Thus, the breach of the duty of care makes the professional liable for causing the injury. Indeed, there would not have been any harm if the duty had been respected. Although, it can be complex to establish that the appropriate standard of care was not met. 

Hence, the claimant has to gather their medical records for the solicitor. Moreover, compiling experts’ testimony of other healthcare professionals who will assess the appropriate standard of care required might be necessary. 

The statutory time for the claim to be received is two years from the accident to ask for compensation on the legal basis of medical negligence. But the accident date may differ from the date you become aware of it, which is why this deadline gets extended in a few cases, but it remains uncommon. Also, it is part of the process to notify the person responsible for the injury within a month of the accident. As for the compensation, it varies depending on different factors such as the level of harm suffered, the recovery time, and the impact overall on the injured person.