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What is medical negligence?
It is not just doctors who may be sued for negligence. Dentists, nurses, optometrists, physiotherapists, psychologists and any other health professional may be sued for negligent treatment which causes you an injury.
- A doctor or health professional does something wrong;
- It is something another reasonable doctor or health professional, in the same position, would not have done; and
- This causes you an extra injury over what you had first had treatment for.
For a more detailed explanation, please see our ‘What is medical negligence?’ article.
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Why choose us as Your Medical Negligence Lawyer in Canberra
We are a leading health and medical law firm and we understand medical negligence claims.
1.
Our lawyers have Over 25 years’ experience with medical negligence
Elringtons Lawyers has been helping people in medical negligence claims for over 25 years.
2.
Specialist lawyers with nursing and healthcare training and experience
Medical negligence is a special area of law. Just as you would see a specialist for complex health conditions, you should see a specialist for a medical negligence claim.
3.
Our expertise is health and medical law
We are not just a personal injury firm which does a bit of medical negligence. We specialise in health and medical law—it’s our focus and passion (just look at all our articles and information on medical negligence).
Medical negligence Cases we have run
![Book a consultation with one of our medical negligence lawyers](https://elringtons.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Medical-negligence-team.png)
Book a FREE initial consultation with a medical negligence lawyer
Give us a call, come in and have a chat or request a call back.
Our Medical negligence lawyer Services
In Canberra, Queanbeyan, Bega, Cooma, Batemans Bay, Merimbula and other South-Eastern NSW areas, our medical negligence lawyers provides expert advice covering:
Hospital claims
A hospital will be liable for negligence by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other staff who work for or at the hospital. A hospital may be negligent when staff fail to implement strategies aimed at reducing a risk of harm to a patient. This may include:
- Not performing surgery competently;
- Administering the wrong medication or the incorrect dose;
- Birthing complications not adequately managed; or
- Failing to escalate care when a patient’s condition is deteriorating.
Learn more
We have acted for many clients in cases involving negligence by hospital staff, including:
- Stretching a nerve during neck surgery.
- Cutting an artery during abdominal surgery.
- Failing to repair ligaments during knee surgery which were meant to be repaired.
- Performing a surgery that our client had not consented to.
- Failing to diagnose a condition was being caused by a side-effect of a drug being given by the hospital.
- Administering a medication which our client should not have received at all.
- Failing to administering the correct dose of anaesthetic during insertion of pacemaker.
- Physically restraining our client and causing serious hip and pelvic fractures.
For more information on hospital negligence see our pages:
![A representation of a patient in hospital needing to speak to a medical negligence lawyer](https://elringtons.com.au/wp-content/uploads/hospital-claims-of-medical-negligence.jpg)
Surgical errors
Before you have surgery you should be told of the risks of the surgery. Depending on what the precise procedure is, common risks are bleeding, pain and damage to nerves. By agreeing to have the surgery, the law presumes that you have accepted these risks. They are called inherent risks. If an inherent risk of the procedure happens, the law will generally say that a doctor or hospital is not at fault.
A surgical error on the other hand is something which is not an inherent risk of the surgery. It is something that should not occur if the surgeon performed the surgery competently. It is when a surgical error takes place through incompetence or without proper skill, that you may have a medical negligence claim.
Learn more
We have acted for clients in surgical error claims which have included:
- Stretching a nerve during surgery.
- Incorrectly assessing the position of a cyst during neck surgery and damaging nerves.
- Cutting an artery during abdominal surgery.
- Failing to administering the correct dose of anaesthetic during insertion of a pacemaker.
- Failing to recognise a serious complication during surgery and doing nothing to treat the complication.
![Surgery being performed representing a patient needing to speak to a medical negligence lawyer.](https://elringtons.com.au/wp-content/uploads/surgery-medical-negligence-lawyer.jpg)
Pregnancy and birth claims
Claims relating to pregnancy and birth usually fall into 2 categories:
- A claim by the child if it is born with injuries that arise as a result of a failure by others looking after the mother during the pregnancy and birth.
- A claim by the mother as a maternal injury claim during or after the birth if there has been mismanagement.
Learn more
We have handled cases relating to pregnancy and birth claims which have included:
- Failing to administer early antibiotic cover leading to infection within the birth canal and uterus and leading to premature birth.
- Improperly diagnosing incontinence in an expectant mother when in fact her waters had broken, leading to premature birth and damage to the baby.
- Failing to recognise and treat rapidly increasing blood pressure in the mother causing pre-eclampsia and premature birth.
- Failing to administer the correct type and dose of medication giving rise to injury to the unborn baby in-utero.
- Failing to identify that of part of the placenta had been left in the uterus after the birth of the baby leading to sepsis and a need for surgery.
- Failing to properly repair a third degree tear following episiotomy needed during delivery leading to massive scarring, constant groin pain and affect on activities of daily living.
For more information see our pregnancy and birth claims page.
![](https://elringtons.com.au/wp-content/uploads/pregnancy-medical-negligence-lawyer.jpg)
GP claims
GP’s are the first port of call for many of us when we are unwell. They have a complex job. Unfortunately, there are many cases of negligence against GPs involving failure to diagnose conditions, failure to refer patients to specialists and medication errors.
Learn more
We have acted for clients against GPs in cases involving:
- Improper advice and management of wrist fracture, including failing to treat swelling.
- Long-term prescription of an antimigraine medication which was only meant to be prescribed for short-term relief.
- Under-dosing a medication during pregnancy, which meant the intended effect of the medication did not occur.
- Prescribing 2 medications which were not meant to be taken together.
- Failing to refer our client to an obstetrician in an at-risk pregnancy.
![](https://elringtons.com.au/wp-content/uploads/GP-claims-medical-negligence-lawyers.jpg)
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
A medical misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor fails to diagnose the correct condition. This may occur because the doctor has failed to competently conduct an assessment or misinterprets the results. This failure may then lead to incorrect treatment being prescribed or no treatment at all.
Learn more
Examples of cases we have been involved in where there has been a misdiagnoses include:
- Incorrectly interpreting ultrasound imaging and misdiagnosing breast cancer (plus failing to perform a biopsy of the breast lump).
- Misdiagnosing symptoms of a stroke before it became catastrophic.
- Misdiagnosing pre-eclampsia which caused our client to have a stroke.
- Misdiagnosing the position of a cyst and causing nerve injury during a surgery.
For more information see our page Medical Misdiagnoses.
![](https://elringtons.com.au/wp-content/uploads/misdiagnosis-medical-negligence-lawyer.jpg)
Medication errors
A doctor’s duty of care covers choosing the right medication and dose, advising patients on the treatment options, warning of risks and monitoring for the intended impact of the medication and side-effects.
Learn more
We have acted for clients in cases involving:
- Long-term prescription of an anti-migraine medication which was only meant to be prescribed for short-term relief.
- Under-dosing a medication during pregnancy, which meant the intended effect of the medication did not occur.
- Overdosing of a medication causing loss of consciousness.
- Prescribing 2 medications which were not meant to be taken together.
For more information see our page Medications and Medical Negligence.
![](https://elringtons.com.au/wp-content/uploads/medication-errors-medical-negligence-lawyers.jpg)
FAQs
Our Canberra Family lawyers can help: Meet our team
We focus on understanding your unique situation to build trust and work with you in a way that eases your stress. Our goal is to be a dependable partner, guiding you through the medical negligence legal process with confidence and support.
Insights
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Pregnancy and Birth Claims
As part of our health and medical law speciality, we…
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Surgical Errors
Surgical errors include cutting of arteries or nerves, performing the…
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Medical Misdiagnosis
When doctors don’t reach the right answer A doctor’s duty…