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  • Medical Negligence – Establishing a Case
26/03/2023
John Lynch
Tuesday, 18 November 2014 / Published in Medical Negligence

Medical Negligence – Establishing a Case

Medical Negligence – Establishing a Case

Listen to John’s discussion: 

[soundcloud id=’177480820′]

What is the first thing that someone who thinks that they might have a medical negligence case should do?

They should contact us as soon as possible. This is important as you have two years from the incident or from the date of knowledge to bring a case.

 

How would someone know if there might be an act of Medical Negligence?

It is very difficult to establish at an early stage.It’s not common for hospitals to inform

patients when an error has occurred so typically a patient or relative becomes suspicious of

an error, an uninformed opinion is formed we are then instructed to investigate.

 

What do you do when someone contacts you?

Medical negligence claims, in a similar way to personal injury claims, are made up of a series

of hurdles. If you do not clear the first hurdle you cannot move on to the next.

 

We take a very detailed statement from the Client and we then proceed about taking up their medical records and getting a supportive medical report from a UK expert.

 

How do you get their medical records and how long does this take?

We get the Client’s written authority and we make applications Under the Data Protection  or Under the Freedom of Information Acts.

The time periods differ and whilst there is a time period to which they must adhere to I typically find that it takes approx. 2- 3 months to get records.

 

Are these types of cases very difficult?

Unlike with other types of personal injuries, medical negligence cases are very complex.

In a lot of cases, the person is sick before they ever get to hospital, or they are suffering from

a serious underlying condition, such as cancer and one of the tasks which the Solicitor faces

is to distinguish what the outcome would have been but for the negligent act or omission

which took place.

Inevitably, the Defendants will argue that the illness or disease that the person had when they

submitted themselves for treatment was the determining factor in the final outcome or, in the

context for instance of a surgical treatment, that the injury complained of is within the realm of

acceptable error :“ a recognised complication”.

Another difficulty is the lack of knowledge: when somebody gets injured in a factory, or is in

an accident on the road, what led to the event is rarely in dispute. However, in a medical

context, the background of the facts can be so vast and complex, that very often it is difficult

to understand what happened.

It is a fact that things do go wrong with surgery and there may not necessarily be

negligence – how do the Courts decide what is and what is not negligence?

Medical Negligence is essentially an act or omission by a health care professional which is

below the accepted standard of care and which results in injury or death to a patient.

Interestingly, before the 1950s there was no reported case of medical negligence in Ireland.

In fact, until 1989 the number of cases was minimal.

In 1989 the case of Dunne v The National Maternity Hospital [1989] Irish Reports 91 came

before the Supreme Court and remains to be the influential case in medical negligence to

the present day. The facts of this case was that only one heartbeat was monitored during

pregnancy, despite the fact that the mother was pregnant with twins; this led to one twin

being delivered with severe brain damage, and the other being delivered dead.

These principles are very lengthy and too lengthy to discuss here but in summary you have

to prove that the care you received fell below medically acceptable standards. Acceptable

General and approved practice’ need not be universal but must be approved of and adhered

to by a substantial number of reputable practitioners holding the relevant specialist or

general qualifications.

What types of cases do you come across?

Medical Negligence can happen because of:

  • Diagnosis – i.e. misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis;
  • Treatment – i.e. errors in the medical treatment such as incorrect medication, surgical

errors, exposure to infection (MRSA etc.) or;

During the last 30 years the office has probably dealt with most types of medical negligence.

We have dealt with a broad range of medical negligence cases over the years. We have

represented clients in the areas of cancer misdiagnosis, orthopaedic and surgical negligence,

failure to diagnose, cerebral palsy and neonatal claims, amongst others.

We are currently representing a significant number of people who have been affected by the DePuy hip implant recall , symphysiotomies amnd narolepsy as a result of the pandemerix  vaccine.


For further advice or if you wish to discuss any issue please contact [email protected] or telephone 052-6124344.

The material contained in this page is provided for general information purposes only and does not amount to legal or other professional advice. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information, we advise you to seek specific advice from us about any legal decision or course of action.

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