Doctors Negligence
Doctor’s Negligence – What It Is And How To Deal With It
Hospitals and doctors can make mistake while treating patients. These include prescribing or administering the wrong medicine, failing to sterilise equipment or operating on the wrong limb. Doctor’s negligence is something that can land doctors in court if a plaintiff can show that care which should have been provided wasn’t.
Some examples of doctor’s negligence:
- Failing to read or report on an X-ray
- Reading an X-ray, but failing to spot a fracture
- Failing to respond to test results
- Failing to refer for treatment at an early stage
- Failing to prescribe medication at an early stage
Claims of doctor’s negligence are becoming more and more common. You are a victim of doctors negligence when medical professionals fail to act with the proper standard of care with which other doctors in the same field would act, resulting in injury and damages to you,
Three possible outcomes of doctor’s negligence cases:
- The doctor in question will settle the case and offer you a monetary payment not to move forward with the lawsuit.
- The doctor will admit fault and request that a settlement be decided in arbitration.
- The doctor completely denies any negligence on his part. If this happens, your case of doctor’s negligence will then go either to mediation or to court, to be decided by a judge.
If you visit a doctor or medical professional and they take appropriate measures to diagnose and treat you, such as running tests and consulting with specialists, but you still have medical complications or are misdiagnosed, then doctor’s negligence will be difficult to prove. Remember: not every medical mistake constitutes doctors negligence.
Regardless of the situation, it is absolutely critical to have an experienced lawyer representing you in your doctor’s negligence case. Please contact Adele van der Walt Incorporated if you would like to acquire our professional legal advice and representation.
For more information on this subject, please give us a call at 012 460 3668 (SA) or e-mail us at clare@avdw.co.za
