Patients who have been caused great distress by medical treatments that have gone wrong are entitled to demand an explanation. Medical practitioners in charge of their patients are ultimately responsible for their patient’s well being and every possible step should be taken to ensure a high level of service.
A patient can claim for clinical negligence when it can be proven that the medical practitioner in charge of the patient provided care that was below standard, and this resulted in a mental or physical injury. There have been many instances where medical negligence has been reported. In some cases patients have complained of not being notified of possible risks in treatment, sloppiness in surgical procedures, and problems in medication.
There have been some shocking reports on some patients finding foreign objects such as clips and screws left behind. In the past year alone, the highest payouts included 115,000 to a person who had the tip of a needle left inside them, 75,000 to a patient who later found a surgical clip, and 60,000 to someone who still had ‘packaging material’ inside them after an operation.
There are a variety of medical professionals that can be held liable for medical negligence. These include:
GP’s
GP’s
privately funded health practitioners
Dentists
privately funded hospitals
The Duty of Care in more detail
For the claim to be successful, the patient will have to prove that some serious errors were made in the course of treatment, which no other competent doctor would have made. If however, it is shown that another doctor within the same speciality would have endorsed the same method of treatment, and then it is unlikely the patient will succeed in their claim.
The medical practitioner is personally responsible for keeping up to date with the latest developments in healthcare and should this claim be brought forward, it will be a major consideration. In making the judgement regarding the medical practitioners’ method or standard of treatment, the assessment will be made according to the standards and medical knowledge prevailing at the time of the incident.
As the area of clinical negligence is highly complex, it can be difficult to establish whether it was the doctor’s error that substantially contributed to the damage suffered. Thus, the patient will have to prove that the medical practitioner’s error was an isolated incident that contributed to the damage or injury caused to the patient.
Therefore, although some may question the medical practitioner’s logical basis for performing that particular procedure on the patient, if the medical practitioner concerned can find another medical opinion that agrees with their method of treatment then it is likely that that should be able to establish a defence.
According to the case, if another recognised medical body of practice in the same speciality can give evidence that they would have used the same method of treatment, then the medical practitioner may not be held liable. One problem with this can be when there is more than one way to treat a condition. However, if the medical practitioner can find another doctor who supports his choice of action, then it is very unlikely that the court will find the medical practitioner liable.
Whilst a doctor may have a defence, it has now been estimated that clinical negligence payouts by the NHS are expected to rise by 80% next year. With the average victim pocketing 17,900 the mistakes have cost the NHS a total of 9 million over the past five years, with payouts made to more than 550 patients.
Ayesha Salim , editor of the UK Lawyers Network, writes articles about accident claims, Personal injury Lawyer, Accident compensation, find a solicitor, legal, lawyer, law help advice, solicitors litigation
