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Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

DJKCasual Contributor04 May 2023, 1:13 am AEST

Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

Hi everyone, I recently experience medical negligence. I let it go for a couple of months (this isn't knee jerk reaction) & I've moved on personally, but I've decided I want to take action in some way. I'm not sure what yet, this isn't a crusade or cry for help, but this is something many of us go through & we suffer in silence & question if we have the right to take action. I'm trying to understand this landscape first & keeping my expectations low. I've now researched:

- The definition of medical negligence and burden of proof/evidence required to meet it.

- What documents you need to already have prepared to start the process no matter where your journey starts.

- What you can and cannot get from it.

- Duty of care for a psychiatrist. Including the government requirements, the professional association of psychiatrists requirements and the medical/hospital network requirements for this particular provider.

- The ways to lodge a complaint through the government websites & forms.

- The ways to lodge a complaint through professional association website & forms.

- How doctors get peer support from each other (i.e., they get to compare notes, but you can't find other patients of theirs to support your case).

- Law Firms who specialise in Medical Negligence. Close to impossible to find ones that mention mental illness, but I found a state-wide aggregator service that can refer you. One law firm did state an independent reviewer actually approves it. That seems accurate and perhaps a clever omission from the other Law Firm websites. Although there has to be fine print somewhere where I've agreed to arbitration before legal action, I just can't find it.

What I'm trying to work out is:

- Can my future care - or anything about the future, which isn't known yet - be determined or effected by taking action?

- Is it on "my record" somehow as the aggrieved party vs just on the provider's record?

- Is using a Law Firm a waste of money?

- What a Law Firm actually needs for it to be worth their time? Beyond having your sh*t together before you call them.

- How much additional "personal" details are needed from me at each step of the way. A lawyer usually knows exactly when to under or over communicate at each step. That's what you pay them for.

- What is the order I need to do each of the steps above, assuming I've captured them all. They have to all feed into each other &/or bolster each other at some point to create a full picture & show that I took all the right steps in the right way objectively like a "sane" person.

- Is there anything I'm missing?

Question: Does anyone have a referral to an lawyer in NSW or a mental health advocacy service that helped them navigate this? Or experience doing any or all of the above?

Thanks,

3 replies

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In response to: Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

HistoryloverSenior Contributor04 May 2023, 7:20 am AEST

Re: Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

I won't respond to the body of your post, @DJK, except to say that they certainly do have each other's back and there is no accountability regarding patient outcomes. It seems only fair that their patients too could 'compare notes'.

Don't 'lose the farm fighting over a cow', though. I know this is more important than fighting over a cow, but legal expenses are exorbitant, and without a time limit from my observations. It could cost you dearly financially, and in your relationships and health. That is what they are counting on. They know the system.

Think carefully about it. Whatever you decide, I wish you luck.

In response to: Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

ClockFaceSenior Contributor05 May 2023, 11:00 am AEST

Re: Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

@DJK

Id be careful of this, it may cost you far more than it benefits. I had major negligence and the best I could do was report it and I couldnt even get a sorry. I went through the right channels the lot and like you I put it off and let it sit for a while before taking any action.

From what I can tell through my talks etc you have to prove a financial burden or permanant disfigurement to get anywhere. So unless its going to cost you money to correct or live with a new condition or your physically impacted there isnt much to do.

We had a similar issue when my Mum was reported as being drunk at an examination, like ultrasound. She has a few physical/mental issues and was a particularly bad day. We had to get a retraction etc but lawyer said not to pursue and he wouldnt take on the case.

They cover their asses and each other. Everything is done to minimise the chance of a lawsuit even starting, let alone moving forward.

I say the above not knowing your circumstances and I am no kinda lawyer. Just the experience Ive had and my Mums had. So if its helpful cool. If not no prob

In response to: Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

FlotsamSenior Contributor09 May 2023, 8:22 pm AEST

Re: Medical Negligence: Taking legal actions &/or making complaints

@DJK

I made a complaint recently to The Health Care Commission, (NSW) the institute you make the complaint about has to respond within a certain time frame. You don’t get anything for it except maybe an apology or acknowledgement. It is important for me to stand up for myself, so I follow things like this through. If you have no lasting damage it is unlikely it would be beneficial to go through the courts.

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