Medical Negligence Solicitors
Gibson & Associates LLP offer specialist expertise in medical negligence. If you have suffered an injury or illness caused by a medical error or substandard care, you may be entitled to make a claim for financial compensation. Our team has extensive knowledge of this sector of the law, as well as representing clients and their claims, and will treat your case with the greatest sensitivity and care to make the process as easy as possible for you.
How do medical negligence claims arise?
As patients, we trust our medical experts to care for us when we need it most. However, mistakes can be made that leave us at risk of avoidable injury, illness, or pain.
Medical negligence can result from a variety of situations, such as:
- An error occurred while performing surgery
- A patient was misdiagnosed
- An illness or medical need was not noticed by a medical practitioner
- The standard of care provided by a medical practitioner was below expectation
Sometimes, medical practitioners injure, cause loss of quality of life, or even can contribute to a death due to their negligence.
From avoidable pain to emotional trauma, medical negligence can have a severe impact on your well-being.
What is medical negligence?
Medical Negligence, or clinical negligence, is when a medical professional makes a mistake that leads to a patient’s personal injury or illness.
Our experienced and caring team can provide you with trusted legal advice on a range of medical negligence claims, including:
• Cosmetic surgery claims
• Medical care and surgery claims
• Birth and gynaecological claims
• Other types of claims
Where can medical negligence occur?
Medical negligence can happen in a variety of places and locations such as:
• Public/private hospitals
• Public/private maternity hospitals
• Private cosmetic hospitals
• Dental surgeries
• Opticians
What types of mistakes are considered medical negligence?
Medical negligence can occur in the following types of situations:
• There is a delay in diagnosing an illness or injury that could lead to negligent treatment
• A misdiagnosis
• Inaccurate test results
• An error made during a surgical procedure that causes the patient pain and suffering
• If the wrong medicine has been prescribed
• The duty of care towards the patient was substandard (meaning that it was below expectations)
• If a patient contracts an illness or worsens as a result of substandard clinical hygiene
• Substandard preoperative care – not communicating the risks involved in surgery
• In the aftermath of surgery, foreign bodies or surgical instruments that are left inside the patient.
What type of medical negligence claim do you need advice on?
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a condition: this is one of the more common medical malpractice claims. Cancer is the condition that is most often misdiagnosed.
- Childbirth injuries: Sadly, things can sometimes go wrong during the delivery of a child. A lifelong serious injury for the child can result. For example, a condition called Cerebral Palsy prevents the child’s brain from developing normally and is caused by a lack of oxygen during the birthing process. Compensation in these cases is significant to help with the costs of the child’s lifetime care.
- Dental Malpractice: These cases are on the rise in Ireland. One woman in Dublin was awarded €255,000 after she was left in excruciating pain from fitted braces that she didn’t need.
- Medication errors: The State Claims agency reported that in 2016, there was a total of 5,505 medical negligence cases reported across 50 acute hospitals, resulting in an average of 110 medication incidents per hospital.
- Anaesthesia errors: While anesthesia errors during surgery are rare, they are thankfully a very rare occurrence and account for approximately one out of every 19,000 surgeries in Ireland and the UK.
- Surgical error: Typical examples of surgical errors include incorrect body parts marked for surgery, or objects (such as swabs) left in the body after surgery.
- Cosmetic surgery malpractice: One cosmetic surgery clinic in Dublin faced dozens of legal actions for a variety of surgical errors and malpractices — shockingly, one woman died of a gastric band operation that failed.
Cosmetic Surgery Claims
- Cosmetic Surgery Claims
- Blepharoplasty Claims
- Rhinoplasty Claims
- Liposuction Error Claims
- Gastric Band Surgery Negligence Claims
Medical Care and Surgery Claims
- Never Event Claims
- Hospital or Private Hospital Negligence Claims
- GP Negligence Claims
- Dental Negligence Claims
- Pharmacy Overdose Claims
- Retained Surgical Instruments Claims
- Breast Surgery Claims
Birth & Gynaecological Claims
- Birth Injury Claims
- Cerebral Palsy Claims
- Erb’s Palsy Disorder Claims
- Gynaecological Injury Claims
- Obstetric Injury Claims
- Forceps Injury Claims
- Perineal Tear Injury Claims
Other Types of Claims
- Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
- Testicular Torsion Claims
- GP Negligence Claims
- Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
- Hepatitis C Claims
Am I eligible to make a claim?
Medical malpractice is the term used to describe the result of medical negligence. If you think you have suffered medical malpractice, whether as a result of an or a previous condition that has been made worse, you could be eligible to make a claim for financial compensation.
As a general rule, to establish the validity of a claim, the injury or illness must have been ‘avoidable’ if adequate medical care had been given.
For a medical negligence claim to be eligible, the following circumstances must apply:
• The existence of doctor-patient relationship
• Proof that the medical professional was negligent during practice
To prove you had a doctor-patient relationship at the time of your injury, your solicitor will build a case using your medical records, prescriptions and invoices or records of your appointments with the negligent doctor.
Your solicitor will also hire an independent, third-party medical expert to analyse your case, medical records, and the doctor’s actions to decide whether the injury was ‘more likely than not’ caused by the doctor’s negligence. The medical expert will also determine whether you received sub-standard medical care, and whether your injury or illness could have been avoided if the correct procedures can been carried out.
Our solicitors are specialists in medical negligence and can offer in-depth insight to help determine whether you are eligible to make a claim for medical negligence. Please call our team for a confidential discussion so that we can learn more about your case.
How do I make a claim?
Once your solicitor has gathered the information they need about your injury, you can then submit your claim. It is very important a solicitor that specialises in medical negligence files your claim.
Discuss your case with our Medical Negligence Solicitors
If you feel you didn’t receive the right treatment from a medical professional and it resulted in an injury or worsening of an illness, you need to consult a medical negligence solicitor immediately following the incident.
Under Irish law, filing a medical negligence claim can be complex.
It is important to discuss your claim with a specialist medical negligence solicitor before filing to ensure every detail of your case is thoroughly scrutinised.
Your claim could be delayed if you file it without consulting a solicitor first. You can find out about the time limit associated with your medical negligence claim with help from a solicitor.
Obtaining all relevant medical records before filing for a claim
A medical negligence claim must prove that your injury was caused by the doctor or medical staff providing your care. To help build your case, your solicitor will request access to your medical records, and enlist a third-party medical expert to assess them. This assessment will determine whether your doctor or medical staff provided substandard medical care and if negligence caused the injury. The assessment of your medical records needs to prove that if you had received the right medical care, your injuries, or the outcome of the error, might have been avoided.
Letter of Claim
If the third-party medical expert determines that medical malpractice has occurred, your solicitor will draft a Letter of Claim. The purpose of a Letter of Claim is to outline the nature of your case and to invite the medical practitioner to settle it and agree to financial compensation. The response to your Letter of Claim will determine whether your case will be brought to court or settled out of court. While this may sound daunting, your solicitor at Gibson & Associates LLP will be by your side to guide you through each step of the legal process.
At Gibson and Associates LLP, our dedicated medical negligence solicitors have years of experience handling traumatic medical injury cases. We understand the pain and mental stress of injuries caused by medical malpractice, and have supported many people in similar situations to pursue medical negligence claims in Ireland. Our solicitors will approach your case with care and compassion, and are here to support you throughout the case with the understanding and attention you deserve.
FAQ's for medical negligence claims
How do I access my medical records?
A copy of your medical records can be requested from the hospital, clinic, or medical professional that treated you under the Freedom of Information Act. Alternatively, we can arrange to obtain a copy of your records on your behalf; to do so, you will need to sign an authority form that gives us permission to obtain your records.
Is there a time limit on making a claim?
Legal proceedings must be commenced within two years of the date of knowledge of the injury, subject to certain exceptions. In a lawsuit, the ‘date of knowledge’ refers to the date on which the plaintiff knew or ought to have known that he or she had suffered an injury.
An important exception is in the case of persons under the age of 18, who are described in law as minors or infants. For minors, the Statute of Limitations ‘clock’ does not begin until a child reaches their eighteenth birthday. For more information see Child Injury Claims.
Do I need to make a PIAB application before filing for my medical negligence claim?
No. Medical negligence cases do not require the involvement of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB). Claims arising from the provision of a health service, medical advice or treatment or the carrying out of a medical procedure are outside the remit of PIAB.
What are general and special damages concerning medical negligence?
General damages refers to the value placed on the victim’s pain and suffering, which may include psychological trauma, loss of consortium, and more. In essence, general damages relate to non-monetary losses suffered by the claimant and which are not capable of exact quantification.
The term special damages refers to monetary losses that are quantifiable, such as medical treatment expenses or income loss that has been certified. These are consequential financial losses suffered by you which are a direct result of the negligent treatment and harm caused.
In other words, these are ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses incurred which might also include the cost of corrective surgery or treatment, medication, rehabilitation costs, travel expenses, and so on.
How long will the medical negligence claim take?
As a term used in personal injury litigation, general damages refer to the amount placed on the victim’s pain and suffering, which may include psychological trauma, loss of consortium, etc. In essence, general damages relate to non-monetary losses suffered by the claimant and which are not capable of exact quantification.
The term special damages refers to monetary losses that are quantifiable, such as medical treatment expenses or income loss that has been certified. These are consequential financial losses suffered by you which are directly to the negligent treatment and harm caused.
In other words, these are ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses incurred which might also include the cost of corrective surgery or treatment, medication, rehabilitation costs, travel expenses, and so on.
Our team of medical negligence solicitors is here to help you no matter where in Ireland you’re based.
Our experienced medical negligence solicitors can help you claim* for medical negligence. From surgical errors to dental malpractice, our caring and compassionate solicitors are dedicated to helping you achieve the best outcome possible.
A successful claim* provides you with financial relief when you need it most. It can help pay for further medical treatment or compensate for time taken off work while you’re recovering.
Medical Negligence
To claim for medical negligence, you’ll need to prove the medical professional failed to carry out their duties responsibly and that their negligence caused you to be in the position you’re in today.
Your solicitor will help to build your case and source the expert medical reports required for your claim, supporting you through each stage of the legal process.
Call us now on +353 1 264 5555 to discuss your situation with a member of our team; we’re ready to listen and help you achieve the outcome you deserve.
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Legal Support
Anna O’Donoghue
Solicitor
Sarah Bradley
Legal Executive
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Step 1. Meeting To Discuss Your Case
To get a better understanding of your case and the injuries you’ve suffered, we’ll organise a consultation with you and the personal injury solicitor best suited to your needs. We can do this over the phone, at our offices or even by video call. We will explain terms such as ‘no win no fee’ and how an injury claim works.
Step 2. Arrange the medical report
Once we’ve assessed your case, we’ll send for your medical reports to be collected from a medical professional.
Step 3. Present the case to the Injury Board
Our highly experienced personal injury* solicitors will put together a detailed and strategic case designed to get you the claim you deserve. We’ll then present this case to the Injury Board.
Step 4. The Injury Board assesses your case
After we’ve presented your case, the Injury Board will assess how much of a *claim you’re likely to win.
Step 5. Decide to accept or reject the offer
As soon as you receive an offer from the injury board, our solicitors will give an honest assessment into how fair they think it is. This will help you decide whether or not to accept it.
Step 6. You receive your *Claim / Go to court
If you choose to accept the offer, an “order to pay” will be sent to the other party and you’ll receive your *claim. If you choose not to accept the offer, our personal injury* team will prepare your case for court.