Hospital medical negligence compensation can be claimed when a patient has been admitted to hospital or has attended an emergency room for treatment, and has suffered an injury, had a medical condition misdiagnosed and has come to harm, or has received a poor standard of medical care due to the actions or omissions of a medical professional in a hospital. Hospital medical negligence can also include administration errors which have been made in a hospital. However a claim for compensation can only be made if hospital medical negligence has caused a patient to come to harm as a result.
Hospital Medical Negligence in Ireland
In Ireland, hospital medical negligence claims are most frequently made for the misdiagnosis of a health problem. In an emergency room, this is usually due to the inexperience of doctors and the pressure under which they have to work. Emergency rooms can be hectic and staffing levels are frequently inadequate.
A hospital must rapidly assess patients and ensure that treatment is prioritised correctly based on the seriousness of symptoms. Delays in treatment can be expected, but they may not necessarily amount to hospital medical negligence. Although under the circumstances a misdiagnosis of a medical condition is more likely in an emergency room, the standard of care that a patient receives must never fall below an acceptable standard. When this happens, it can be deemed to be hospital medical negligence and a claim for compensation can be made in Ireland.
Establishing Hospital Medical Negligence
Establishing hospital medical negligence can be a complicated and long winded process. A claimant must be able to prove that the actions of hospital staff have been negligent and this can only be established by professional opinion. Medical experts must be consulted to determine whether a patient has been injured as a result of hospital medical negligence and whether any injury or deterioration in a health condition could have been avoided with proper care. It must also be determined ‘on the balance of probability’ that an injury or deterioration in health would not have occurred if correct action had been taken.
Emergency Room Failures and Hospital Medical Negligence
According to the State Claims Agency in Ireland, hospital medical negligence in an emergency room accounts for 15 percent of all closed hospital medical negligence claims. 74 percent of these claims are made against junior doctors (senior house officers), and these are often due to inexperience. The misdiagnosis of health problems – in particular fractures – is the main reason why hospital medical negligence claims are made in Ireland for emergency room failures. If you have visited an emergency room for treatment and have been misdiagnosed and have come to harm as a result, you should be eligible to make a hospital medical negligence claim for compensation.
Hospital Medical Negligence Compensation Settlements
Hospital medical negligence compensation claims need to be made through the Irish courts under hospital medical negligence law in Ireland: however in practice, the majority of hospital medical negligence claims result in hospital medical negligence settlements being awarded before court litigation is required. It is usually in the best interests of a hospital to settle a claim for compensation rather than accept liability for hospital medical negligence, as this can have serious repercussions for the hospital. A settlement for hospital medical negligence may even be offered before a claim for hospital medical negligence compensation has been filed.
If you have been offered a compensation settlement for hospital medical negligence, you should speak with a medical negligence solicitor for legal advice before accepting the offer. Such early offers of compensation for hospital medical negligence rarely reflect the seriousness of the injuries sustained.
Free Legal Advice on Hospital Medical Negligence Claims
If you have suffered an injury or have come to harm in a hospital, it is your legal right to make a hospital medical negligence compensation claim for your injuries. Hospital medical negligence law is highly complex, so it is important that you receive the best possible legal advice.
When you call our hospital medical negligence claims helpline, you will speak directly with a solicitor who has experience in dealing with hospital medical negligence claims in Ireland. You will receive a free assessment of your eligibility to make a claim, and will find out the next steps you must take. You can ask as many questions as you like about making a claim for hospital medical negligence in Ireland, and the information we give you will be impartial, accurate and up to date.
Call our hospital medical negligence claims helpline today on Freephone 1800 989 995, and take the first step towards recovering compensation for your injuries. If it is not convenient to call straightway, simply fill out the call back request form below and one of our solicitors will call you back at the requested time.
