Though it is more usual to get a decent medical help when you are ill and go home without a course for redress, it is not uncommon, however, that things may go wrong and you may feel even worse than your medical condition after getting medical help, for so many reasons. Medical negligence also referred to as “clinical negligence” is the failure of a medical personnel to provide you with a professionally acceptable care in handling your illness, culminating in you suffering more harm consequently. This failure is regarded as a breach of duty and may not have been premeditated. Medical negligence claims are normally made against health professionals such as doctors and physicians who are implicated in such occurrences.

WHAT IS MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP

Legally, “Bolam Test” is the standard used to evaluate a possible case of medical negligence. The Bolam test states that a health professional is not liable for medical negligence if he/she gave treatment in the same manner as other competent medical professionals would. The test basically determines if a medical doctor or health professional is guilty of medical negligence, for example, not using the safest medical equipment which may have caused your condition to deteriorate. A medical doctor may also be deemed to have been negligent if he unwittingly leaves you unaware of the possible aftermath of a particular surgical operation on your overall wellbeing, in which case you may have deferred for an alternative remedy instead of the operation.

Common reasons for most lawsuits on negligent medical practice includes surgical negligence, for example, it is possible for a patient who underwent appendicitis to have his operation area not properly sealed, causing discomfort and fatalities in serious cases. Medical negligence may also be due to failure to prescribe the right medication for an illness, medical misdiagnosis due to using poor quality equipment or failure to interpret test results correctly, giving negligent medical advice, birth injuries and unnecessary surgical complications are other common cases of medical negligence lawsuits.

If you are sure to have received medical help which deteriorated your condition or proved almost fatal, the best step to take is filing a lawsuit against the health professional or hospital where you suffered such problem and seek redress in the best possible way. Also invaluable here are medical solicitors who you should consider hiring to make a successful case.