About Medical Negligence

View PDF | Print View
by: BTLewis
Total views: 588
Word Count: 628
Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 Time: 6:39 PM
73 comments

"Let down by the system" is a phrase that family members might use when someone close to them dies or is in other ways adversely affected by the negligence of a healthcare provider in the UK.

Medical negligence is a serious matter, and cases of medical negligence often have the dubious honour of being the subject of some of the more horrific headlines in the news each year. Despite Health Services having a duty to provide care for the sick and nurse patients back to good health, it is not uncommon for healthcare providers to make mistakes for any number of reasons.

Healthcare employees can often be massively overworked due to the number of cases they have to deal with, and the stressful nature of the job can take its toll on even the most resilient characters. In the busy A&E department, it is not unheard of for patients to be wrongfully discharged or to be given the wrong information or advice, and sometimes not referred to a specialist when their situation requires it.

Medical negligence is also known as medical malpractice, and relates to how treatment provided for a patient falls below the reasonable standards of care that are expected in the profession.

Blunders and mishaps are well documented, from botched operations to wrongly administered medicine. Medical negligence is a prevailing problem and claims made against healthcare providers show no signs of dwindling.

There are a variety of settings where medical negligence can occur, from the local GP health centre to the Accidents and Emergency department at the hospital.
Some of the victims of medical negligence over the years include:
• John Turner, a 61 year old father of four died as a result of doctors removing a lung from him after incorrectly diagnosing him with cancer.
• A five year old who suffered from hand tremors and hyperactivity was administered steroids from the local pharmacy for two months until the error was noticed, causing unknown physical problems in the young boy's future.
• The Poorly updated and implemented NHS IT database caused a number of cases where people were administered the wrong medication resulting in detrimental health effects.
• A woman in Australia who was expecting twins was informed that one of them had a serious heart defect. Deciding to terminate the sick foetus, the woman was left devastated when doctors injected and killed the healthy foetus, eventually losing both of them in a botched attempt to save the sick one.
• A 51 year old woman from Glasgow was admitted to hospital suffering from a stomach complaint. Due to serious negligence, she died as a result of taking medicine that was mistakenly given to her. The medicine was meant for the patient who had previously occupied her bed in the hospital.

It is important to bear in mind that a claim for medical negligence can be a complicated and time-consuming affair. It is also imperative to proceed quickly if a person feels they are the victim of medical malpractice and have been caused unnecessary grief, illness or personal injury due to the negligence of another.

A number of factors make medical negligence difficult to prove and without strong medical evidence, a case is particularly hard to establish. It is recommended to make a note of all interactions with the medical professional and record any symptoms or negative reactions to possibly negligent treatment.

It could be the case that a person feels they have been poorly treated as a result of medical negligence, when in fact the doctor or healthcare provider acted in line with the laws and ethics governing their role and their duty of care.

Medical negligence can change people's lives in the most serious cases, and those guilty of it should not be allowed to get away with it.

About the Author

Bryan Lewis is a jack of all legal trades, who has written a fair bit about the law in his time. He has contributed to a number of different legal sites, including legal information on medical negligence and general negligence claims.

Rating: Not yet rated
Login to vote

Comments

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 at 1:35 PM, by onvenienange

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 at 6:36 PM, by eckertdarw

Sat, 7 Jan 2012 at 12:57 AM, by dresseslace

Sun, 8 Jan 2012 at 3:57 PM, by tiffanyblue

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 at 12:38 AM, by Guest

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 at 5:51 AM, by andmoncler

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 at 7:02 AM, by evondesm

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 at 9:47 AM, by eckertdarw

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 at 12:17 AM, by tiffanysivler

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 at 9:07 AM, by choosechoose

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 at 3:07 AM, by cheapthe

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 at 6:06 AM, by naughdale

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 at 7:28 PM, by naughdale

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 at 4:58 AM, by storeswedding

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 at 1:54 AM, by northcheap

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 at 8:16 AM, by eckertdarw

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 at 2:22 PM, by andmoncler

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 at 8:11 PM, by tiffanysivler

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 at 1:44 PM, by onlinetiffanys

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 at 8:21 PM, by womenevening

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 at 4:05 PM, by onvenienange

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 at 6:16 AM, by storeswedding

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 at 1:59 PM, by andmoncler

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 at 1:29 AM, by tiffanysivler

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 at 2:28 AM, by tiffanysivler

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 at 3:48 AM, by cheapthe

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 at 4:26 AM, by ncobernroxan

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 at 8:10 AM, by rcallarmsalv

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 at 9:36 PM, by naughdale

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 at 8:03 PM, by onvenienange

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 at 2:08 PM, by storeswedding

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 at 10:49 AM, by onlinetiffanys

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 at 7:23 AM, by tiffanyblue

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 at 7:15 PM, by storediscounted

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 at 5:52 PM, by rcallarmsalv

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 at 8:59 PM, by diegowholesale

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 at 8:09 AM, by womenevening

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 at 8:21 AM, by naughdale

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 at 6:26 AM, by fequiereshir

Sat, 4 Feb 2012 at 8:42 AM, by womenevening

Sat, 4 Feb 2012 at 2:32 PM, by lvlvonline

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 at 8:36 PM, by onvenienange

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 at 1:34 PM, by mothermother

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 at 8:37 PM, by diegowholesale

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 at 11:07 PM, by bagsbelstaff

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 at 11:29 PM, by storediscounted

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 at 6:32 AM, by andmoncler

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 at 9:47 AM, by tiffanyblue

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 at 10:49 AM, by northcheap

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 at 4:58 PM, by canadawhere

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 at 7:29 PM, by evondesm

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 at 2:20 AM, by outletcoach

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 at 12:12 PM, by tiffanysivler

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 at 9:50 AM, by naughdale

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 at 5:40 PM, by storeswedding

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 at 7:23 AM, by chnowearl

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 at 2:57 PM, by tiffanysivler

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 at 2:34 AM, by eckertdarw

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 at 9:14 PM, by ingshirnmosh

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 at 12:09 PM, by northcheap

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 at 9:34 PM, by onuggssale

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 at 6:40 AM, by Guest

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 at 4:35 PM, by andmoncler

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 at 8:29 AM, by twiesarie

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 at 6:54 AM, by choosechoose

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 at 7:22 PM, by tiffanysivler

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 at 6:25 AM, by ncrantkirb

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 at 5:12 PM, by obiggarsant

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 at 6:03 PM, by shopshop

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 at 9:42 PM, by wigsfront

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 at 1:44 PM, by tiffanysivler

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 at 1:41 PM, by fireturbo

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 at 11:53 AM, by naughdale

Add Comment

You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.