In order to succeed in a claim for medical negligence in Ireland, it is necessary to prove that the medical practitioner was guilty of a failure which was so unacceptable that no other medical practitioner with the same level of skill and expertise would have behaved in the same manner when acting with ordinary care.
When trying to ascertain whether or not a medical practitioner has been guilty of medical negligence they must be compared to a medical practitioner with the same expertise and skill, meaning that a GP cannot be held to the standards of a vascular surgeon or a heart surgeon cannot be held to the same standards as a neurosurgeon. The medical practitioners being compared should be of equal skill and status and working in the same field of medicine in order for it to be a fair and conclusive comparison.
In order to be successful in a claim for medical negligence the principles as set out in the case of Dunne V the National Maternity Hospital and Jackson (1989) must first be satisfied. These principles can be summarised as follows:
It has been stated above that a medical practitioner may be found negligent if they do not obtain fully informed consent. In order for consent to be classified as fully informed all risks and side effects inherent with the procedure in question must be brought to the attention of the patient. Once a patient has been fully informed it is then up to them whether or not they wish to have the particular procedure carried out. This particular heading of negligence only applies to non-emergency or optional procedures.
In order to prove a claim under this heading the patient must prove that had they been informed of all of the possible risks and side effects that they would not have gone ahead with the procedure or that they would have sought to undergo an alternative procedure.
It can be very difficult for a patient to prove that had they been given all of the information they would not have gone ahead with the procedure, especially if there were no alternative procedures available. It would only be advisable to bring a claim for medical negligence based on lack of disclosure and informed consent where the side effects arising from the procedure are common and therefore should have been brought to the attention of the patient.
A patient that has been a victim of medical negligence may pursue and injury claim for:
Got a question about starting a Medical Negligence Claim?
Contact our legal team at Synnott Lawline Solicitors. Tel: 01 4537890 Email: info@lawline.ie
Medical Negligence Claims
