Medical Negligence & Malpractice*

Most medical treatment in Ireland is of a high quality, and most professionals working in the medical industry are dedicated to providing you with the best possible care. Nevertheless, mistakes happen in this field just like any other, and the results of medical negligence can be painful and costly if they happen to you or a member of your family.

Medical professionals have a duty to ensure that their patients receive the proper treatment in the safest possible manner. This duty applies not only to doctors, but also to nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, midwives, psychiatrists, and other healthcare specialists. If you have been injured due to a medical professional’s mistake or neglect (sometimes referred to as “clinical negligence”), you may be entitled to compensation.

Medical Negligence Claims

Some common forms of clinical negligence for which you may be entitled to compensation include:

• Undiagnosed or misdiagnosed injury or illness
• Administration of the wrong medication or the wrong dosage
• Mistakes during surgery
• Mistakes during childbirth
• Defective medical products such as drugs and implants

Victims of clinical negligence may be entitled to compensation not only for the injury itself, but also for ongoing pain and suffering and for financial expenses such as the following:

• Corrective medical treatment
• Rehabilitative services
• Pain, distress or loss of faculty
• Lost wages
• Loss of future earning capacity
• Support of dependents such as minors

Establishing clinical negligence can be a lengthy and complicated process, requiring sophisticated knowledge of medical procedures and terminology, fact investigation, and reports from experts in the field. It may even be necessary to seek out a suitably qualified expert in another jurisdiction. In addition, victims of medical negligence only have a certain amount of time to file a compensation claim. Therefore, it is important to contact a qualified solicitor as soon as possible if you think you have been injured by a medical professional. Medical Negligence claims are not assessed by the Injuries Board.