Useful information

• Personal Injury Claim
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• Medical Negligence Claim
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• PIAB Application Guide
• Statute of Limitation
• No Win No Fee Guide

Emergency Department Negligence

Emergency department negligence occurs when a health care practitioner incorrectly diagnoses or treats a patient, resulting in further damage.

What is Emergency Department Negligence?

Emergency medicine is responsible for nearly 15% of all medical negligence claims. A&E departments are high-turnover, fast-paced hospital departments that diagnose and treat patients with some of the most catastrophic injuries.

Patients also visit with symptoms that may appear to be non-life-threatening, and patients are reliant on the skill, knowledge, and thoroughness of hospital staff to ensure they are treated to the best possible standards. The Law for medical negligence* in Ireland is complicated and is governed by the test set out in the Supreme Court case of Dunne V The National Maternity Hospital (1989). This case provided that:

• a medical practitioner was negligent in the diagnosis of treatment only if he was guilty of such failure as no other medical practitioner of equal specialist or general status or skill will be guilty of if acting with ordinary care;
• a Plaintiff will establish negligence against a medical practitioner by proving his deviation from a general and approved practice only upon proving also that the course taken was one that no other medical practitioner of like specialisation and skill would have followed when taking the ordinary care required from a person of his qualifications.

Examples of emergency department negligence

These can arise in situations where an Accident and Emergency patient is admitted to A&E, and there are:

• failure to treat a patient properly, and failure to diagnose the problem;
• failure to recognise the patient’s illness or injury, and failure to refer to a senior or specialist doctor;
• failure to check a patient’s medical history properly;
• failure to carry out basic investigations and
  X-Ray/MRI scans;
• wrongful or premature discharge from the hospital.

It is very advisable to get the advice that you need as soon as you become aware of a medical difficulty or injury that results from medical or surgical treatment or procedure.

The claim process

1. Consult our solicitor

It is advisable for you to speak to an experienced team of Emergency Department negligence Solicitors as soon as possible if you believe that you were not provided with an adequate or appropriate level of medical care, which resulted in you sustaining an injury or illness.

2. We obtain your medical records

After the consultation with your Emergency Department negligence solicitor, he/she will request access to your medical records and engage an independent medical expert to assess your records. Engaging an independent expert is to establish whether there was any negligence on the part of the medical professional.

3. The medical negligence litigation process

Where the independent medical expert is of the professional opinion that medical negligence did occur, upon your instructions, your solicitor will commence the process of issuing legal proceedings in Court against the medical professional and/or hospital.

Statute of Limitation

The legal time limit to make an Emergency Department negligence claim is two years from the date of injury or date of knowledge that the injury or illness resulted from medical negligence. For children/minors, the time limit expires two years after their 18th birthday. You may contact a solicitor to discuss your case and advise you of the statute of limitations applicable to your case.

Our team

• Have you had a surgical procedure that did not turn out as it should?
• Have you been left in pain, or do you continue to suffer from physical discomfort or physical scarring?
• Have you been misdiagnosed or had a delayed diagnosis of cancer or another serious illness affecting your health?

Any injury suffered during a medical procedure, whether physical or psychological, may have long-term effects on the victim and their families. Our Emergency Department negligence solicitors have assisted many clients in recovering maximum damages, and we believe in putting our clients’ needs first.

Coleman Legal LLP

Solicitors
84 Talbot Street, Dublin 1
D01 YX60
DX 112002

Contact Details

Free Phone: 1800-844-104
Fax: (01) 5312727
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.colemanlegalpartners.ie
Online Enquiry Form: Apply