Emergency Services & Paramedics

Paramedics provide an essential service which patients often receive in an emergency context after an ambulance has been called. Time is often critical in these emergency situations and when there is a failure by paramedic staff to provide appropriate treatment and transport a patient to medical help in a timely fashion the consequences can be serious.

Sometimes paramedics fail to recognise the seriousness or the true nature of a patient’s condition and this can also lead to the delay in appropriate treatment being provided or no treatment being received at all.

When a patient can show that:

1. a paramedic failed to provide care which was of a reasonable level of competence when viewed from the point of view of what was widely accepted as reasonably competent paramedic practice in Australia at the time the treatment was provided; and

2. that failure has caused the patient injury, loss and damage
then the patient is able to make a claim for damages in negligence.

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ARE YOU ELIGIBLE
TO MAKE A CLAIM?

If you have suffered an injury, loss or damage as a result of the treatment provided by an emergency service personnel or paramedic than you may be entitled to a claim for damages.

A poor outcome resulting from your treatment does not in itself establish an entitlement to claim. What needs to be proven is that the treatment was provided in a negligent manner and that the treatment provider breached their duty of care to you.

WHY ARE BRYDENS LAWYERS THE RIGHT REPRESENTATION FOR YOU?

Brydens Lawyers are the experts in the prosecution of medical negligence cases with a dedicated medical negligence department and panel of medical experts available to give evidence in court against doctors, hospitals or other health care practitioners who have been negligent in the treatment of their patients.

Brydens Lawyers specialise in reviewing medical records, liaising with medical experts and explaining complicated legal and medical issues to our clients in a way that they will understand. This is to ensure that clients of Brydens Lawyers are kept fully and properly informed every step of the way so that they can understand the process and what is involved in the bringing of a successful medical negligence claim.

Brydens Lawyers operates as a ‘No Win – No Fee”, policy which, simply put, provides that if a personal injury or compensation client is unsuccessful in their claim then Brydens Lawyers will not raise a tax invoice for having acted on behalf of the client. That is, if the claim is unsuccessful we do not get paid. More information about how this works can be found on our No Win – No Fee page.

WHAT ARE YOU
ABLE TO CLAIM?

The types of damages available in medical negligence claims can include:

– Non-economic loss which includes damages for pain and suffering;

– Past and future medical expenses and out of pocket expenses;

– Loss of income and any damage done to your ability to earn an income in the future;

– Past and future loss of superannuation benefits;

– Past and future paid services such as home cleaning or nursing assistance;

– The value of services provided to you by family and friends without charge;

– Past and future medical aids and equipment such as wheelchairs;

– Home modifications such as those required to make a home wheelchair accessible;

– Vehicle modifications;

– Additional costs incurred in connection with continuing disabilities, for example, additional cost of holidays due to special needs;

– A contribution towards your legal costs and disbursements.

Damages are very specific to each individual’s situation and assessing your claim for damages will be a central part of the service provided to you by our medical negligence team.

WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSULT A LAWYER ABOUT MAKING A CLAIM?

If you have suffered from any form of medical negligence then you need to engage proper legal advice and representation. There are strict time limits around lodging a medical negligence claim, so even if your treatment is ongoing, you must consult a legal representative early to ensure your claim is lodged within the allowed timeframe.

WE DO MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS WELL. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:

– Our client was treated for indigestion by paramedics despite his signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest. Her cardiac arrest was not diagnosed and treated soon enough resulting in severe damage to our client’s heart and brain. She was entitled to claim damages for her pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses and past and future care needs.

– Our client’s father went into cardiac arrest as a result of a severe compromise of his airway. Paramedics attending the call failed to manage the airway compromise appropriately and he died as a result. Our client sustained psychological injuries as a result of the circumstances of her father’s death and she was entitled to claim damages for pain and suffering, past and future loss of income and past and future medical expenses.

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