Scenario : You are booked in for a routine medical operation – whether it be a breast augmentation, appendix, caesarean or natural labour.
The operation seems to have gone smoothly but then you start experiencing complications which don’t feel right to you. What do you do?
Firstly, we recommend that you obtain a second opinion from an independent doctor. You should try and inform the doctor what operation you had, how it was performed and what after effects have taken place.
Should the doctor provide an opinion that mentions that something unusual occurred or happened with your operation, we suggest that further action should be taken.
At this point, we would recommend you consult an attorney who specialises in medical negligence claims so as to verify whether or not you may have a claim for damages against the doctor/medical practitioner or any of the operating team, who operated on you.
In order to have a claim, negligence would have to be proved. Simply put, the following question is asked: Would a reasonable doctor have done the same thing as your operating doctor? If the answer is no and can be supported, then negligence may be able to be proved.
As we have a medical negligence claims department, we handle large volumes of medical negligence cases from big boo-boos to minor slip-ups.
Scary first-hand experience shows that much negligence occurs in the medical field in both state hospitals and private practices.
Several cases have been reported on where the victims successfully claimed damages based on medical negligence. One such instance occurred when a man (and his son) successfully sued a gynaecologist after she performed a hysterectomy on his wife in a Durbanville medical facility.
Following complications related to the surgery, the wife died in 2003. The family was awarded R1 400 000-million in damages.
In another case, a couple successfully claimed damages from a Pretoria hospital and gynaecologist after their daughter was severely brain damaged at birth.
At the end of the day, no amount of money can soothe the errors made whether they result in death or disability of a loved one, but a handsome payout may make life more comfortable for the persons concerned.
Contact Tuckers Inc. on 011 897 1900 or info@tuckers.co.za
