Surgery can be crucial to the treatment of a patient but when an error is made it can be detrimental to their health or life.
An example of where the courts examined this issue was in O’Connor v Murphy [2008]. The patient attended an Orthopaedic Surgeon to have an artificial right hip joint fitted. The artificial joint was misaligned and the cortex of the right femoral shaft was perforated allowing the cement used to bend the new joint out of place. Two further operations were required to fix the problem. The trial judge opined that the orthopaedic surgeon was negligent in the manner in which he carried out the procedure. Furthermore, he felt that the surgeon should have ensured that no perforation had taken place by an inspection of the cortex immediately after reaming. He also felt that the doctor was negligent in fixing the artificial joint in a misaligned position. The correct approach for a specialist of this field, was to use a guidewire. This would have made it almost impossible for perforation to occur to the femoral cortex. The Judge was of the view that as negligence occurred resulting in consequential injury, the patient was entitled to an award of damages.
To prove medical negligence for your injury arising from surgery, a medical expert report must be obtained. That expert must prove that an error was made during surgery and that the stated injury has arisen as a direct consequence of that negligence. Often, patients don’t know what to do when this situation occurs to them. We at Berwick Solicitors, Galway have over 30 years’ experience in the area of medical negligence claims in Ireland and have dedicated Solicitors that specialise in medical malpractice (medical negligence claims). If you think you have a claim for an error in surgery, and want legal advice, please feel free to contact Martin Kerrigan of Berwick Solicitors, Galway for a consultation. We can offer you the support you need and explain to you the process of medical negligence claims in Ireland.
Please note that we meet with clients for medical negligence claims throughout Ireland.
Please click here to return to the Medical Negligence home page.
