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Medical Negligence Solicitors Waterford

image of doctor and technology for Mullins & Treacy LLP Solicitors Waterford

If you are affected by medical negligence in Ireland, you are entitled to make a medical negligence claim. This allows you to recover damages for your pain, suffering and financial losses.

How do I prove medical negligence in Ireland?

Medical negligence is when someone is injured because of substandard medical care. If you been harmed by poor medical care in Ireland, or your loved one has, please contact our medical negligence solicitors Waterford.

We can check whether you have grounds to make a medical negligence claim. We want to be certain that you’ll win your case. This means we need to establish two things:

  1. That the standard of medical care fell below that expected of a reasonably competent medical professional
  2. That the substandard level of medical care caused you to suffer avoidable harm

This is best illustrated with an example.
Imagine a patient has their appendix removed. They come round from the anaesthetic, but days later continue to suffer from pain, inflammation and infection. An x-ray shows that a pair of surgical scissors has been left inside their abdomen. The patient needs another operation to remove the scissors, resulting in a bigger scar and a longer recovery time.

Surgical teams must follow specific steps to prevent retained foreign objects. In this situation, these steps clearly haven’t been followed, meaning the care fell below an acceptable standard. In turn, this caused the patient harm, as he needed another operation and a longer recovery period. These consequences would have been avoided with better medical care.

If we advise that you have grounds for a medical negligence claim in Ireland, our solicitors can manage the claims process for you.

What do our medical negligence solicitors Waterford do?

Our first job is to get all your medical records. We’ll carefully go through these records, helping us paint a picture as to what happened and why.

Then, we’ll take witness statements from you. Sometimes, we might also ask your loved ones for a witness statement. We want to set out exactly what happened, and how this has affected your life.

Next, we’ll instruct one or more medical experts to write a report. The medical professional will verify whether (in their expert opinion):

  1. You were subject to substandard medical care; and whether
  2. You suffered avoidable harm as a result

A medical expert report is a critical piece of evidence. We have close connections to leading medical experts across Ireland and can choose the right person for the task.

Meanwhile, we will liaise with the other side, letting them know that you intend to take legal action against them. We will keep this channel of communication open, negotiating back and forth to reach a suitable settlement of your claim.

We decide what a suitable settlement looks like based on the medical expert reports and the extent of your financial losses. Our solicitors will calculate all your financial losses in full, plus interest. This includes anticipated future losses.

Most medical negligence claims are settled out of court. In the unlikely event that we cannot reach a settlement, we will issue proceedings and present your case at a trial.

Do I need a solicitor to claim medical negligence?

It would be unusual to make a medical negligence claim without a solicitor.
Medical negligence claims are treated differently to other types of personal injury claim in Ireland. Most notably, they are not dealt with by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB). They have a higher degree of complexity and must not be rushed. This is particularly important where the prognosis is not fully known. That is why you need a solicitor who specialises in medical negligence.

Contact our medical negligence solicitors Waterford

Have you suffered because of poor medical care in Ireland? Or has your loved one? Contact us at Mullins & Treacy LLP Solicitors to discuss your options. We are client focused and results driven.

Call us on 051 391 488 or email reception@mullinstreacy.ie for a no obligation enquiry.

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