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It is regrettably true that the first association many people have with medical law is as claimants or defendants in personal injury cases. The SA Constitution gives every person the right to access health care services and emergency medical treatment and medical law deals with regulatory law which is applicable to health-care providers, third party payers, and those that provide or pay for health care in health care places as well as the workplace.
Medical negligence is a field of medical law involving personal injury and it will sometimes be necessary for your Attorney to work with top quality medical experts who will be needed to prove your case of medical malpractice. With medical law you need experts who have a successful track record when it comes to preparing reports and then testifying in Court. During your first meeting with a medical law firm, you could be asked for your medical records. Generally, your lawyer will have a medical professional to review the case to determine if there's evidence of malpractice.
With medical law, your case may continue for years, especially if it goes to trial and is appealed. During this time, there may be periods during which you hear from your lawyer every day and there may be several week stretches where you hear nothing at all, while both sides wait for court dates or filing deadlines.
In the workplace, if you think that your employer is treating you differently from other employees because he believes you are HIV-positive and insists on you being tested, a person must give informed consent before being medically treated which implies that the individual understands what the test is, why it is necessary and the benefits, risks, alternatives and possible social implications of the outcome.
Legal Recourse: If someone has tested or treated a person without their consent they can:
- complain to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPSCSA)
- sue the health care worker for invasion of privacy
- lay a criminal charge of assault against the health care worker.
Medical law looks out for those who have been medically mistreated, and you need Attorneys who can fight for your cause to ensure you receive the right medical treatment.
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