You can initialise legal procedures to claim compensation from the medical care provider if you have suffered physical and emotional injury, because of the medical negligence or malpractice. However, the injury must be substantial enough to warrant a claim for compensation regarding medical expenses, inability to perform your normal duties or to participate in activities such as sport, loss of income because of a job loss as the result of the injury, ongoing medical care required, or future medical expenses.

You can claim compensation if the medical practitioner has not warned you of the risks associated with a medical treatment or the specific procedure. You can also claim if the practitioner made an incorrect diagnosis, which led to the wrong treatment of the condition and the subsequent delay in applying the right treatment. Other valid reasons for claiming include:

• The practitioner failed to make any diagnosis or delayed diagnosis.
• The medical professional did not inform you about other available treatments or procedures, such as an alternative to the suggested treatment.
• The health professional failed to follow correct, acceptable and well-known medical treatment procedures.
• The medical professional failed to provide any form of treatment or delayed in providing treatment, which led to injury or long term health problems.
• The medical practitioner incorrectly communicated results to you, which affected your decision to provide consent for the treatment.
• You did not consent to the treatment provided, even though you were capable at the time to provide such consent.
• The practitioner embarked on surgery or a treatment procedure without having the necessary skills, experience or qualification to do so and thus lacked the required competency.

You will have to prove that the caregiver had a legal duty to treat you and that the duty was breached through the non-performance of the health care provider, which caused injury to you as patient. You must have suffered damage whether physical or emotional as the result of the injury caused through negligence on the part of the care giver.

You won’t know for sure if you have a claim until you have spoken to legal experts who can assess the merits and circumstances surrounding the claim. We recommend contacting us at Adele van der Walt Incorporated for professional legal advice.