Drugs & Drug Reactions

Summary of drug and drug reaction cases

FAQ about Drugs & Drug Reactions

How do I make a claim?

If you think you have a medical negligence claim, contact the Maurice Blackburn Medical Negligence team. We will take a statement from you about what has occurred and then provide you with a preliminary assessment. If we believe you should proceed further with your claim, we will then carry out an investigation of your case. An investigation will involve obtaining your medical records and reports from your treating doctors, if appropriate, then obtaining an independent medical expert's opinion.

How much will it cost?

In medical negligence cases that we believe have merit, we will conduct the investigation on a 'no win - no charge' basis. This means you will only be charged profit costs in the event you receive an award of damages and no profit costs will be charged if the claim is not pursued after being investigated.

If proceedings are issued after investigating the claim and the claim is successful, you will be charged for the costs of the investigation and the legal work performed after issuing proceedings. This will be a charge on the appropriate Court Scale, and you will be given more information about this at the time when the decision is made to issue proceedings. No costs are charged unless you receive a settlement or award of compensation.

However, in medical negligence cases, we require you to pay for the costs of the investigations, such as the fees charged by doctors for providing us with medical reports or by hospitals for providing us with medical records. We have to obtain these reports and records before we can advise you whether you are likely to be successful with your medical negligence case.

If, after carrying out the investigation, we believe that you should proceed with a claim, then we can offer you various remedies for obtaining compensation. If the medical treatment has resulted in an unexpected death, then we may recommend that a report be made to the Coroner's Court. Sometimes we also advise that a report should be made to the Health Care Complaints Commission of New South Wales, the Health Services Commissioner of Victoria or the Health Rights Commission of Queensland.

How long do I have to make a claim?

There are time limits for making a compensation claim. The time limits and pre-litigation requirements vary between States and Territories;

New South Wales

New South Wales law prohibits us from advertising legal services in connection with Medical Negligence Claims.  We regret that we are unable to provide you with further information.

Queensland

In Queensland, generally Court proceedings must be commenced within three years of the date of the injury.  The Court also has a discretion to extend this period to one year from the date of knowledge of a "material fact of a decisive character". However, this is only a discretionary power and will depend on the circumstances of each particular case.  If Court proceedings are not commenced within the relevant time limit then you are likely to be prevented from ever bringing a case.

Additionally, under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act, a person intending to bring a claim for compensation must notify the "respondent" by sending them a special form within the earlier of nine months after the date of the injury or one month after instructing a solicitor to seek damages for personal injury.  It may be possible to extend this time limit in exceptional circumstances.

The time limits for injuries to children are different, for both Court Proceedings and under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act.

Time limits are extremely complex and this information is simply a general guide.  The situation will vary from case to case and it is essential to obtain specific legal advice about the time limits in your case as soon as possible."

Australian Capital Territory

In the Australian Capital Territory pre-court procedures require a claimant to notify a potential defendant of a possible claim within the earlier of  nine months of the incident or appearance of symptoms or four months of instructing a lawyer regarding a possible claim and the defendant being identified.   Generally, a person has three years from the time of the injury occuring or if the injury is a disease or disorder three years before the day you first knew that you suffered an injury that is a disease or disorder and that the injury is related to someone else's act or omissions, to bring a claim.  If  they are a child, there is provision to extend the time to bring a claim if it involves a disease or disorder.   If Court proceedings are not commenced within within the relevant time period you may be prevented from ever bringing a claim.  Legal advice is therefore essential.

Victoria

In Victoria an adult has three years from the time of injury or medical negligence was (discoverable) to issue proceedings.  Children have six years from the time of injury or medical negligence was discoverable to ssue proceedings. The concept of (discoverability) is yet to be fully defined by the Courts and accordingly it is prudent to be conservative when judging the date of discoverability to have occurred, for example where the negligent treatment involves an injury as a result of surgery undertaken in a negligent fashion, a conservative assessment as to the date of injury would be the date the surgery was undertaken, even where the negligence was not discovered by the Claimant until some time thereafter. There may be circumstances where you can apply to Court for an extension of time past these time limits. The position will vary from case-to-case and you should obtain legal advice about the time limits in your case.