Medical Negligence Experts – Monaco Compensation Lawyers

$10 million

An improper surgery left Sam with catastrophic brain injuries. We helped secure his future care.

When Sam underwent surgery, improper treatment by hospital staff left him with catastrophic brain injuries, resulting in neurological impairment and quadriplegia.

Prior to surgery, Sam was healthy, married with children, and in good professional employment. The surgery left him unable to speak, walk or swallow. He now requires 24-hour care and cannot look after himself or manage his own affairs. The burden of looking after Sam and the family fell to his wife, and it was she who asked us to investigate a possible claim against the hospital.

One of our most senior Medical Negligence lawyers took the case, beginning by contacting our extensive network of highly-skilled medical experts. With the help of these experts, our Medical Negligence team gathered evidence demonstrating that the hospital breached their duty of care, negligently causing Sam’s injuries. With the evidence collated, we commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court. The hospital and its legal team vigorously defended against the allegations.

We rebutted most of the medical assumptions relied upon by the hospital, and successfully defeated their defence. Mindful of the substantial expenses associated with litigation, we attempted to resolve the matter in mediation, rather than go to court. At the mediation, we successfully negotiated a $10 million settlement for Sam and his family.

$4.5 million

We helped Rebecca win her case against the hospital that left her a paraplegic.

At 35 years old, Rebecca developed a kidney stone and was subsequently scheduled for surgery. Prior to surgery, she was admitted to a Melbourne public hospital with an infection. Rebecca had a long medical history of severe asthma and anorexia. In hospital, she developed a pulmonary embolism and neuropathy in her lower limbs. She required extensive hospitalisation. By the time Rebecca was discharged, she was a paraplegic: unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair.

Rebecca’s feet now turn in at right angles at her ankles. In the future, she may require amputation. Rebecca’s claim was rejected by another major law firm. When she came to us, we accepted the claim even though the limitation period was about to expire.

In building our case, we qualified several experts to comment on the nature and extent of Rebecca’s injuries and disabilities.

The matter was settled at a mediation for $4.5 million. Had Rebecca accepted the advice of her former solicitors, she would have received no compensation. While no amount of money can adequately compensate Rebecca for the suffering she has endured, the settlement allows Rebecca comfort and support for the remainder of her life.

$2.5 million

After negligent hospital staff induced Nadia’s chronic illness, we brought a case to support her financial future.

When Nadia was born she was blue in appearance, and she did not move or cry. She was eventually revived. At around 18 months old, Nadia was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

At 13, Nadia and her mother came to us. Nadia’s mother felt that there had been negligence on the part of the hospital, and she wanted to secure Nadia’s financial future. We commenced court proceedings in the Supreme Court of NSW.

After investigating her claim, our Medical Negligence Team found that both the midwife and other hospital staff present had failed in their duty of care. Working with an extensive network of obstetric experts, our Medical Negligence team gathered evidence of negligence. This included the fact that no x-rays were taken before the birth, that Nadia’s mother’s difficult labour went on for too long without medical intervention, and that hospital staff ignored signs of foetal distress.

Once we had established negligence, our team consulted with other medical experts to ascertain Nadia’s present and future needs. Due to Nadia’s age, a child psychiatrist who examined her on our behalf was unable to make an assessment on Nadia’s future needs with respect to her condition. Court proceedings paused temporarily to ensure that proper reports were obtained regarding Nadia’s future.

A year later, Nadia was re-examined by the same child psychiatrist who was now able to provide a comprehensive report detailing her future needs and limitations. After this (and other) reports became available, court proceedings were ‘unfrozen’ and we successfully settled Nadia’s claim for $2.5 million plus payment of her legal costs.

$2.5 million

After hospital staff discharged a mentally ill mother into the care of her 17-year-old, we helped recover costs for her care.

At 38, Ebony, who had a history of mental illness, attempted suicide by jumping from a balcony. She suffered a crush fracture of her vertebrae, resulting in paraplegia.

A few days earlier, Ebony had again attempted suicide and been admitted to a public hospital. She had taken a lethal quantity of Valium. The hospital made an order for Ebony’s involuntary treatment. The next day, they removed the order and Ebony was discharged into the care of her 17-year-old daughter.

The paraplegia, combined with her existing mental health issues, has made Ebony’s life extremely difficult. She required assistance with daily living, particularly showering, transport and housework.

Our Medical Negligence team qualified three expert psychiatrists, who concluded that the hospital staff were negligent in discharging Ebony into the care of her daughter. They added that the follow-up, in which a community nurse visited Ebony daily, was an inadequate response to the severity of her condition.

The defendant fought hard against the matter, which consisted of two mediations. In the second mediation, a resolution of $2.5 million was reached. The case was far from straight forward. Given the complexities of the medical issues, and the powerful expert evidence served by the defendant, this was an excellent result.

$900,000

Hospital negligence left Lily widowed, depressed and suffering PTSD. We helped secure her financial future.

Lily was only 53 when her husband, Albert, died in tragic circumstances at a public hospital. Albert had attended the hospital with calf pain, shortness of breath and a rapid heart rate. Despite these symptoms, he was discharged after about 2 ½ hours.

The next day, he returned to the hospital with similar symptoms. Tests showed evidence of a major blood clot and right heart strain. Shortly after, Albert died of a heart attack in hospital.

Following Albert’s death, Lily lapsed into severe depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We engaged an expert emergency physician, who confirmed that Albert had received negligent treatment during his two visits to the emergency department. Had proper investigations been carried out, Albert would not have suffered the heart attack and died.

Our Medical Negligence team made a claim for Lily’s psychiatric injury, including a claim for loss of financial support and domestic services, both of which Albert would have provided if he was alive.

The matter was resolved at mediation for the sum of $900,000.

$850,000

A negligent dentist and hospital left Liam with impaired walking. We helped him claim against both.

At 37, Liam underwent radiotherapy for mouth cancer. As a result, he was told he would require oxygen treatment prior to any future tooth extractions. Ten years later, Liam went to a dentist with an infected tooth. The dentist extracted the tooth without a course of oxygen treatment. He also failed to perform the extraction properly, and to provide sufficient follow-up.

Liam’s infection refused to heal. He attended a hospital, but was sent away with antibiotics and no follow-up plan. Eventually, Liam’s jaw bone died, and he required the dead jaw to be removed. His jaw was replaced with a bone graft from his right leg. He was left with severe scarring and facial deformity, and the loss of bone in his leg impaired his walking and mobility. Liam was unfit to return to his motor mechanic job. As a result, Liam developed depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Our lawyers reviewed clinical records from the dentist and the hospital, then engaged dental experts from our panel. After obtaining expert medical evidence, we were able to argue that both the dentist and the hospital had failed in their duty of care.

The matter was settled for $850,000, plus a significant allowance for Liam’s legal costs. Both the dentist and the hospital contributed to the settlement.

$750,000

Elizabeth was negligently discharged after a stroke. Though she suffered no economic loss, we were still able to help her.

In regional NSW, 66-year-old Elizabeth was taken by ambulance to a local public hospital after she began feeling dizzy, experiencing a headache behind her right eye and loss of function down her left side. Despite the severity of her symptoms, she was discharged 2 ½ hours later. At home the next day, Elizabeth collapsed again, and she was taken to the same hospital. She was then transferred to a second hospital, where an MRI showed that she had suffered another acute stroke. As a result, Elizabeth lives with a brain injury and loss of strength on her left side. She also suffers frequent headaches, blurred vision, impaired speech and has difficulty concentrating.

Our Medical Negligence team qualified an expert emergency physician, who confirmed that Elizabeth had not received adequate treatment during her first presentation to the hospital. They concluded that the hospital’s diagnosis had been incorrect, and that if Elizabeth had been properly diagnosed and treated she would not have suffered the second stroke.
Despite Elizabeth’s age and the fact that there was no claim for economic loss, we successfully settled Elizabeth’s claim at mediation for the sum of $750,000.

$735,000

During birth, Sarah suffered hypoxia and brain damage. Our medical experts confirmed medical staff were at fault.

During childbirth, Sarah suffered severe foetal hypoxia as a result of shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the baby’s shoulder gets stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone during birth, depriving the mother of oxygen. As a result of the foetal hypoxia, Sarah was clinically dead for approximately 10 minutes. Remarkably, Sarah recovered well and now exhibits only mild intellectual deficits.

We argued that the hospital staff had failed to recognise signs of foetal compromise during the delivery and had not reacted adequately to the poor progress of Sarah’s labour. To support Sarah’s case, our Medical Negligence team gathered evidence from medical experts, including an expert professor in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Sarah’s claim was resolved shortly after mediation for the sum of $550,000, plus an allowance for part of Sarah’s legal fees in the sum of $185,000.