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Breach of Duty Of Care
You can make a Medical Negligence Claim if
you can prove that you were owed a duty of care, and that there
has been a breach of that duty. The defendant is in breach of
duty towards the claimant if their conduct fell short of the
standard expected under the circumstances.
What is Duty of Care
The medical definition of 'Duty of Care'
is:
the legal obligation to take reasonable
care to avoid causing harm. Doctors and other health
professionals have a duty of care towards their patients: if
they fall short of expected standards of care they may be
charged with negligence.
The law of negligence means any negligent
act which falls short of a standard to be expected of "the
reasonable man"
What is the definition of “reasonable?”
The definition of "reasonable" is open to
interpretation and we would suggest you speak to one of our
solicitors to ascertain case histories etc.
A famous case once ruled that a doctor is
not in breach of the duty of care "if he has acted in accordance
with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of
medical men skilled in that particular art".
In plain English this means that a judge
will hear evidence from experts in the appropriate speciality
and must decide whether the actions of the doctor/midwife/nurse
etc. were proper.
Often there are several acceptable ways of
doing something and compliance and this may mean that there is
no breach of duty of care.
Naturally experts often disagree over these
issues and the judge must decide whose evidence is to be
preferred.
The fact that the person giving an opinion
would not have done things in the same way does not
automatically mean that there has been breach of duty of care.
Patients quite literally need to be able to
trust doctors and other healthcare professionals with their
lives. The care of the patient needs to be the first concern of
any doctor. The hospital or doctor has a duty of care to their
patient. Sometimes things will go wrong and it is important that
the patient’s doctor is open and honest with them. A patient
needs to know what is going on at all times.
If you feel your doctor or hospital has
failed in their duty of care to you, you should speak with a
clinical negligence solicitor. They have years of experience in
helping people who are able to claim compensation for clinical
negligence.
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