Medical Treatment Compensation
You may be entitled to medical negligence compensation if you have suffered an injury or illness caused by the negligence of a medical practitioner (your GP or a specialist), dentist, physiotherapist, a hospital or any other health related service provider.
Medical Negligence Claims
Polaris is committed to getting answers for you. We investigate your claim confidentially so that you can know what went wrong and why.
The team at Polaris Lawyers have years of experience investigating what went wrong during medical treatment, and getting outstanding outcomes for hundreds of people injured by negligent medical care, including compensation claims for common cases of medical negligence such as:
- Surgical errors
- Misdiagnosis by General Practitioners
- Birth trauma
- Delayed diagnosis of cancer and heart attacks
- Injuries caused by chiropractors, physiotherapists and osteopaths
- Pharmacy and medication errors
- Hospital errors, including emergency department delays
Because investigating medical treatment claims can be complex, it is important that you choose lawyers who with specialist expertise who will give your case the time and individual attention it deserves.
Strict time limits apply to bringing a claim for compensation.
We focus on getting you the best possible result, in the shortest possible time, no hidden fees or charges. Talk to Polaris today for free advice about your medical treatment injury.
FAQs
To bring a claim against your doctor, dentist, therapist or hospital you should contact a lawyer who specialises in medical negligence claims. For treatment that occurred in Victoria , you will need to prove:
- Negligence: that the treatment provided to you fell below a reasonable standard.
- Causation: that the negligence was a cause of your injuries or loss.
- Injury: to get compensation for your pain and suffering; that you have suffered a permanent “significant” injury.
- That your claim is brought within a strict time limit.
Want to find out more online? Visit our “Frequently asked questions”.
Healthcare Complaints
In addition to a potential claim for compensation, you have the right to make a complaint about the medical treatment that you received.
These complaints can be an important tool for helping you to get what you need – including an apology, an explanation or compensation – and for improving our health system.
Polaris has launched a free and easy-to-use chatbot called Health Complaints Assist to help you make a complaint about medical treatment in Victoria. You can make a complaint about a particular doctor or nurse or about a doctor’s surgery or hospital.
The chatbot will ask you some simple questions and then put together a complaint for you. You can send the complaint directly to the healthcare provider or to the government agency responsible for investigating complaints.
Visit Health Complaints Assist to begin making a complaint about your treatment.
Health Complaints Assist is powered by Josef, a company that designs legal technology to help people.
FAQs
Using the chatbot is 100% confidential. The information you supply will be securely stored. It will never be shared with anyone unless you specifically request or give permission for the information to be shared.
No. Health Complaints Assist helps you to build and format a complaint that you then send. For legal advice regarding a potential claim, you should speak directly to a lawyer.
We built Health Complaints Assist because we believe that it’s a service that people need. In Victoria, there are thousands of people who have been affected by medical treatment who do not know about their legal rights and entitlements.
We hope that Health Complaints Assist, will empower people to understand their rights, helping them to get the outcomes they need and improving our health system.
Your medical negligence claim could include remedies such as:
- Pain and suffering damages
- Loss of income
- Medical expenses
- Domestic care expenses
- Travel expenses (for medical treatment visits)
To get compensation, you need to be able to prove:
- That the treatment provided to you was unreasonable;
- That the unreasonable treatment was a cause of injury or damage; and
- That you’ve suffered significant physical or psychological harm as a result.
