Errors in Medical Practice, Medical Accidents

A relative is told after surgery that there was a complication nobody expected. Another family is told that an instrument was left behind. Both families say the hospital made a mistake, but the law treats the two very differently. One is an unfortunate accident, the other looks like negligence on its face. This topic explains where the law draws the line between an error, an accident and negligence, and how a patient proves which one it was.

In two minutes

A medical error becomes legally actionable only when it falls below the standard of a competent practitioner; an honest error of judgment and a recognised risk that materialises without fault are not negligence, while an accident that speaks for itself can shift the burden of explanation to the doctor.

The rest of this chapter

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