GP Negligence

In order to bring a successful GP negligence claim, the patient must establish each of the following elements:

Firstly, it must be shown that the doctor/ health care provider owed the patient a duty of care. This is not controversial as the doctor/ patient relationship is among an established category of situations in which a duty of care has long been recognised to exist.

It must also be proved that the doctor/ health care provider breached the duty of care that was owed to the patient. Determining breach of duty requires expert evidence that the health care provider failed to exercise reasonable care and skill.

The next step is to determine whether the alleged breach can be said to have caused or materially contributed to the harm the patient suffered.

The purpose of the law of negligence is to put a person who has suffered injury as a result of someone else’s negligence back in the position they would have been, if there had been no negligence. The only means the law has for doing this is financial compensation. Damages or compensation may be payable for such things as pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of income and care.