Medical negligence claims cost Queensland $390m in five years, documents show

  • 📰 abcnews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 37 sec. here
  • 7 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 35%
  • Publisher: 83%

Medical Negligence News

Queensland Health,Health Minister Shannon Fentiman,Right To Information

In less than six years Queensland Health has been forced to pay out more than $390 million to more than 1,000 people injured as a result medical negligence in public hospitals. Michael Stewart was one of them.

Patients and lawyers say the medical compensation process in Queensland is flawed and time-consuming.After being awarded a payout of $2.19m, Michael Stewart has lodged an appeal in the hope of being able to return home.

But that's not enough to fund assisted living at home and so the 71-year-old's family is appealing against the payout figure. She said Queensland hospitals admitted almost one million patients each year and provided more than 1.5m emergency services and 3.5m outpatient services.Queensland Health's budget for 2023/24 was $25.8 billion, but the figures obtained via RTI showed an average of $65m each year since 2018 was chewed up in compensation payouts.

Three days later, Mr Stewart underwent a laparotomy – abdominal surgery – that resulted in complications and further procedures. The $2.19m payout was granted to cover Mr Stewart's out-of-pocket expenses, future care, transport and extra support.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 5. in HEALTH

Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Queensland chief health officer declares 'public health alert' over mental wellbeing of teenagersJohn Gerrard has declared a 'public health alert' over the rise in mental health issues among the state's young people, coinciding with the emergence of smart phones and social media.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

Queensland government campaign to improve medical treatment for patients with disabilityKarin Swift's doctor refused to give her a cervical cancer screening on the grounds people with a disability are not 'sexually active'. She's now part of a campaign designed to help educate health professionals about how to treat people with a disability.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

Resources Safety and Health Queensland suspends spirometry company after black lung testing bungleA company has been suspended by Queensland's mining safety regulator for providing substandard lung tests to more than 130 coal workers.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

Men's groups in regional Queensland helping dads improve mental health and become better fathersQueensland's Luke Hambleton uses men's circles to improve his mental health and become a better husband and dad.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

‘Cross your legs’ controversy escalates as Queensland MP demands $5,000 from state’s health ministerLNP MP Ros Bates sends concerns notice to Labor’s Shannon Fentiman demanding an apology and money to cover legal costs
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »