Health Care Update Issue 6

Health Care Update provides information about legal issues, topics and updates affecting health care providers and insurers. In this issue, we look at changes to pre-court protocols for personal injury claims in Queensland, how a Victorian Court of Appeal  will impact on approaches to limitation defences and a check-in on some recent and significant cases in a number of jurisdictions around the country.

PIPA: the Gatekeeper to medical negligence claims in Queensland

Claims involving healthcare practitioners and facilities can result from circumstances as diverse as a doctor-patient conversation to post-surgical complications. In many jurisdictions, unmeritorious medical negligence claims prove to be a costly headache for both practitioners and insurers alike. However, the pre-court protocol in Queensland governing personal injury claims resulting from a “medical incident” contains an evidentiary hurdle that operates to filter out claims that cannot be substantiated. Read more…

Factors influencing the extensions of limitation periods

Medical defence organisations need to be careful about how they approach limitation defences. In a cautionary decision, the patient was well outside the relevant limitation period to bring his action against his former treating practitioners. However the Victorian Court of Appeal allowed the extension of time, and set out some important guiding principles as to how courts should exercise this discretion. Read more…

Updates from WA, Qld, Victoria, NSW and SA

There have been a number of developments in Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia that affect health care practitioners and insurers.