As a patient entering a hospital, a huge amount of faith is placed in the skills of the doctors and nurses on hand to treat you. However, as with all humans, even these highly trained professionals make mistakes.
In many instances these mistakes, however accidental and unfortunate they may be, can be avoided. This is where medical negligence claims enter the fray – these are designed to ensure a patient that has suffered at the hands of a medical professional receives due compensation for the damage or injuries.
Newspapers and websites are awash with stories of this nature, and naturally the more severe or bizarre the case the more column inches it will be awarded. For example, in September a story made the headlines of a white lesbian mother who was accidentally impregnated with the sperm of a black donor at a sperm bank.
Despite the woman and her partner having specifically chosen and paid for sperm from a white man, they lost their medical negligence case against the sperm bank.
Stories such as this make for interesting reading, but one should not overlook just how serious medical negligence claims are as part of the justice system. Indeed, Frenkels Forensics regularly provides forensic accounting services to help claimants or defendants in cases of this nature.
Attributing blame or responsibility is, after all, only the first stage. Should an individual or organisation be found guilty of medical negligence then the challenge is to establish the correct sum of money that will correct the damage done in the first place. Enter the forensic accountants.
Forensic accounting can play an important part by carefully examining the full range of repercussions resulting from an act of negligence – the experts at Frenkels Forensics are experienced in demonstrating the negligent act translates into things like loss of earnings, loss of pensions, diminished quality of life, additional costs and any other ways the victim might have had their bank balance or future earning potential damaged.
Making these calculations and presenting them in a court ready report will ensure justice is done and a fair settlement is reached.
For expert help with any kind of medical or professional negligence case, contact Frenkels Forensics for an independent appraisal.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for advice in any aspect of forensic accountancy, then do get in touch via Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn or by visiting our website www.frenkels.com
By Vitek Frenkel – find me via Google+.