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ARTICLE · 03 AUGUST 2016

Medical negligence compensation gap must be closed

Stacks Law Firm
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It's a great defect in our law that the Compensation to Relatives Act doesn't have any provision for bereavement damages.

AustraliaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Justin Stack
Justin Stack
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The terrible tragedy of a baby dying after being given the wrong gas at Bankstown Hospital has exposed a gap in the law regarding compensation for medical negligence.

Under Australian law the parents of a child who dies as a result of negligence can only recover damages if they can prove they suffered a recognised psychiatric illness as a result of the death.

Justin Stack, Managing Director of Stacks Law Firm and legal compensation expert, said under current laws grief alone is not enough to merit compensation or recover damages.

"It is a grossly unjust situation that forces grief stricken families to prove to specified legal requirements that they have experienced a recognised psychiatric illness as a result of the death," Mr Stack said.

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