O'Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors

A & E Negligence

A & E Negligence2025-03-18T13:26:16+00:00

A and E negligence is when you experience medical negligence in the Emergency Department of a hospital. The negligence can have a big impact on your health and you may suffer the effects of A&E negligence in your life today and in the future.

Accident and Emergency staff receive patients from the ambulance and from public admissions. The medical staff must assess patients and treat them according to their symptoms. 

Medical negligence is medical treatment below a level any other medical professional would provide in similar circumstances. When a doctor, nurse, paramedic, or hospital consultant breaches their duty of care to you, it may be medical negligence.

Any medical negligence in the A&E can lead to a misdiagnosis, treatment errors and, in some cases, the death of a loved one.

O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors can make your compensation claim* for A&E medical negligence.

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What is an A&E negligence claim?

An A&E negligence claim is for compensation for the injury suffered in the Emergency department due to medical negligence. You may suffer the misdiagnosis of a broken bone or the missed diagnosis of an infection, and you may claim compensation for the effects on your life.

There are over 105,000 claims for negligence against hospitals in Ireland each year. The Ireland East Hospital Group, including the 11 Dublin hospitals, have more than 26,000 claims against them each year, including for treatment errors and misdiagnosis in the Emergency departments. 

Adverse incidents in Irish hospitals have increased by nearly 30% in recent years due in no small part to A&E overcrowding and staff shortages. Patients come to harm in the A&E, possibly due to medical negligence by hospital staff. 

If you or a loved one suffers medical negligence in the hospital emergency department, it could affect your ability to work, care for your family, exercise, and play sport.

O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors have the experience to get you the compensation you deserve for the medical negligence.

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If you’ve suffered an injury or had an existing health condition made worse after clinical treatment, you may have suffered from medical negligence. That means you may be able to make a claim for compensation with the help of our expert solicitors.

Common claims for A&E negligence

Common claims for A&E negligence range from the failure to diagnose a broken bone on an X-ray to missed diagnosis of an infection in an ill child. The staff in the A&E must act quickly, but any medical negligence in decision-making and treating patients could lead to a compensation claim*.

Medical negligence is a breach of the duty of care to you by a medical professional, and you could have one of the common claims for A&E negligence if it happens to you.

Types of claims for A&E negligence in Ireland:

A missed diagnosis of an infection in the emergency department may cause you to become very sick, spend longer in recovery, and suffer unnecessary discomfort and pain. 

In some cases, you could need to spend time in hospital due to a missed diagnosis of an infection in the A&E.

Types of missed diagnosis of an infection claims:

  • Sepsis due to the missed diagnosis of an infection 
  • Missed diagnosis of a flu infection in a child
  • Missed diagnosis of septicaemia in an elderly parent

O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors can guide you through making a claim for A&E negligence.

A failure to order further tests in the Accident and Emergency department could waste valuable time in diagnosis and may even lead to a missed diagnosis of cancer or diabetes.

Blood tests are an invaluable tool in a medical emergency. The doctors may have an idea of why someone is ill, but a blood test can confirm a diagnosis and put the patient on the correct treatment path.

In the A&E department, doctors can order tests and make speedy diagnoses. Not ordering blood tests can be medical negligence, and you may have a compensation claim*.

A failure to inform the patient what is happening and why it is happening is not unusual in the busy A&E department. The patient may see many doctors and undergo many tests, but the medical professional must inform the patient of what is happening and ask for their permission to do a medical procedure.

Types of failure to inform claims from the A&E department:

  • Failure to inform a patient of the need for a blood test
  • Failure to inform a patient of the options for a medical procedure
  • Failure to inform the patient of the side effects of a medication

You may have a compensation claim* for Emergency department negligence for a case of failure to inform by the medical professional caring for you.

Giving the wrong medication to a patient in the A&E should not happen, and it would not occur if the medical professionals took a complete history and checked the patient’s medical records before treating them.

The wrong medication, even when given for the right reasons, could make the patient very ill and may cause an allergic reaction.

Claims for giving the wrong medication in A&E may be:

  • Prescribing penicillin to a patient who is allergic to it
  • Administering a second dose of a medication before it is due
  • Prescribing an antibiotic not strong enough for the diagnosed infection

The wrong medication may put a patient’s life in danger, and you could have a medical negligence compensation claim* if you suffer the side effects.

The misdiagnosis of an emergency condition is medical negligence, which could cause unnecessary suffering and could have a long-term effect on your life.

You are admitted to the A&E department because of your illness or even during a life-threatening situation. Medical negligence by the A&E staff can put your life in danger.

Types of misdiagnosis claims in the A&E negligence:

  • Misdiagnosis of a heart attack as indigestion
  • Misdiagnosis of sepsis, though the patient showed all the symptoms
  • Misdiagnosis of a stroke in the Emergency Department

Misdiagnosis could cost you in recovery time and may have you off work, without an income. You may have a compensation claim* for medical negligence due to a misdiagnosis in an emergency.

O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors in Dublin can make your compensation claim* for A&E negligence.

Compensation for A&E Negligence in Ireland

Compensation for A&E negligence in Ireland could see you receiving money to cover your costs and losses, as well as for the pain and other effects on your life due to medical negligence in the Emergency department.

When the A&E doctor, nurse and other medical professionals breach their duty of care to you it could be a claim for medical negligence. They may have put your life in danger and caused you unnecessary suffering, and in some cases, the effects could last for life, such as if you suffer a disability due to the medical negligence.

The compensation differs from claim to claim. You could be incapacitated for life and need full-time care due to the medical negligence, or you may be out of work and lose income to the home. 

There is not one fixed amount of compensation for medical negligence, and you seek compensation for your losses, known as damages, in a medical negligence claim.

In Ireland, a compensation claim* for medical negligence is a combination of two types of damages. 

What are damages in an A&E compensation claim*?

The two types of damages cover the immediate effects on your life and the impact on your future life. You claim damages for the pain and suffering as well as the damages of loss of income and if you need to make adaptions to the home and car and make other changes to your life.

The damage in a compensation claim* for A&E medical negligence in Ireland are:

General damages in an A&E negligence claim are compensation for the Loss of Amenity in your life. The loss of amenity can be from the reaction to receiving the wrong medication in the A&E or from the broken leg, which did not set due to the missed diagnosis in the Emergency department.

A loss of amenity can be seen in a difficulty walking, exercising, or getting to work. 

You can also claim for the Pain and Suffering experienced due to a breach of the duty of care to you when in A&E by the medical professional treating you.

The special damages in an A&E negligence claim cover the extra costs in your life due to the injury caused by the medical negligence in A&E. You could suffer due to the missed infection when very ill or the injury caused by the doctor making a misdiagnosis of a stroke.

Special damages in the A&E negligence compensation claim* are:

  • Medical costs
  • Loss of earnings
  • Travel costs 
  • Cost of care
  • Further treatment costs
  • Cost of aids and equipment 

The A&E medical negligence claim in Ireland seeks compensation for the two damages due to a medical professional’s breach of duty of care.

O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors will be there with you when making an A&E compensation claim*.

How to make an A&E negligence claim in Ireland

To make an A&E negligence claim in Ireland, you can follow the straightforward steps from contacting a solicitor to form the case and deal with the insurers of the medical professional.

At O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors, we have the experience in medical negligence litigation to handle your claim and to make it as easy as possible for you.

Taking the steps to a successful compensation claim* may seem daunting initially, but with the right team, you can claim for the injuries suffered due to medical negligence.

We can help you at every step of the way when making an A&E medical negligence compensation claim*. 

Talking with a medical negligence solicitor is the first step and is the best way to put your mind at rest when starting a compensation claim*.

O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors will listen to the details of your medical negligence claim and show you how you may get the compensation you deserve.

Every medical negligence claim is unique. In an A&E compensation claim*, your life may have been in danger, and you could still be suffering the effects of the negligence on your life.

Our solicitors can build your case based on your experience and we will take the time needed to get everything right for you.

You start your compensation claim* process with your solicitor by getting the facts and evidence together and ready for submission.

The solicitor will tell you what evidence they need, including your medical records, the notes from the time of the A&E negligence and all the other details relevant to your claim.

We have medical experts to call upon to help form your claim and can advise on the different aspects of the medical negligence and its possible effects on your life.

When your solicitor is satisfied they have all that is needed, they can submit your compensation claim* to the negligent party. 

Submitting the letter of claim to the negligent party is the next step in the medical negligence claims process.

The solicitor lays out the details of your claim, explaining the effects of the medical negligence, how it has impacted your life, and how it will affect your life in the future.

In an A&E negligence claim in Ireland, the negligent party could be the HSE, the paramedic in the ambulance or the HSE hospital responsible for Emergency department care.

In a case of medical negligence in Ireland, the letter of claim will be handled by the insurers of the negligent party.

The reply to your letter of claim from the negligent party should usually be made within a matter of weeks or months. Your solicitor will receive the letter and discuss the contents with you.

In some cases of A&E negligence, the HSE or hospital authority may admit to the negligence and offer compensation based on the evidence and the letter sent by your solicitor. 

In many cases, though, they will deny liability for your medical negligence claim.

The need to go to court could be the next step if the negligent party denies responsibility for the medical negligence. 

You may need to consider court also if they do not offer an acceptable level of compensation for your A&E negligence.

Going to court may be the next step when the negligent party denies responsibility for the details of your claim, or you feel you should receive more in compensation.

In Ireland court proceedings are rare for medical negligence but not unheard of in many claims. Your medical negligecne solicitor will be prepared for the need to go to court.

Your solicitor in these claims may look to gather further evidence to support your medical negligence compensation claim*, which makes it even more difficult for the negligent party to deny responsibility. 

We find a medical negligence claim is usually settled in the days before the court case or even on the steps of the court on the morning of the claim. The negligent party hopes you will back down and be intimidated by going to court, but O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors will be there for you.

If the court case is successful, the process of paying compensation for medical negligence will follow. 

Do I need a solicitor to make my medical negligence claim?

You do not need a solicitor to make a medical negligence claim, but the right solicitor will make the compensation claim* process a lot easier for you.

The right medical negligence solicitor will know how to make the best claim. They will know what evidence you need and how to present it. A good medical negligence solicitor will also know what questions to ask you when getting an idea of your losses due to medical negligence.

A solicitor will also have the experience of dealing with insurance companies and the HSE. Knowing who to talk to and not be intimidated by the other side is an essential skill in fighting a successful medical negligence compensation claim*..

Make a medical negligence claim today

Make a medical negligence claim today by contacting O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors in Dublin.

We have the experience in medical negligence and can fight your A&E negligence claim until you get the compensation you deserve. 

You are the one with the incorrectly set broken leg or who suffered the stroke when it was avoidable, and you should get the compensation.

O’Reilly Doherty & Co Solicitors have the team in place to make the compensation claim* and will be with you at every step of the claims process.

Contact O’Reilly Doherty & Co medical negligence solicitors to make your A&E negligence claim today.

Medical Negligence Claim Types

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