Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt Colonoscopy Recall: Should You Investigate a Claim?

5 min · Medical negligence

If you were recalled after a colonoscopy performed or supervised by Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt, and you later needed further treatment or learned that something had been missed, you should have your potential claim investigated.

The recall affected 1,934 patients in the Albury–Wodonga region. In July 2026, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Dr Schmidt guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct.

Those findings are serious. But they do not answer what happened in your care.

A recall is not an answer. Your records may be.

Who was recalled?

The recall covered patients who had a colonoscopy performed or supervised by Dr Schmidt between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022 at:

Albury Wodonga Health;
Albury Wodonga Private Hospital; or
Insight Private Hospital at The Gardens Medical Centre.

Safer Care Victoria arranged 1,750 clinical reviews, 1,443 specialist consultations and 1,084 repeat colonoscopies. Preventative treatment was provided to 548 people. Seven patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer after a repeat colonoscopy.

Safer Care Victoria was careful about what those diagnoses proved. It could not determine whether the cancers should have been detected in the original procedures or developed later. That question can only be answered patient by patient.

What did the Tribunal find?

The Tribunal examined Dr Schmidt's care of 13 patients. Its findings included incomplete or inadequately documented colonoscopies, a failure to detect a large colorectal cancer, and failures in surgical and post-operative care.

The Tribunal found Dr Schmidt guilty of professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct. It suspended her registration for six months and imposed conditions on any return to practice.

The decision was a disciplinary proceeding. It did not award compensation or decide whether every recalled patient has a medical negligence claim.

When should you investigate a claim?

You should consider an individual review if treatment by Dr Schmidt was followed by:

a cancer or other condition that may have been missed;
an unexpected need for further treatment or surgery;
a complication, injury or return to theatre;
a serious delay in diagnosis or care; or
ongoing physical or psychological harm.

Being part of the recall does not automatically establish a claim. You still need evidence that your care fell below the required standard and that this caused you harm. But you do not need to work that out alone before asking for help.

The useful starting documents are usually your original colonoscopy or operation report, procedure images, pathology results, recall records, repeat-procedure records and any later diagnosis or treatment records. Together, they show what was done, what may have been missed and whether the outcome changed because of it.

You can read more about that evidence in How to establish a medical negligence claim.

Why Clever Legal exists

Many people with genuine concerns never get a clear answer. Their claim may be expensive to investigate, or the likely compensation may not be large enough for a traditional firm to justify the work. That is an economics problem, not necessarily a problem with the claim.

Clever Legal is built for that gap. Our technology does the heavy work of organising and reviewing medical records. Our lawyers review the evidence and make every legal decision. This lets us investigate claims that might otherwise be turned away before anyone properly understands them.

The assessment is free. If the evidence supports a claim, we tell you how we would pursue it. If it does not, we still tell you plainly why, so you are not left wondering.

Get your own answer

If you suffered harm after a colonoscopy or surgery performed by Dr Schmidt, start a free assessment. Tell us when and where you were treated, what happened afterwards and what further care you needed.

There is no obligation and no guaranteed outcome. The first step is simply to find out whether your records support a claim.

Medical negligence claims are subject to time limits, and treatment in the Albury–Wodonga region may involve Victorian or New South Wales law. Do not assume the recall stopped a legal deadline. See Time limits for medical negligence claims and check early.