If you have been harmed by medical care, the hard part is rarely the suspicion that something went wrong. It is knowing whether what happened is something the law recognises as negligence — and what it would take to prove it. This page sets out the building blocks plainly, so you can see where your situation might sit.
A medical negligence claim is not about a bad outcome on its own. Medicine carries risk, and even careful treatment can fail. A claim is about care that fell below the standard you were entitled to, where that failure caused you harm. To succeed, you generally need to establish four things.
1. A duty of care
The first element is usually the most straightforward. A doctor, nurse, hospital or other health practitioner who treats you owes you a duty to take reasonable care. This duty exists because of the treating relationship, so in most cases it is not in dispute.
2. A breach — care that fell below the standard
The second element is where most claims are won or lost. You have to show that the care you received fell below the standard expected of a reasonable practitioner in the same field.
For most treatment and diagnosis, the law asks whether the practitioner acted in a way that was widely accepted by a significant number of respected peers as competent professional practice — the "peer professional opinion" standard. In plain terms: would a respected body of practitioners in the same specialty have done what your practitioner did. If a competent peer would have acted differently, that points to a breach.
Failure to warn is treated differently. A practitioner has a separate duty to warn you of a material risk before you consent to treatment — a risk that a reasonable person in your position would likely consider significant, or one the practitioner knew you would care about. Here the question is decided by the court, not by what other practitioners would have disclosed. If you were not told of a material risk, and you would have made a different decision had you known, that can be a breach.
3. Causation — the breach caused the harm
It is not enough that care was substandard. You also have to connect that failure to your injury. The usual test is whether, but for the breach, the harm would have happened anyway.
This is often the most contested element, because illness and complications can have several causes. The question is whether the practitioner's failure caused or materially contributed to the harm you actually suffered — not whether your underlying condition was serious to begin with.
4. Damage — a real loss
Finally, you must have suffered actual harm or loss as a result. That can be a physical injury, a recognised psychiatric injury, the cost of further treatment, lost income, or the need for ongoing care. Without compensable loss, even careless treatment may not support a claim. What you can recover is covered in What compensation can you claim.
How it is actually proven
These elements are established with evidence, not argument. Two things do most of the work.
Your medical records. Hospital, GP, specialist and allied-health records are the contemporaneous account of what was done and when. They are usually the strongest evidence of the treatment relationship and the care you received. You have a right to access your own records, and obtaining a complete set is one of the first steps in any claim.
Independent expert opinion. Courts rely heavily on independent medical experts — practitioners in the relevant specialty who review the records and give an opinion on whether the care met the expected standard, and whether any failure caused the harm. Without supportive expert opinion, a claim rarely proceeds. With it, the claim has a foundation that can be tested.
This is where the work sits, and where the cost of finding out has traditionally turned people away. Reviewing records and forming a view is careful, methodical work. We use technology to do the heavy lifting of organising and reviewing records, so a lawyer can reach a clear view sooner — and so a genuine claim is not abandoned simply because of what it costs to investigate.
The high-level process
Most claims follow a similar shape: gather and review the records, obtain independent expert opinion on standard of care and causation, quantify the loss, and — where the evidence supports it — put the case to the other side. Many claims resolve by negotiation or a formal offer without ever reaching a trial. You can read how we approach each stage in How it works.
A note on time limits
Medical negligence claims are subject to strict time limits, and they can be shorter than people expect. Acting early protects your records and your options. See Time limits for medical negligence claims for the detail.
Where to start
You do not need to know whether all four elements are met before you ask. Working that out is our job, not yours. The assessment is free, and you will get a plain answer either way — if your claim is viable, we tell you how we would pursue it; if it is not, you still get a clear explanation. There are no guaranteed outcomes, and no obligation to go further.
If you think something went wrong with your care, the next step is simple: start a free assessment. We will look at your situation and tell you plainly where it stands — no obligation, and no guaranteed outcomes.