If you or someone you love has been harmed by medical negligence, you may be entitled to significant compensation.
With over 26 years of experience and thousands of successful claims, our specialist medical negligence lawyers in South Australia know how to build the strongest possible case.
Contact us today for a free case review — we work on a No Win No Fee basis and will clearly explain your options.
You’ll find our office in Adelaide CBD, on Level 5 of City Central, Tower 2, 121 King William Street.
Unable to visit us in person? Our lawyers also offer free phone and video consultations anywhere in South Australia.
With decades of experience and the title of Compensation Law Firm of the Year, our South Australian team knows what it takes to give you the best chance of success.
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If you’ve been harmed by poor medical care, you may be able to claim compensation. To find out where you stand, you can check your eligibility in minutes with our free online claim checker or call to speak directly with a South Australian medical negligence lawyer for free advice.
If you’d like to understand medical negligence claims in more detail, the questions below explain the key things that determine whether you may have a case.
Most people think medical negligence is simply receiving poor care — legally, it’s more specific. Under the Civil Liability Act 1936 (SA),[1] a successful claim requires proving four things:
You may be able to make a medical negligence claim if:
Medical negligence can happen in any area of healthcare. We regularly handle claims involving:
This isn’t an exhaustive list. If your care was provided by someone not listed here, you may still have a claim — contact us to see if we can hold them accountable.
Proving medical negligence is complex and almost always requires a specialist lawyer. Here’s how we build a successful case for you:
Together, this evidence gives us everything we need to build a clear, persuasive case for the compensation you deserve.
In South Australia, two key time limits apply to your medical negligence claim:
1. Notice of Injury requirement
Under the Uniform Civil Rules 2020,[2] you must serve a written Notice of Injury on the medical professional. This must be done within either:
The Notice of Injury informs the medical professional that you intend to make a claim and allows them to start preparing their records and response.
2. Three-year limitation period
You must generally start court proceedings within three years of the injury. However, if the injury remained hidden for a period of time (known as a latent injury), the three-year period generally begins when the injury first came to your knowledge.[3]
Exceptions to these time limits
The following situations may extend or pause the usual time limits:
What if I’m outside the time limit?
Even if the usual deadlines have passed, you may still be able to apply to the court for extra time. Courts may grant extensions where important facts about the claim could not reasonably have been discovered earlier, the delay wasn’t your fault, or there are other compelling circumstances.
Our South Australian medical negligence lawyers regularly handle these extension applications and can quickly tell you whether a claim is still possible.
We handle all types of medical negligence cases across South Australia. Below are some of the most common situations — but if yours isn’t listed, you may still have a claim. Speak with us and we’ll let you know where you stand.
Your GP is usually the first doctor you see when you’re unwell. If issues are missed or managed poorly at this stage, it can delay diagnosis and affect every step of your treatment that follows. GP errors can include:
When a condition is misdiagnosed or not identified early enough, it can lead to serious complications or limit your treatment options.
Commonly missed or delayed diagnoses include cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and serious infections (such as sepsis and pneumonia).
Some of the specialists we commonly bring negligence claims against include:
Surgical negligence can happen before, during, or after a procedure. It may involve:
These failures can cause serious harm, including the need for further surgery, long-term disability, or in severe cases, death.
Complications during pregnancy, labour or delivery can cause serious injury for both mother and baby. If negligent care was a factor, you may be entitled to compensation. Some of the more common matters our birth injury lawyers handle include:
These cases usually involve a doctor prescribing the wrong medication or dose, or not warning you about known risks or interactions (e.g., overlooking allergies). Errors can also occur at the pharmacy, such as dispensing the wrong drug or giving incorrect instructions.
Negligence in hospitals or inpatient facilities can take many forms — from failure to monitor a patient properly, to communication breakdowns between staff, preventable falls, poor hygiene or infection control, or inadequate post-operative care.
Gynaecological errors can occur in many situations, such as during hysterectomies or laparoscopic procedures, or when contraceptive devices like IUDs or implants are inserted or removed. These errors can have serious consequences — including bowel or bladder injury, chronic pelvic pain, the need for further treatment, or impacts on your fertility or overall health.
Dental errors can take many forms — from removing the wrong tooth or damaging nearby teeth, to infections caused by poor hygiene or inadequate sterilisation.
Claims are more likely to proceed where the injury has lasting consequences, such as permanent numbness, chronic pain, or a noticeable impact on chewing, speaking, or appearance.
Short-term problems that resolve easily are less likely to be worth pursuing — the legal costs and time involved often outweigh what you’d receive in compensation.
In the most serious cases, medical negligence can lead to the loss of a loved one. If you’ve experienced this kind of loss, you may be entitled to compensation. We can guide you through your options and what happens next.
Find out if you’re eligible for medical negligence compensation. It only takes a couple of minutes — and it’s completely confidential.
Every case is different, but most of our successful medical negligence claims settle somewhere between $450,000 and $750,000. Smaller claims do settle below this range, while serious, life-changing injuries can result in much higher compensation.
In rare cases across South Australia, compensation can reach up to $9.5 million,[7] but only where the injuries are extreme and permanent. Your exact compensation depends on things like the seriousness of your injuries, time off work, care needs, and other losses.
In tragic cases where negligent treatment leads to a patient’s death, family members may be able to bring a wrongful death claim for their loss.
The greater the impact on your ability to work, the higher this part of your compensation is likely to be. This includes time already taken off work and any reduction in your future earning capacity — whether that's cutting back hours, taking a lower-paid role, or stopping work altogether.
Our lawyers use payslips, tax returns, and medical evidence to accurately calculate your lost income, including superannuation.
Pain and suffering compensation recognises the physical pain, emotional distress, and reduced enjoyment of life caused by your injury.
In South Australia, you must meet certain thresholds before you can claim pain and suffering damages. Generally, this means either your injury significantly affected your ability to lead a normal life for at least seven days, or your medical expenses exceed the statutory threshold (adjusted annually for inflation).[8]
If you qualify, an independent medical expert will assess your injury and assign an Injury Scale Value (ISV) between 0 and 60. The higher the ISV, the greater the amount of compensation available. The final amount is calculated under the Civil Liability Act 1936 (SA)[8] and adjusted for inflation at the time of your claim.
Medical expenses compensation covers costs such as treatment, surgery, hospital stays, medication, rehabilitation, and equipment — both what you've already paid and the ongoing care you'll need in the future.
Care and support compensation covers the help you need in daily life as a result of your injuries — from professional care such as paid carers or nursing services, to unpaid support from family or friends with things like personal care, transport, meals, and household tasks.
Home modifications such as ramps, rails, or bathroom alterations are also claimable if your injuries require changes to your home.
You can be reimbursed for reasonable expenses related to your injury, including travel to medical appointments, hospital parking, and other out-of-pocket costs.
It's worth keeping receipts and records from the start — even small expenses can add up over time and be claimed.
We run all medical negligence claims on a No Win No Fee basis. If your claim succeeds, our fees are paid from your settlement — the exact amount varies depending on the complexity of your case, and we’ll explain this clearly in a written costs agreement before you decide to go ahead.
Our No Win No Fee promise means exactly what it says — if your claim isn’t successful, you pay nothing. You’ll never receive a bill.
You don’t need to pay anything to get started. We cover all costs required to run your claim.
When your claim succeeds, we usually recover most legal costs from the other side — so more money ends up in your pocket.
It's unlikely — we won't take on your claim unless we genuinely believe it will succeed, which is why we've successfully resolved 98% of the claims we handle.
But if we don't win, you pay nothing — zero fees, zero case expenses, and zero liability for the other side's costs. We cover everything, no matter what.
Our legal costs are paid from your settlement — not your pocket. In most cases, we recover a significant portion of these costs from the other side, meaning the majority of your compensation stays with you.
There are times when the other side may pay less (or even none) of these costs. In those instances, the balance is simply covered by your settlement. Regardless of the outcome, you still walk away with a substantial payout. For more detail on how legal costs are calculated, see below.
Your exact legal costs depend on how complex your case is. Some cases settle within months with clear evidence, while others take years and require multiple experts and extended negotiations.
Your total legal costs are made up of three parts: our professional fees, disbursements, and barrister fees (if needed).
Our professional fees are based on the time and work our lawyers spend running your claim. Disbursements are costs paid to third parties to build your case — such as medical reports, expert opinions, and court filing fees. Barrister fees apply if your case requires one, typically for complex matters or court hearings.
Before we begin, you'll receive a clear written costs agreement breaking down exactly how your legal costs will be calculated — so there are no surprises.
Your path to compensation starts here. Speak with our South Australian medical negligence lawyers and go from having questions to knowing where you stand.
Reach out by phone or use our online claim checker to see if you may have a case.
We’ll ask about what happened, the impact on your health, and how the incident has affected your daily life, so we can assess the strength of your claim.
You will speak with one of our medical negligence lawyers in a free, confidential consultation. They will review your case, answer your questions, and guide you on what to do next.
If we believe your case has a strong chance of success, we’ll offer to take it on — and handle everything from negotiations through to court if required, on a No Win No Fee basis.
Medical negligence claims involve a lot of moving parts, but we manage the entire process for you. While many people worry about going to court, most South Australian claims settle well before that becomes necessary. Here’s how you can expect your claim to go.
The first step is to formally notify the medical professional you believe caused your injury. Under the Uniform Civil Rules 2020,[2] you generally have six months from the date of the injury to serve a written Notice of Injury.
If you did not realise you had been injured at the time — or did not know the treatment may have been negligent — this deadline can be extended. In those circumstances, the notice must generally be served within one month of becoming aware of the injury or its possible connection to substandard medical care.
To comply with South Australia's pre-claim requirements, the Notice of Injury must include specific information about the treatment, the alleged negligence, and the injuries you have suffered.
Our lawyers handle the entire process on your behalf — obtaining the relevant medical records, preparing the Notice of Injury, gathering supporting evidence, and ensuring everything is served correctly and on time. This ensures your claim can progress without unnecessary delays.
After the Notice of Injury is served, the medical professional generally has six weeks to respond with a Respondent's Notice.[9]
As part of this process, they must provide important information and documents relating to your treatment, including medical records, clinical notes, test results, relevant policies, and their position on liability.
This early exchange of information helps us understand how the medical professional intends to defend the claim and identify any issues in dispute.
We then gather the evidence needed to prove your claim. This includes obtaining your medical records and working with respected medical specialists to identify where the care you received fell below accepted standards.
Once we understand what happened, we assess how it has affected your health, your ability to work, and your day-to-day life to determine what your claim may be worth.
This gives us a strong, evidence-based foundation to pursue the full compensation you may be entitled to.
Once the evidence and expert opinions are in place, we prepare and file the formal court documents needed to start your medical negligence claim.
This involves preparing detailed legal documents that clearly set out what went wrong, how that negligence has affected your life, and the compensation you are seeking — all structured to meet strict court requirements.
In South Australia, this also includes certifying on the claim that the required pre-action steps have been completed.[10]
Our lawyers handle every technical and legal step so you don't have to, and make sure everything is lodged within the required South Australian time limits.
We negotiate with the insurer and their lawyers on your behalf to reach a fair settlement. In South Australia, those discussions will often include a pre-action meeting, where both sides come together to discuss the dispute and explore settlement before court proceedings begin.
We put forward a strong, persuasive case and negotiate hard to achieve the best possible outcome. If an agreement is reached, your claim ends there and you receive your compensation without ever going to court.
Most medical negligence claims settle before they ever reach a courtroom. But if the insurer denies responsibility or won’t make a fair offer, we’ll take your case to court.
Insurers know which law firms are genuinely prepared to go the distance and which ones will back down. When they know you’re backed by a team that is prepared to fight your case through to court, they take your claim far more seriously — and that gives you stronger negotiating power from the start.
If your case does proceed to court, all that earlier work pays off. We’ve already gathered the medical records, engaged the right experts, and carefully organised the evidence. We then present a clear, persuasive case that a judge can easily follow, giving you the best possible chance of a good outcome.
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for — when your compensation is finally paid and you have real financial security moving forward.
Once a settlement is reached, the insurer pays the money into our trust account as required by law. We then prepare a clear statement showing the total compensation, any deductions including our agreed legal costs, and the final amount being transferred to you. Everything is calculated in line with the costs agreement you signed at the start — no surprises. Once everything is checked, we transfer the funds directly into your bank account.
That brings your medical negligence claim to a close. If we’ve identified any other claims you may be eligible for — such as a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) claim — we’ll continue to run those separately.
Tell us what happened. We will listen, answer your questions, and help you understand whether you have a claim and what to do next.
Find answers to common questions about medical negligence claims in South Australia.
Most medical negligence claims in South Australia take around 1–2 years. Some finish sooner, and more complex cases can take longer, but the timing usually comes down to a few things:
It’s a long process, but we handle everything to keep it as stress-free as possible. And for most clients, the wait pays off with life-changing compensation.
In South Australia, it’s very rare for a medical negligence claim to go all the way to trial. Almost all are resolved through negotiation well before a courtroom is involved. Only around 3% are finalised by a court decision.[11] Pre-trial negotiation is compulsory, and insurers are usually motivated to settle because running a medical negligence trial is expensive, time-consuming and exposes them to much higher financial risk if they lose.
You’re allowed to represent yourself in a medical negligence claim, but it’s very hard to run one without a lawyer. These claims rely on independent medical experts, detailed court documents, strict deadlines, and compulsory negotiation steps, and insurers defend them with experienced lawyers and their own experts.
Self-represented people usually can’t access the expert evidence these claims require, and many end up settling for far less than the claim is worth. Without proper evidence and legal support, it’s difficult to prove negligence, meet the technical requirements, or negotiate a fair outcome — which is why almost all medical negligence claims in South Australia are run by specialist lawyers.
Yes — medical negligence claims are difficult to win. In South Australia, around half of these claims don’t end in a successful outcome. The burden of proof is high, and insurers challenge the evidence aggressively because they’re trying to avoid paying out large settlements — often in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
At our firm, we maintain a 98% success rate because we’re selective. We only take on cases where a thorough investigation confirms a realistic chance of success. This protects our clients from investing years of their time, a huge amount of emotional energy, and potentially significant legal costs into a claim that either isn’t strong enough to succeed or wouldn’t deliver meaningful compensation even if it did.
Yes, you can change lawyers at any stage of a medical negligence claim if you’re unhappy with how things are going. You’re not stuck with your current lawyer.
The process is usually straightforward. Once you decide to switch, your new lawyer handles the changeover, with only a short delay while they get up to speed.
Changing lawyers doesn’t mean starting again. Your new lawyer takes over from where things are up to and uses the medical records, reports, and other work already obtained.
Your previous lawyer is entitled to payment for work already done, but you generally won’t need to pay anything upfront to switch. These costs are usually resolved at the end of the claim if it succeeds, with your new lawyer arranging this directly with the old firm so you don’t pay twice for the same work.
If you’re considering switching lawyers or have concerns about how your case is being handled, you can contact our medical negligence lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your options.
Yes, you can still make a claim after you’ve recovered, but the real question is whether it’s worth it. If you got better quickly and your losses were minor, the compensation available is usually too low to justify the time, cost, and effort of proving negligence. In many fully-recovered cases, the legal costs can end up outweighing what you’d get back.
But recovery doesn't rule out a claim entirely. If the negligence caused significant losses — such as a long time off work — it may still be worth pursuing.
Yes, if more than one provider was a significant factor in causing your injury, they can all be included in the same claim. But you can't be paid twice — the law doesn't allow it. Having multiple negligent parties doesn't increase the total compensation you receive; you're still paid once for your total losses, and the defendants sort out between themselves who ultimately pays what.
In South Australia, this works under joint and several liability, which means you can recover the full amount of your compensation from any negligent provider. They may each contribute a portion, or one may pay the entire amount and seek contribution from the others afterwards.
Yes, but only if you've suffered a recognised psychiatric illness, such as PTSD or clinical depression, with a clear link to negligent medical care. Normal grief, distress, or frustration isn't enough under South Australian law.[12] A formal diagnosis is required, so if you're experiencing ongoing symptoms, it's worth speaking with a mental health professional.
If your psychological condition developed because you were physically injured, this is known as consequential mental harm. These claims are generally easier to run, even if the physical injury later heals, because the injury and timing help explain how the psychiatric condition developed.
If you weren’t physically injured, claiming pure mental harm is harder. A rude or upsetting interaction with a doctor won’t meet the legal test. When pure mental harm claims do succeed, they tend to involve a sudden, traumatic shock event — for example, being present when negligent treatment seriously injures or kills someone close to you, or witnessing the immediate aftermath. These cases require both proximity to the event and a close family relationship.
Don’t assume you’re ineligible. If you’re unsure whether your situation could qualify, a quick chat with a lawyer can help you work out where you stand.
Yes, but not in the usual way. You can't start a standard medical negligence claim after someone has died, but families may still have options through wrongful death or nervous shock claims depending on their situation.
A wrongful death claim seeks compensation for the financial support and the help around the home your loved one would have provided if they were still alive. There is also the option of a nervous shock claim if you develop a recognised psychiatric illness because of their death.
If a medical negligence claim was already underway before the person died, the estate may be able to continue it, but only for the financial losses they experienced while they were alive. In a normal personal injury claim, damages can include things like pain and suffering or future loss of income, but the law doesn’t allow those once someone has died. This means any ongoing claim becomes limited to pre-death expenses and earnings.
These claims can be complex, and everyone’s situation is different. A brief conversation with a lawyer can help you understand your options and what compensation may be available.
Signing a consent form doesn’t mean you’ve accepted negligent treatment. Consent is about giving permission and acknowledging general risks — it doesn’t cover mistakes. If your injury happened because the treatment wasn’t carried out with proper care, the consent form doesn’t stop you from bringing a medical negligence claim.
How the consent was obtained can also matter. If key risks or alternatives weren’t clearly explained, that can support your claim and show you weren’t properly informed before agreeing to the procedure. These cases are very fact-specific, so it’s worth getting legal advice rather than assuming the form has closed the door.
Most people don’t have their medical records when they first contact us. You can still speak with us and start the process.
Before we can take you on as a client, we may need to confirm a few details about your treatment. This is usually just a short report or letter from your doctor, and they’re legally required to provide it. We’ll tell you exactly what you need and how to get it.
Once you become a client, we take over. We help you request all your medical records from hospitals, GPs and specialists, follow up delays, and make sure nothing is missed. You won't be left chasing paperwork on your own.
No, a medical negligence claim is about compensation, not punishment. It does not affect whether a doctor can keep working.
A doctor is only at risk of being restricted or stopped from working through a separate complaints process. In South Australia, complaints about health service providers — including hospitals, clinics, and individual practitioners — can be made to the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner (HCSCC).[13] The HCSCC focuses on resolving service quality and safety complaints.
For concerns about a registered health practitioner's conduct or fitness to practise, complaints can also be made to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA),[14] which works with the Medical Board of Australia[15] and can impose conditions, suspend, or cancel a practitioner's registration where patient safety is at risk.
You can pursue both compensation (a claim) and accountability (a complaint), but the order matters. We recommend getting legal advice before lodging a formal complaint. Complaints require you to set out your version of events in writing. If mistakes are made, this can undermine your compensation claim and complicate settlement negotiations. In some cases, settlements are reached on the understanding that the dispute remains private or that no formal complaint is pursued. Making a complaint first can limit your ability to resolve a medical negligence claim on the best possible compensation terms.
In some cases, yes. Medical negligence claims are rarely black and white. Different lawyers can look at the same facts and reach different conclusions. We’ve successfully represented hundreds of people who were previously told they didn’t have a case.
Sometimes a ‘no’ is correct — but other times, it simply means the case wasn’t properly investigated. If you’d like a second opinion, we can review your case for free.
Medical negligence is one of the most technically challenging areas of law — so you need a law firm up to the challenge. Our dedicated medical negligence lawyers use proven legal strategies and specialist medical knowledge to prepare your case and get you the compensation you deserve.
We have an extensive network of medical experts providing independent examinations, reports and testimony to bolster your case.
Voted “Compensation Law Firm of the Year in Australia 2026”, we’re industry leaders with the expertise to win even the most complex of claims.
Speak to us today for free, comprehensive legal advice. Find out where you stand, how we can assist with your claim, and the best strategy to maximise your final payout.
Leon Monaco & Team Member
