Our specialist medical negligence lawyers provide legal assistance for men (and their families) who have suffered injury or disability as a result of clinical errors. Our solicitors have expertise in personal injury compensation claims involving men’s health, including :-

• failure to diagnose
• misdiagnosis
• failure to conduct appropriate tests (blood tests, scans, biopsies)
• pathology results incorrectly reported
• failure to follow-up on test results
• failure to advise patients of test results
• failure to refer to a specialist
• negligent medical treatment
• negligently performed surgery
• failure to diagnose and/or treat complications

If you are concerned that you have suffered from medical negligence, you should seek legal advice today. Our service is available to men who have suffered as a result of substandard medical treatment. Compensation may be available for your personal injury. Time limits apply in making legal claims. Don’t delay in seeking legal advice. Call our medical negligence lawyers helpline or complete our on-line Contact Form today for obligation-free legal help.

Our medical negligence solicitors have offices situated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, and Sydney. Do yourself justice - give us a call.

Prostate Cancer: Misdiagnosis

Failure to diagnose prostate cancer is a common medical negligence claim that our lawyers deal with. Unfortunately, the consequences of misdiagnosis may mean that commencement of proper treatment is delayed. The sooner your prostate cancer is treated, the better the outcome for you.

Examples of where your doctor may have acted negligently include failure to :-

• order prostate specific antigen (psa) testing
• act on abnormally elevated psa values
• perform a digital rectal exam
• act on abnormal exams
• refer you to a specialist, such as a urologist or oncologist
• recommend appropriate treatment options
• notify you of your abnormal test results
• follow-up with the patient
• order or perform a biopsy when the routine prostate examination and/or psa blood test results are abnormal

Need legal help? Contact us today for advice.

Prostate Cancer: Negligent Treatment

Our medical negligence lawyers also deal with claims involving negligent prostate cancer treatment. All surgical procedures carry risks and most complication relate to the treatment, and not to any negligence. However, in some cases, negligence may be proven if :

• the surgery was incompetently performed, resulting in injury
• there was a failure to obtain informed consent before the surgery
• the surgery was not indicated for the particular patient
• complications during and after surgery were not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner

Examples of prostate cancer surgery :-

• transurethral resection of the prostate (turp) using electrical or laser energy
• radical prostatectomy. surgical approach may vary (retropubic, perineal or robotic)
• laparoscopic prostate surgery

Examples of complications from surgery (which may or may not be the result of negligence):-

• injury to the ureter, urinary retention, bleeding, infection, retrograde ejaculation, urinary sphincter injury, erectile dysfunction, renal injury, incontinence, impotence, rectal injury
• complications from anaesthetic
• death

Testis Cancer (testicular cancer)

Testis cancer can progress very quickly, and therefore it is important that it is diagnosed as early as possible. Misdiagnosis of testis cancer commonly occurs because of :-

• :
• failure by your doctor to adequately examine the testes
• failure to order imaging/scans to rule out a testis mass
• failure to refer urgently to a specialist
• claims have been made by patients who were treated with multiple courses of antibiotics for presumed epididymitis who in fact had testicular carcinoma

Testicular Torsion

Acute onset of testicular pain in young males is generally considered to be torsion until proven otherwise. Your doctor needs to undertake a thorough examination, arrange for ultrasound scans and surgery where necessary, to avoid loss of the involved testis. Testicular torsion should also be considered as a possible diagnosis even when the patients age, history or physical findings are atypical.

Scrotal Masses

Sometimes scrotal masses are misdiagnosed as being non-cancerous. Scrotal masses should be carefully examined to rule-out potential malignancy. When a cancer is missed, the result may be delayed proper treatment and therefore a poorer prognosis.

Non-cancerous scrotal masses should also be treated in an appropriate and timely manner. Non-cancerous masses such as varicocele, hydrocele and spermatocele can grow in size, causing pain and infertility. Surgery in some cases may be an elective procedure, and it is important that the patient be adequately informed of the risks and benefits of the procedure. Recurrence, chronic pain, infection, testicular atrophy and loss, and epididymal obstruction are possible complications of scrotal surgery.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)

If you present to your doctor with signs and symptoms of an STD, your doctor has a duty of care to investigate those symptoms and provide appropriate treatment. Claims have been made where patients have been misdiagnosed as having non-infective conditions like dermatitis, when in fact they have an STD like genital herpes and subsequently went on to unknowingly infect others. Some cases have involved a failure to diagnose HIV and AIDS. The consequences of unknowingly infecting your partner may be devastating.

Vasectomy

Legal claims can result from complications of the procedure including injury to or loss of the testis, chronic inflammation or pain. Sometimes the vasectomy fails due to re-canalisation of the vas deferens resulting in fertility and unwanted pregnancy. Many men do not follow up with semen analyses after vasectomy. It is important that you follow-up with postoperative semen analyses.

This is a complicated area of law that does not always result in a possible cause of action in negligence. A solicitor can determine if you can take legal action.

Circumcision

Negligence cases involving paediatric or adult circumcision are rare. Informed consent should be obtained. The patient should be informed of various complications that can occur after circumcision including bleeding and hematoma formation which can have undesired consequences such as chronic pain, sexual dysfunction, tethering, infection and ejaculatory latency. Injury to the urethra, glans penis and meatus can all occur during a circumcision.

Erectile Dysfunction Treatments

There are many medications and procedures being offered these days to treat erectile dysfunction. All of these treatments carry significant risks. Some of these medications can have dangerous side effects and cardiac interactions. Some of these complications have resulted in death. Patients should be informed of material risks when these medications are prescribed by their doctor. The implantation of a penile prosthesis carries risks- they can become infected or fail, resulting in re-operation and possible removal, resulting in recurrent impotence. Some of these procedures are being performed by inexperienced surgeons who fail to obtain informed consent and/or perform the procedure poorly. Patients should be advised of the potential for chronic pain, deformity, impotence and penile shortening even in properly functioning devices.

Peyronie’s Disease

Peyronie's disease (which causes curvature of the penis) is usually self-limiting, but may require re-constructive procedures or placement of a penile implant. Sometimes surgeons push for patients to have a procedure, when the patient hasn't even tried conservative management. Surgery for Peyronies disease can result in chronic pain, deformity, shortening, numbness and impotence.

Medical Negligence Lawyer - Mens Health

We have listed above, examples of negligence claims specific to men. There are of course many other types of medical negligence that men (and women) may fall victim to. Other claims our solicitors have dealt with include: failure to diagnose and appropriately treat a heart attack, stroke, brain injury, spinal injury, cauda equina syndrome, compartment syndrome, disc herniation, knee surgery, fracture, nerve injury, chronic regional pain syndrome, bowel cancer, skin cancer, foreign body left in during surgery, and mental illness.

Doctors owe a duty of care to their patients to ensure that they receive appropriate and competent medical treatment. That is all that is expected of them – competent care- but sometimes they fail to act competently, resulting in patients suffering. A breach in duty of care can result in severe injuries, both physical and psychological.

If you have concerns that your treatment may have been substandard, you should seek legal advice from an experienced lawyer. Not just any personal injury lawyer, but a plaintiff personal injury lawyer who specialises in medical negligence. They know how this complex area of law works, and they fight insurance companies on a daily basis to ensure that patients rights are enforced and maximum entitlements to compensation are received.

Our solicitors are experienced medical negligence lawyers and they may be able to act for you on a No Win No Pay basis. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.