The usual remedy for a negligent act or omission made by a doctor or a hospital lies within the realms of the civil law of negligence. Such a claim will compensate the claimant, their family and dependants for their loss. The doctor themselves will not usually be personally liable; instead the hospital will be vicariously liable as their employer on the grounds that the fault lies with the health service and hospital management who fail to safeguard against the use of incompetent doctors. There could also be other causes for such negligence, for example, excessively long working hours or shortages of staff and equipment.
Negligence requires the claimant to prove that the defendant owes a duty of care, there has been a breach of duty and that the breach has caused the claimant some damage.
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