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香港的醫療服務水平普遍都很高，不過，即使醫護人員有多訓練有素和專業，有時也難免會在治療過程中出錯。這一節「長者法網智多聲」，就跟大家談談醫療疏忽。
甚麼是醫療疏忽呢？醫護人員提供的醫療服務低於認可水平，沒有做應該做的、或做了不應該做的，而導致病人受傷或死亡，就是專業疏忽，亦即醫療疏忽。如果病人因此而受害，就可以以醫療疏忽為理由，要求賠償。
要留意，如果純粹因為醫生沒有把您醫治好，或接受治療之後出現不良反應，就要控告醫護人員或機構醫療疏忽，這種想法便不太對了。
法庭在處理醫療疏忽申索個案時，要考慮的事項是很多和很複雜的，例如，怎樣才是「達致合標準的護理水平」呢？執業醫生的表現如何？還有醫學報告等。法庭要考慮所有證據，才可以裁定是否有醫療疏忽；病人亦要證明，是因為專業醫護人員的表現太差，所以才出現不理想的醫療效果，這叫「因果關係」，一般都要由專家證人作證。要證明存在「因果關係」，亦是醫療疏忽申索最難的部分。
控告醫護人員或機構醫療疏忽，要有甚麼理由呢？如果醫生處方了錯誤藥物導致您受害、您有骨折但醫生發現不到、在醫院留醫時受感染、康復的時間較醫生預期的長、麻醉之後仍然清醒、絕育或結紮手術失敗、手術出錯導致身體受永久傷害、失去工作能力或自我照顧能力等，這些都可能是理由。
由於每件案件也不同，所以很難說這宗案件可以賠到多少錢，那一宗又可以賠得多少。一般情況下，法庭在決定賠償金額時，會考慮很多因素，好像是病人因為醫療疏忽花費了多少錢、他承受了多少痛楚和苦難、因為醫療疏忽而損失了多少錢等。
在採取法律行動之前，我們建議大家先向有關的醫護人員和醫療機構發投訴信，看看他們有何回應，再決定是否告上法庭。由於涉及醫療疏忽的官司，一般都很複雜，所以最好還是請專門處理醫療疏忽申索的律師幫忙。如果負擔不起律師費，就可以考慮向法律援助署申請法律援助。香港律師會亦設立了免費法律諮詢熱線，但千萬不要找索償代理呀。有關法律援助，大家可以到長者社區法網文字版找到詳情。至於想知道多一點醫療疏忽的資訊，也可以參考我們的網頁。謝謝大家收聽。
PrintCan I apply for Legal Aid for my medical negligence claim?
Legal Aid
If you cannot afford to hire/consult a solicitor, then you can consider applying to the Legal Aid Department for legal aid. The Legal Aid Department provides legal representation to eligible applicants by providing them with a solicitor and, if necessary, a barrister in civil or criminal proceedings.
Legal aid will be granted subject to a test of your means (financial eligibility) and the merits of your case (whether or not you have substantial grounds for legal action).
Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme
The Legal Aid Scheme provides legal representation for the “sandwich class” whose financial resources are above the upper eligibility limit for the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme (i.e. $440,800) but do not exceed $2,204,030.
The applicant must pay an initial application fee of $1,000, plus an interim contribution of $110,200 upon their acceptance of legal aid. If your case is successful, you have to pay the Director of Legal Aid any expenses and costs incurred in the case that are not recovered from the opposite party out of the damages/compensation that is awarded to you by the court. In addition, you will have to pay 10 per cent of the damages you receive into the Supplementary Legal Aid Fund.
For more information, please see the Legal Aid topic in the CLIC website.
Law Society Free Legal Helpline
The Law Society Free Legal Helpline provides assistance to members of the general public who have suffered personal injuries in accidents and need help to make a claim for compensation. This Helpline was established in May 2013. A Panel of solicitors will provide telephone consultation to accident victims for up to 45 minutes free of charge.
You can call the Helpline yourself (telephone no: 8200 8002), or a relative or a friend (who must be aged 18 or over) can make enquiries on your behalf.
The helpline operates from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. A voice mail service is active after business hours and during public holidays.
Do not engage recovery agents to handle your claims
Recovery agents are neither professionally qualified nor subject to any code of professional conduct. A recovery agent will finance a claim by paying the legal fees and other disbursements, and then if the claim is successful the accident victim has to hand over over a large share of his compensation to the recovery agent.
Maintenance (of which champerty is a more serious form) remains a criminal offence in Hong Kong and therefore recovery agents are liable to be prosecuted. Accident victims relying on recovery agents are likely to jeopardize their chance of getting the best possible redress. Accident victims should approach solicitors or the Legal Aid Department directly.