VIC Medical negligence/broken finger

Australia's #1 for Law
Join 150,000 Australians every month. Ask a question, respond to a question and better understand the law today!
FREE - Join Now

Lisa Hamill

Member
31 May 2017
1
0
1
I was recently in prison for 90 days and due to unrelated medical issues I was in a wheelchair. I was wheeling myself back to my unit on the path that is next to an oval. There were woman playing football on it and as I was going past he football was coming towards my head so I put my hand up to cover my face when the ball hit extremely hard on the tops of my fingers. I felt my finger break so I was quickly pushed to the prison medical centre. The nurse looked at it and told me that I'd have to wait until the next day as the dr wasn't in, so I asked the next day and they told me they were too busy. I got that same answer every time until 3 weeks later when I was finally called up to have it xrayed. The man doing the xray was shocked that Inothing had been done in all that time so immediately after he did the xray he called the dr into the room. The dr told me that it was broken in 2 places but because it had been 3 weeks since it happened that he'd have to rebrake it then straighten it again otherwise I wouldn't be able to ever use it again. So he told me that he would call me back from my in an hour to do it. The call never came so my finger was left untreated. I'm unable to use it at all and it still gives me pain everyday. I have a discharge summary and on it it states that I fractured my finger in 2 places but under the part that says treatment the dr has just put in a ? And that's it I want to know what or if there's anything I can do to about the dr & medical centre for doing nothing at all. Thank you for your time
 

Lance

Well-Known Member
31 October 2015
852
123
2,394
Hi Lisa,
I hope I'm wrong, but from what I read a prisoner is not entitled to any sort of claim for compensation or complaint against the prison with regard to OH&S laws. I think you should speak with a lawyer and see what can be done. You can make a formal complaint to the Health Complaints Commissioner Health Complaints Commissioner and they are obliged to investigate the issue but that doesn't fix your busted finger and I think that's were you need to speak with a lawyer.