Ex-surgeon Patel sues defence team

The former Bundaberg hospital surgeon jailed for killing and harming patients is suing the legal team that defended him.

Jayant Patel, who has returned to the US since his convictions were quashed, is seeking $884,000 in damages from Raniga Lawyers and barrister Michael Woodford, the Courier-Mail reports.

The law firm defended Patel at his 2010 trial for three counts of unlawfully killing patients and causing grievous bodily harm to another.

He was convicted and jailed for seven years but the High Court later overturned the lower court ruling.

At retrials last year, Patel was acquitted of a manslaughter charge and a jury failed to reach a verdict on a grievous bodily harm charge.

Patel alleges Raniga Lawyers failed to tell him it was "inexperienced" in conducting criminal trials and should have supervised his defence rather delegating all the work to Mr Woodford, whom he claims was a junior counsel lacking in skill and experience.

The former surgeon also claims in his lawsuit, filed in the Queensland Supreme Court, that his lawyers failed to get full particulars of the charges and allegations from the prosecution so it could properly advise him about available defences.

Raniga Lawyers also allegedly failed to consider the need to retain expert evidence to rebut medical expert witnesses's claims about Patel's competence as a surgeon.

Patel is suing for the same amount he paid the law firm to conduct his defence.