Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical malpractice law essentially determines the standards that doctors follow when they are taking care of their patients. Just like any other professionals, doctors need to perform their jobs at the best of their abilities. However, unlike other professionals, if doctors fail to perform to the standard or make mistakes, the outcomes can potentially ruin the lives of the patients.
Medical malpractice is quite a popular area of law, though it’s usually categorized under personal injury law. Most of the injuries and accidents, including those of medical malpractice usually claim that one party was negligent in their actions. This means that with medical malpractice cases, the patient has to prove that the doctors generally have a duty of practicing medicine in a certain way, and the doctor failed to fulfill or breached their duty of care, which caused harm to the patient.
If you have been injured as a result of medical malpractice in Atlanta, Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. can help seek compensation for all of the damages incurred. We take a firm stand against medical negligence and malpractice, and as soon as you enlist with us, we’ll start conducting an intensive investigation into the case to determine what occurred. This will be important as to who will be held responsible, whether you’ve been injured at the hands of a pharmacist, doctor, surgeon, dentist, obstetrician, or any other medical professional, as well as how much your case is worth.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice, also referred to as medical negligence, occurs when a person is injured by a medical practitioner who fails to competently conduct their medical duties. The rules regarding medical malpractice revolve around the recognized “standard of care” in the treatment of a patient. This standard of care is based on what the average physician or professional would do in a similar circumstance depending on the scope of their practice.
To prove that medical negligence or malpractice occurred, you have to prove all of the following:
• A pre-existing doctor-patient relationship: You need to prove that a patient-physician relationship with the suspect doctor. This would mean you hired the physician and they agreed to be hired.
• Their actions were negligent: Just Because you do not like the results or the treatment doesn’t mean that your physician is liable for medical malpractice. For you to sue for malpractice, you must be able to show that the doctor was negligent in their actions – caused you harm in ways that a competent doctor would not have under similar circumstances.
• The practitioner’s negligence/malpractice directly led to the injury: Since most of the negligence cases involve already sick or injured patients, there’s usually an inquiry about whether it’s their doctor who actually caused the harm in question, negligent or not. The patient needs to show that the doctor’s incompetence more likely than not directly led to the injury.
• The injury caused specific damages: A patient can’t sue for malpractice if they didn’t suffer any harm; even if the doctor clearly performed below the expected standards in their field.
What are the Common Types of Medical Malpractice?
There’s a wide variety of situations that could lead to a medical negligence claim – from failing to inform the patient that a given prescribed drug could cause heart failure to leaving surgical tools in a patient’s stomach after operation. Nevertheless, most medical negligence claims usually fall in any one of the following categories:
• Failure to diagnose: If a reasonably competent physician would have been able to discover the patient’s illness or made a different diagnosis, which would have in turn led to a much better outcome than the one they achieved.
• Improper treatment procedures: In case a doctor proceeds to treat a patient using ways no other reasonably competent doctors would have, the patient might have a viable medical negligence claim. It’s also considered malpractice in case the doctor chooses an appropriate treatment but administers it incompetently.
• Failing to Warn the Patient of known risks: It’s the duty of the doctor to inform their patients of the known risks before performing a procedure or starting a course of treatment – its referred to as the duty of informed consent.
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice in Atlanta?
If you or your loved one was injured due to medical negligence, you should consult with a medical malpractice lawyer in Atlanta as soon as possible, since the consequences can have lasting effects. Don’t hesitate to exercise your legal rights if you’ve been subjected to any of the following medical malpractices:
• Failure to treat an illness in a timely manner
• Failure to diagnose a serious illness
• Failure to supervise an inexperienced healthcare staff
• Failure to supervise the patient
• Failure to provide the necessary medication
• Failure to administer anesthesia correctly
• Failure to exercise precaution during a surgical procedure
Keep in mind that such negligent actions could lead to further injury, illness, and sometimes even death. This could result in huge medical bills for treatments that would otherwise be unnecessary, along with more time taken away from work.
Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. has been successfully exposing and handling medical negligence cases on behalf of clients for decades. His firm has worked conscientiously to acquire substantial financial awards in compensation for the clients to help with their recovery from the adverse effects of medical malpractice on their livelihoods.
What Kind of Damages Can a Patient Recover in a Medical Negligence Lawsuit?
There are generally three kinds of damages available to patients who’ve suffered an injury through medical negligence, through a lawsuit.
General damages: This compensation is meant to cover for suffering due to the malpractice, and includes things like mental and physical anguish, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Special damages: These encompass the more quantifiable expenses that are directly linked to the malpractice. They include things like medical bills and reimbursement for any lost earnings due to spending time away from work.
Punitive damages: These are primarily meant to punish the doctor or medical facility for seriously egregious conduct, for example where a patient was intentionally harmed. However, punitive damages are quite rare in medical negligence claims.
Besides these, if a patient unfortunately died because of medical malpractice, their family can recover for damages that occurred from the time the malpractice occurred up until the patient’s death; and the family’s future economic loss resulting from the patient’s death.
When Can You Sue a Hospital for Negligence?
Although hospitals and medical institutions are usually on the hook for negligent care provided by the staff like medical technicians and nurses, they are in most cases not responsible for a physician’s medical malpractice.
If an employee of a hospital is negligent, the hospital will often be on the hook for the injuries that they cause the patient. Hospital employees include medical technicians, nurses, and support staff. So long as the employee was performing something job-related when they caused the injury, the patient can sue the hospital for the damages.
Can I Sue My Doctor If They Failed to Disclose the Risks Associated with my Surgery?
It mostly depends on what the risks were. Doctors have an obligation to disclose to their patients about the serious risks involved in any medical treatment or procedure, so that the patient is well aware of everything involved and decide whether to go forward in the light of the danger.
If we are able to prove that your doctor or healthcare provider failed to provide reasonable level of care that another doctor would have in the same situation, then you may have a case. Schedule a free medical malpractice case evaluation with Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. today, so that we can discuss the specifics of your case.
Will my Medical Malpractice Case go to Trial?
For most malpractice cases, a thorough investigation is needed to prove liability. For this reason, these cases tend to get drawn out, making them rather difficult to solve compared to the average personal injury claim. Nonetheless, your medical negligence claim will most likely have to be resolved in court where a judge or jury decides the verdict.
How Long is the Statute of Limitation in Georgia?
A statute of limitations is the law that essentially sets a legal window of opportunity within which an injured party can file a lawsuit. If the lawsuit isn’t filed within the given timeframe, the victim loses their right to pursue legal action.
In the state of Georgia, any individual injured through the negligence of a medical professional is allowed to claim for compensation for the damages they suffered, so long as they do it within the statute of limitation. If the injuries or symptoms aren’t evident right away, the court will work out a reasonable amount of time that the injury should have been discovered by the victim.
Get in touch with us today and file your claim before it’s too late!
What You Should do After Suffering an Injury from Medical Negligence
If you’ve suffered injury or lost a loved one through the negligence or malpractice of a medical practitioner, the first step you should take is contact an Atlanta medical negligence lawyer at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. law firm to discuss your claim and see if you have a case. We’ll be able to give you valuable legal counsel and advice regarding your case.
Still, there are a few steps you could take that will help make it easier for your attorney to assess your case, represent you, and determine the right course of action. Here’s is a partial list of documents you should obtain and keep safe:
• A list of all doctors, nurses, and other care providers you were involved with, including their full names, addresses, contacts, and name of hospital
• A list of all prescription medicine you’ve taken along with the dosage amounts
• All your medical records associated with the case
• Copies of any invoices or bills received for medical treatment
• Names of your insurance company, a copy of your policy, along with details of any disability insurance you’re receiving
• Documents or emails from the defendant related to your claim
• Any kind of evidence for lost wages
We understand that obtaining some of this information can be overwhelming, and we’ll work with you to obtain and preserve it throughout the claim process.
Let Us protect your Rights
We believe that everyone should be treated with the highest standard of care as expected of any medical professional. If you or someone you know was injured in a medical malpractice case, contact us today at 1-888-579-1790 for a free consultation with Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C.
