When you seek medical treatment in Sandy Springs, Georgia, you reasonably expect to be treated properly and that your condition will improve. You don’t expect to be left in a worse condition because your doctor acted negligently. If you were injured while receiving medical treatment, an experienced Sandy Springs medical malpractice lawyer from Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers can help.
For a decade, our personal injury law firm has championed the rights of accident victims. Our award-winning lawyers have over 50 years of combined legal experience. Our efforts have resulted in tens of millions of dollars in jury verdicts and private settlements for clients throughout Atlanta, Sandy Springs, and the surrounding areas in Georgia. We can help you explore your legal rights and options during a free, no-obligation case review. Contact our law firm today at 678-605-9838 to get started.
We stand beside you in your pursuit of justice. During a free case review, we can explain your legal rights and options. Call us today to speak to a knowledgeable Sandy Springs medical malpractice lawyer.
Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Can Guide You Through the Legal Process
Medical malpractice cases are some of the most complex personal injury cases. They involve an intersection of medicine and the law that many personal injury lawyers are not equipped to handle. The personal injury lawyers with Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers have been recognized by The National Trial Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, Super Lawyers, and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. When you hire us to handle your medical malpractice claim in Sandy Springs, Georgia, we handle all of the following:
- Launching an independent investigation into your case
- Gathering strong evidence throughout the investigation and the discovery process
- Working with medical experts who can help further support your case
- Handling your legal claim
- Negotiating for fair compensation
Call us today for a free consultation with a knowledgeable Sandy Springs personal injury attorney.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional’s medical care falls below the accepted standard of care, which is the same level of care that a healthcare provider with a similar background and training would have demonstrated under similar circumstances.
How Common Is Medical Malpractice?
Doctors are among the most trusted members of our societies. They have devoted years of their lives to obtaining the education and experience necessary to treat living patients. Unfortunately, this trust is not always warranted. According to Johns Hopkins University, medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Patient safety experts from the world-renowned institution estimate that more than 250,000 people die every year due to medical errors.
Additionally, the American Medical Association reports that one in three physicians reported that they had been sued for medical malpractice during their careers. As drastic as these numbers sound, the Office of Inspector General has found that hospital employees only report 14% of known medical errors, so the problem may be even more widespread than reported.
Common Causes of Medical Malpractice
Doctors are just as human as the rest of us. They can make mistakes due to issues such as:
- Fatigue
- Understaffing
- Drug and alcohol use
- Not having enough time to properly evaluate patients
- Dismissing patient concerns
- Charting errors
- Miscommunication
Medical malpractice may be present when these issues negatively affect the quality of your care.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can take many forms. Some of the most common types of medical malpractice include the following:
- Diagnostic errors: Doctors and other healthcare professionals may fail to gather enough information from patients, order appropriate tests, or misunderstand test results. This can lead to a failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis.
- Surgical errors: Surgeons or their staff can make mistakes during surgery, including completing surgery on the wrong patient, the wrong site, or the wrong side of the patient. Surgeons can nick arteries or organs during surgery or leave objects inside patients. These serious mistakes can cause catastrophic injuries.
- Emergency room errors: Emergency rooms can be chaotic environments. Still, medical professionals are expected to respond appropriately and provide proper care. In their haste, they may make mistakes.
- Anesthesia errors: Patients must be properly monitored when they receive anesthesia and given a precise amount of medication. Otherwise, the patient can wake up prematurely or develop a consciousness disorder, such as falling into a coma.
- Medication errors: Healthcare providers may fail to ask about allergies or possible effects with a patient’s other medications. They can prescribe the wrong medication, the wrong dosage, or the wrong method of administration, which can cause patient harm.
- Birth injuries: Doctors, midwives, and other medical professionals may fail to properly monitor the mother and baby during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, leading to serious injuries.
Our experienced lawyers can investigate your incident and determine whether medical malpractice occurred.
What Damages Can I Recover in a Medical Malpractice Case?
Victims of medical malpractice can recover compensation for the damages they’ve suffered, such as:
- Medical bills and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning capacity
- Disabilities and impairments
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of consortium
Even though your damages may be substantial, the medical provider or their insurance company may try to minimize your injuries and fail to offer a settlement that fairly compensates you for everything you’ve endured. An experienced attorney from our firm can help build a solid claim for maximum compensation.
What Is My Case Worth?
Every medical malpractice case is different. Your case’s value can depend on factors such as:
- The type and severity of the injuries you suffered
- Who is responsible for your injuries and their medical malpractice insurance coverage
- Whether your injuries caused permanent disabilities or impairments
- How your injuries have affected your life
- The full extent of your pain and suffering
An experienced attorney from our law firm can give you a better idea about what to expect as part of your settlement.
Who Is Responsible for Medical Malpractice?
Any healthcare provider involved in your care can potentially be held liable for your injuries, including:
- Doctors
- Surgeons
- Oncologists, obstetricians, and other medical specialists
- Midwives
- Anesthesiologists
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Nurse practitioners
- Medical assistants
- Lab technicians
- Chiropractors
- Dentists
Hospitals, medical facilities, and other medical businesses can be held responsible for the negligence of their employees. An experienced attorney can investigate your case to determine who is responsible for your injuries.
What Do I Have to Prove in a Medical Malpractice Case?
As the plaintiff in a legal case, you will have the burden of proving that your healthcare provider committed medical malpractice by showing the following:
- Duty: Your healthcare provider owed you a duty of care due to an established doctor-patient relationship.
- Breach: Your healthcare provider failed to demonstrate a reasonable degree of care and skill that would have been expected of them in their area of specialty.
- Injury: Your healthcare provider’s failure caused you to suffer injuries.
- Causation: Those injuries were not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the medical treatment you received.
- Damages: As a result of the above, you suffered damages.
Georgia law requires you to have a medical expert prepare an affidavit that substantiates that some act or omission was a negligent act that departed from the medical standard that applied in the case to accompany your complaint. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys can help obtain this required affidavit and work with medical experts to support your case.
What Is the Statute of Limitations to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Georgia?
The statute of limitations is the time limit people have to take certain legal action. In Georgia, the statute of limitations for most medical malpractice lawsuits is two years. However, the clock on this deadline does not apply until you have discovered the injury through reasonable diligence.
Georgia also has a five-year statute of repose that sets an upper deadline for these types of cases. This gives you a maximum time limit of up to five years from the date a medical error occurred. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help protect your rights and ensure all the relevant procedures are followed.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation with an Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Were you injured due to the negligence of a healthcare provider in Sandy Springs, Georgia? If so, you may have the right to recover compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, and other damages. You should not have to cover these losses. Our medical malpractice lawyers can help hold negligent parties responsible for the harm they’ve caused.
Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers represents victims of medical malpractice on a contingency fee basis, so you won’t pay anything unless we recover compensation for your case. We also offer free consultations to prospective clients. You can take advantage of yours by calling our award-winning law firm for a free case review. You can speak to an experienced Sandy Springs medical malpractice lawyer and ask any questions you have.
