Doctors and other healthcare professionals have an enormous trust placed in their hands. When they violate this trust via misdiagnosis, making mistakes during treatment, or committing other careless medical errors, they do genuine harm to the people they’ve sworn an oath to help — and they should be held accountable for the consequences.
If you or a loved one has suffered a negative health outcome as the result of professional carelessness in Athens, Georgia, you deserve compensation. Let an Athens medical malpractice lawyer at R. Alan Cleveland, LLC help you demand it.
We understand the stakes of these complex cases and are prepared to do everything we can to make things right. This starts by offering a free, no-obligation consultation, not charging anything upfront to take your case, and providing continued support throughout the claims process.
When you’re ready to learn how we’ve recovered $150 million and counting for clients like you, contact R. Alan Cleveland, LLC. Discover what an Athens medical malpractice attorney can do for your case at a free, no-obligation consultation.
What Are Common Types of Medical Malpractice in Athens?
Contents
- 1 What Are Common Types of Medical Malpractice in Athens?
- 2 What Is the Most Common Cause of Medical Malpractice in Athens?
- 3 How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice?
- 4 What Sort of Compensation Could I Receive for an Athens Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
- 5 Does Georgia Have Caps on Medical Malpractice Damages?
- 6 What is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Georgia?
- 7 Contact an Athens Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical malpractice is treatment rendered by a medical professional that deviates from the accepted standard of care — that is, the care that a similarly trained and experienced professional would provide in the same circumstances.
Examples of medical malpractice include the following:
- Misdiagnosing an ailment
- Failing to correctly diagnose an ailment in a reasonable time
- Failing to order further testing when warranted
- Misreading or ignoring the results of medical tests
- Performing surgery on the wrong site
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Leaving medical instruments inside the body
- Providing inadequate or unhelpful follow-up care
- Prescribing a contraindicated medication
- Medication errors, such as prescribing the wrong medication or an improper dosage
These are just a few examples. If you’ve experienced a negative health outcome because of the medical treatment you’ve received, consider talking with a medial malpractice attorney about what happened.
What Is the Most Common Cause of Medical Malpractice in Athens?
Many different mistakes can lead to improper medical treatment in Athens.
Some of the most common causes of medical malpractice include the following:
- Poor communication skills between doctors or when speaking with patients
- Careless review of critical documents regarding a patient’s care
- Failing to monitor vital signs and overlooking signs of a deteriorating condition
- Failing to obtain consent, explain potential outcomes, or advise on alternative treatment options
- Using outdated equipment or methods
- Inadequate staffing and poor hiring procedures
- Failures in the handling and filing of critical documents
How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice?
To prove that the healthcare provider in question committed medical malpractice, you must show that the care they provided deviated from the accepted standard.
A medical malpractice attorney will consult with experts and review such evidence as the following:
- Medical records and diagnostic tests
- Prescription scrips
- Testimony from eyewitnesses to the event
- Insurance forms and related documents
Additionally, Georgia law requires medical malpractice claims to be accompanied by the opinion of a medical witness qualified to speak on the facts at hand. Generally, this means a physician who practices in the same field as the professional who allegedly committed malpractice and has the relevant education, training, and experience to develop an informed opinion on the matter.
What Sort of Compensation Could I Receive for an Athens Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
If you can prove that a medical professional harmed you through their professional negligence, you can demand that they compensate you for the following:
- The cost of additional medical care necessitated by the error
- The pain and suffering you endured because of their medical negligence
- The income you’ve lost while undergoing additional treatment
- Diminished earning potential if the malpractice affects your long-term career prospects
- The purchase of assistive devices and other medical necessities
- Loss of quality of life if you can no longer perform everyday tasks or take part in favorite activities
- Any visible scarring or disfigurement you’ve suffered
An experienced Athens medical malpractice attorney can review your case to determine the types of compensation you deserve and how much your claim may be worth.
Does Georgia Have Caps on Medical Malpractice Damages?
Many states place a cap on the compensation a patient can recover through a medical malpractice claim. Some limit the total award, while others only limit the amount of non-economic damages (compensation for pain and suffering). Georgia is not among these states. Currently, there are no caps on medical malpractice awards in Georgia, which means you can secure the full value of your claim without having to worry about arbitrary limits on your recovery.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Georgia?
You do not have unlimited time to pursue a medical malpractice claim in Georgia. Instead, the state places a statute of limitations on these cases. Under this law, you have two years from the date you received improper medical care to file your claim.
However, the law also recognizes that some types of malpractice are not immediately apparent, such as delayed diagnosis or the effects of an instrument left in the body after surgery. In such cases, you may have two years from the date you discovered the malpractice to file a claim. Due to the related statute of repose, you will not have more than five years from the date the malpractice was committed. Contact our Athens medical malpractice lawyer today.
Contact an Athens Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Have you or someone you loved suffered due to careless, inattentive, or simply improper medical care in Athens, GA? If so, you need a tireless advocate to stand up on your behalf and demand the compensation you deserve for your future.
At R. Alan Cleveland, LLC, we’re committed to holding negligent medical professionals accountable for their mistakes and providing our clients with the money they need to live their fullest lives possible. Not only does this help our clients, but it helps prevent others from receiving similarly unsafe care in the future.
Contact us today for a free consultation with an Athens medical malpractice attorney. We are standing by to review your case for free and get started on it at no upfront cost to you.