Doctors and health care providers are able to restore patients’ health by providing safe and competent medical treatment. However, when a patient is harmed or killed due to a medical error, the treating health care provider can be held liable for his or her negligence. If you or someone you love has suffered due to a health care provider’s negligence, consider working with an Albany medical malpractice lawyer to find out if you have a case that entitles you to compensation. For more than 10 years, Roden Law’s skilled attorneys have helped accident victims obtain the justice and compensation they deserve. We have represented numerous medical malpractice claims and will not hesitate to pursue every legal option available to help you receive fair compensation for your damages.
Our compassionate attorneys understand the long-term difficulties that victims of negligence endure and have recovered millions in verdicts and settlements for our clients. We will provide you with a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your claim and help you determine if you have a case. We offer all of our services at no upfront cost, which means you only have to pay us if you receive compensation. There is no risk in contacting us to discuss your claim. Founding partners Eric Roden and Tyler Love are both members of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.
Call 1-844-RESULTS today to contact our attorneys.
Proving Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to provide a patient with the appropriate level of care needed to treat his or her condition. If the health care provider’s negligence results in a patient suffering injury or death, he or she can be held liable for medical malpractice.
However, not every patient is entitled to file a medical malpractice claim if he or she suffers an injury while receiving medical treatment. An Albany medical malpractice attorney will review your claim to determine if these four elements existed when you received negligent medical treatment:
A Doctor-Patient Relationship
A medical malpractice lawsuit can only be filed against a health care provider who has a professional relationship with the patient. This means the health care provider agreed to either diagnose or treat the patient’s condition.
Health care providers who can be held liable for medical malpractice include:
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Surgeons
- Anesthesiologists
- Medical specialists
- Medical technicians and aides
- Pharmacists
- Dentists and oral surgeons
The Health Care Provider Was Negligent
The next element you must establish is that your health care provider acted negligently while treating or diagnosing your condition. A breach of duty occurs when the medical treatment you receive differs from the accepted standard of care held by the medical community.
This means you must show the doctor that treated your condition failed to act in a manner similar to the way a reasonably competent and skilled health care provider would have acted under similar circumstances.
However, this element is often difficult to prove and may require the help of a skilled Albany medical malpractice lawyer. He or she will understand which evidence you need to prove your claim and consult with medical experts to establish the health care provider’s actions deviated from the standards held by the medical community.
The Doctor’s Negligence Caused Your Injury
Once you have established the health care provider acted negligently, you will need to show that his or her actions directly resulted in causing you or your loved one harm.
However, you must prove that your injury resulted from receiving negligent medical treatment and is not pre-existing or caused by another medical issue. To prove this, an Albany medical malpractice attorney will use evidence, such as records of your medical history and medical tests conducted after your treatment. This will help to establish that your injury or worsened condition occurred as a direct result of receiving negligent medical treatment.
You Suffered Damages After Receiving Negligent Medical Treatment
The last step to building a medical malpractice case is showing that you suffered damages as a result of the health care provider’s negligence.
You cannot recover compensation for your medical malpractice lawsuit unless you experience financial losses or pain and suffering after receiving negligent treatment. This may include:
- Additional medical bills
- Lost income from missing work
- Inability to earn an income
- Significant pain and suffering and disability
- Death
To find out more about the steps required to prove medical malpractice, schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Roden Law’s Albany medical malpractice lawyers. We know what it takes to prove your case and will not hesitate to pursue any legal option available to obtain the justice and compensation you deserve.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form to get started.
How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit?
In Georgia, patients have a limited time to file a lawsuit against a negligent health provider. This is because of a law known as the statute of limitations.
According to O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71, the deadline for filing a lawsuit is two years from the date in which you suffered an injury, worsened condition, or your loved one died. If you fail to pursue your case within this time limit, you will lose the right to file a lawsuit.
Additionally, Georgia imposes a statute of repose that states a medical malpractice lawsuit cannot be filed more than five years after the date on which the medical error occurred. This means that regardless of when you discover an injury caused by medical malpractice, you must file a lawsuit within the five-year statute of repose.
However, the statutes of limitations above do not apply to cases involving a foreign object left inside a patient’s body, such as a surgical tool or sponge. In these cases, the patient must file a medical malpractice lawsuit within one year of discovering the act of negligence.
Because of these statutes of limitations, it is important that you act quickly to secure your case. Contact our Albany medical malpractice attorneys as soon as possible to schedule a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your claim. We will help you determine which deadlines apply to your case and help you file a lawsuit against the at-fault party.
To schedule a free consultation, call 1-844-RESULTS now.
Compensation for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Patients who are victims of medical negligence often incur significant expenses to correct or recover from the health care provider’s error. By filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, patients may be entitled to recover compensation for:
- Health care costs
- Rehabilitation
- Ongoing medical treatment
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disability
- Emotional distress
- Loss of companionship
In addition to the compensation you may receive through a lawsuit, certain patients may be awarded punitive damages. However, this is not intended to be compensation for the patient’s injury. Instead punitive damages are intended to financially punish the at-fault party’s especially negligent, reckless or intentional actions and to deter others from behaving in a similar manner.
Unlike some states, Georgia does not impose a damages cap on medical malpractice lawsuits. This means there is no limit to the amount of compensation you may be entitled to pursue.
During you free, no obligation consultation, an Albany medical malpractice lawyer will review the circumstances behind your case and how your life has been affected since receiving negligent medical treatment. Based on this information, we will be able to determine an accurate estimate of the compensation you may be entitled to pursue.
Find out if you are entitled to compensation. Complete a Free Case Evaluation form.
Types of Medical Errors that Lead to Lawsuits
Medical malpractice covers a wide range of medical errors and incompetence. As seasoned Albany medical malpractice lawyers, we are qualified to help patients in areas including:
Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
When health care providers fail to diagnose a patient, or diagnose the patient with the wrong condition, the results can be devastating to the patient’s health and may lead to serious injury or death.
A health care provider may misdiagnose a patient by:
- Failing to recognize the patient’s symptoms
- Neglecting to listen to a patient’s medical history
- Conducting the wrong medical tests
- Misinterpreting test results
Failing to diagnose a patient’s condition may result in the patient suffering a long-term adverse effect on his or her health. This may require the patient to undergo corrective surgery and rehabilitation to recover from the prolonged damage he or she suffered.
Postoperative Negligence
Patients who undergo an operation are required to be monitored by medical staff for an extended period of time after the procedure. This helps health care providers understand how the patient responded to the operation and ensure a successful recovery.
However, failing to monitor the patient can lead him or her developing serious adverse health conditions and illnesses, including:
- Infection
- Sepsis
- Internal bleeding
- Organ perforation
- Inflammation
- Death
After an operation, patients should receive adequate postoperative care that helps them safely recover. This includes a sterile and clean environment that has enough medical staff to care for the patient’s needs.
Emergency Room Errors
An emergency room can be a hectic environment that often requires health care providers to act quickly and respond to urgent situations. This type of environment can increase the risk of several types of medical errors, such as:
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Failing to monitor a patient’s vitals
- Using unsanitary equipment or operating rooms
- Failing to treat patients in a timely manner
- Failing to treat postoperative infections
Anesthesia Errors
If anesthesia is improperly administered to a patient, he or she may suffer adverse effects that result in serious injury or death. Common examples of anesthesia error include:
- Administering an incorrect dosage of anesthesia to a patient
- Failing to monitor a patient who received anesthesia
- Injecting a patient with an incorrect anesthetic
- Neglecting to inform a patient about the anesthesia process
- Failing to respond to changes in a patient’s vital signs
- Injecting a patient with multiple drugs that may react negatively
- Neglecting to ask a patient about his or her medical history
Hospital Errors
Hospitals and medical institutions have an obligation to ensure their facilities are safe and adequate to treat patients. However, if a hospital fails to uphold this obligation it can be held liable for medical malpractice. This may occur when the hospital fails to:
- Maintain an adequate number of medical staff to care for patients’ needs
- Hire competent and properly trained health care providers and medical staff
- Provide a clean and sterile environment to treat and care for patients
- Adequately supervise staff members
- Monitor patients and medical procedures occurring on hospital grounds
- Maintain operating equipment and medical machinery
To discuss a medical error you suffered from, call 1-844-RESULTS.
Contact an Albany Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you or someone you love has suffered an injury, worsened condition, or has died due to a health care provider’s negligence, it may be in your best interest to contact an attorney to discuss filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
At Roden Law, we understand how quickly a medical malpractice claim can turn into a difficult and complicated lawsuit. Our Albany medical malpractice lawyers will act as your advocate during the legal process. We will help you determine which course of legal action may benefit your claim and help you obtain the justice and compensation you deserve.
Contact us today to schedule a free, no obligation consultation. A member of our team of dedicated attorneys will review your claim to help you determine if you have a medical malpractice lawsuit. All of our services are provided on a contingency fee basis, which means there are no upfront fees and you only have to pay us if we help you recover compensation. There is no risk in finding out if you have a case.