First Steps to Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim
Suffering harm during medical treatment or a medical procedure is a scary, stressful and confusing experience. If you have recently suffered injuries from a medical malpractice, you may be able to pursue compensation. However, it is important to take certain steps to find out if you may have a case and start the legal process. You can learn more about these steps below.
Our team of qualified Savannah medical malpractice lawyers are here to help you through the first steps of a medical malpractice claim and the rest of the legal process.
Contact the Medical Professional Involved
The first thing you need to determine is if your situation qualifies as medical malpractice. You may be able to do this by contacting the medical professional to try to establish what went wrong and determine if the medical professional can fix his or her mistake. Sometimes, medical professionals are willing to treat you to attempt to correct the problem they caused. The doctor may even provide care free of charge.
Contact the Georgia Composite Medical Board
The next step is to contact the Georgia Composite Medical Board. This agency governs medical licenses in the state. The board cannot force the medical professional to compensate you, but it can discipline the doctor or issue a warning. It may also be able to provide you additional guidance about pursuing a medical malpractice claim.
Remember the Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations sets a deadline for filing a particular type of claim. For medical malpractice claims in Georgia, the deadline is two years from the act of medical malpractice. If you wait until after this deadline passes, the court will likely dismiss your case.
However, there are some exceptions to this time limit, so contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to determine when time will run out on your ability to file a lawsuit.
Get a Medical Assessment
An increasing number of states, including Georgia, require patients to file a certificate of merit prior to commencing a case for medical malpractice. The certificate of merit must by created by a medical expert who is competent to testify and can provide a factual basis for at least one negligent act or omission on the part of the at-fault party.
The medical expert could be someone who has actual professional knowledge and experience in the medical practice area, such as actively practicing in the same specialty as the doctor you are accusing of medical malpractice.
The medical professional could also be someone who has supervised, taught or instructed health care providers in that specialty and has knowledge of the standard of care required in the situation where malpractice occurred.
Your medical malpractice attorney will be familiar with this requirement and can help you obtain an affidavit from a qualified medical professional.
Contact a Reputable Lawyer
Medical malpractice cases are often complicated, which is many people need a lawyer who has unique skills and knowledge in this area. At Roden Law, our qualified attorneys can help you with all aspects of your claim.
We can help negotiate a fair settlement out of court and handle communications with the malpractice insurance carrier. If just compensation is not offered despite our diligent representation, we can consider taking your case to court to pursue action against the negligent medical professional.
Medical malpractice cases can also be time-consuming and expensive, but our medical malpractice attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means you do not have to worry about upfront fees. You only pay for our services if we help you obtain favorable compensation on your claim. Contact us today to get started on your claim.
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