Albany Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Trust between patients and their doctors is important. Without trust, a reasonable person would not take medicine prescribed by a stranger or allow a stranger to operate on her. If a doctor violates the trust you place in them by acting—or failing to act—in a way that causes you injury, you should consider hiring a passionate attorney who may fight tirelessly for you. An Albany medical malpractice lawyer could work to investigate his actions and hold him responsible for his actions.
What Could Someone Prove Medical Malpractice?
One of the first steps to achieving recovery in a medical malpractice case is to have a doctor—different than the one suspected of malpractice but specialized in the same area of medicine—to testify within a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the doctor deviated from the standard of care causing the injury.
Stated another way, another doctor in the same specialty as the defendant doctor must testify that the defendant doctor failed to meet the standard of medical care accepted in the community and that the plaintiff’s damages were directly caused by the defendant doctor. An Albany medical malpractice lawyer could offer the resources needed in order to properly document a negligent doctor’s action and how those actions affected his injured patient.
The Reasonable Degree of Care Threshold
A person professing to practice surgery or administer medicine for compensation must exercise a reasonable degree of care and skill pursuant to O.C.G.A. §51-1-27. This implies several important related factors, namely that:
- A reasonable degree of care and skill exists in the doctor’s area of expertise
- All doctors are obligated to adhere to the degree of skill and care required by their practice expertise
- If a doctor fails to adhere to those standards and causes injury to a patient, that patient may have a valid medical malpractice claim
In a medical malpractice case, a skilled Albany medical malpractice lawyer could help determine what reasonable standard of care a doctor should have followed while treating the plaintiff and demonstrate how the doctor deviated from that standard.
When is a Hospital Liable for Malpractice?
If the plaintiff in a malpractice case received substandard care from a doctor in a hospital, not only may the hospital be liable to the plaintiff but other health care providers assisting the doctor may be liable as well.
Nurses have the most contact with patients in the hospital and are responsible for monitoring patients, caring for patients, advocating for patients and implementing the doctor’s orders. If a nurse failed to practice within his or her nursing standard of care, causing injury to the plaintiff, he or she may share responsibility with the doctor for the plaintiff’s injuries.
In most hospitals, nurses are employees of the hospital; and therefore, the hospital would pay for any negligence of the nurse. As with doctors, a nurse, or a physician who supervises nurses, would have to testify that the nurse deviated from the nursing standard of care and that deviation caused injury to the plaintiff.
Speak with an Albany Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
If your trust is violated by your medical provider, you may have the right to bring a claim for medical malpractice. Part of the requirements for bringing such a claim includes proving that your doctor or nurse deviated from the standard of care and. Contact an Albany medical malpractice lawyer today in order to file your claim and pursue compensation for your doctor’s violation of your trust.
