Liability in Atlanta Medical Malpractice Cases
Liability in Atlanta medical malpractice cases usually requires attorneys to show that the healthcare professional, doctor, nurse, the respiratory therapist, or whoever they are suing deviated from the standard of care. For example, if a person is having a surgery done and the practicing surgeon left some a tool they used to perform the surgery inside the person, that would qualify as a deviation from the standard of care.
Judging by the same standards, if the nurses helping the doctor with the surgery were required to check to see if the individual was safe from any haphazard following a surgery such as leaving a tool inside the individual, the nurses would have deviated from the standard of care. Attorneys have to be able to find that deviation to prove liability.
If you wish to learn more about this topic, speak with an experienced attorney. An Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer may be able to provide you with more information.
Signing a Consent Form
Consent forms allow people to know what their health condition is, what the doctor believes they have and what they are being treated for, what the options are, and the risks involved. If someone is having surgery, for example, they would want to know the risks of the surgical procedure and what their prognosis is. By signing a consent form, people are understanding the risks involved in the potential surgical procedure or medical course of action. A consent form could potentially be a vital part of any case involving liability in Atlanta medical malpractice cases.
Release from Responsibility
There is no waiver or consent form that a doctor or hospital can have someone sign that fully releases their doctors or nurses from responsibility. If negligence occurred that was a deviation from the standard of care and that resulted in an injury to the person, they can still recover damages.
Deviation from the Standard of Care
If there was a deviation from the standard of care that resulted in injury, an individual can recover even if they signed an informed consent form. Informed consent forms come into play when there are certain risks that are disclosed. Sometimes outcomes are a known risk and that outcome and risk can play out without any deviation from the doctor. In that case, a person might not have a case for malpractice. If there is a deviation from the standard of care, even if that outcome was disclosed in the consent form, that does not prohibit them from recovering.
Complexity in Liability in Atlanta Medical Malpractice Cases
Liability in Atlanta medical malpractice cases can turn out to be complex cases primarily because it is dealing with an area of expertise. Something to always keep in mind for these types of cases is that doctors go to school for a very long time to learn the medical practice. Also, it deals with technical areas of great complexity. As a result, proving liability in a medical malpractice case can be quite difficult.
That is why attorneys may need to work with doctors like the in-house doctors and other medical experts to make those very complex cases easier to explain to people, to the other side, and ultimately to a jury.