Filing a Georgia Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Step 1: A Duty to Conform to the Standard of Care

We are often asked by potential clients the process for filing a lawsuit against a doctor. Perhaps the most important step is what the potential client has already done – sought the advice of an experienced medical malpractice attorney who handles Georgia medical malpractice cases. At Warshauer Woodward Atkins, we handle medical malpractice cases every day, and our attorneys, staff, and in-house medical doctor are ready to evaluate your case and file suit if you have a valid claim.

There are four steps to proving a medical malpractice claim in Georgia. First, in any doctor-patient relationship, there is a duty that the doctor complies with the standard of care. So, in each case that we look at, we first have to determine what the standard of care is, in relation to the treatment at issue. In Georgia, a doctor must exercise a reasonable degree of care and skill. That degree of skill and care is defined as that “which under similar conditions and like surrounding circumstances is ordinarily employed by the medical profession generally.”

In order to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor, we have to find another doctor who will review the case and sign an affidavit stating what the standard of care is in that particular case. The doctor must be someone who has experience with treating the disease or performing the surgery that is involved in the case. Without such an affidavit, a medical malpractice lawsuit will likely be thrown out by the court.

Tomorrow, we will look at the second step of a medical malpractice lawsuit – establishing a breach of the standard of care.