Chatham County Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical malpractice is one of the leading causes of death and has been ranked as the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Medical malpractice cases regularly occur in hospitals as well as family practitioners’ offices, physical therapy offices, and even dental offices.
We rely on our doctors and health care providers to keep us healthy and safe, and therefore if you or a loved one have suffered because of medical malpractice, it is important to rely on an experienced Chatham County medical malpractice lawyer. A dedicated team of personal injury attorneys could help you recover compensation for illness, disabilities, additional medical expenses, and for tragic losses.
What is Malpractice?
Generally, medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional fails to meet “the standard of care,” and as a result, the patient suffers an injury, death, or some other type of damage. The standard of care is determined by looking at how other doctors in a similar situation and in a similar practice would have delivered care to a patient.
Specifically, O.C.G.A. § 51-1-27 requires that medical professionals “must bring to the exercise of his profession a reasonable degree of care and skill.” And further, this statute provides “any injury resulting from a want of such care and skill shall be a tort for which a recovery may be had.” This means that when a doctor or healthcare provider breaches the standard of care and suffers an injury, they may recover compensation against the doctor.
Chatham County Medical Malpractice Cases
The Georgia civil code provides O.C.G.A. § 9-9-60 establishes the parameters of a medical malpractice lawsuit and defines a medical malpractice claim as “any claim for damages resulting from the death of or injury to any person arising out of medical care.” Because the field of medicine is so broad, there are an endless array of situations where a doctor or health care provider may breach the standard of care. However, there are some common errors that could result in a claim.
Misdiagnoses
A doctor needs to carefully examine a patient and consider all his or her symptoms to reach the proper diagnosis. When a doctor does not engage in a careful examination he or she may fail to make the proper diagnosis or may fail to make a diagnosis altogether.
Medication Errors
With an array of powerful medications on the market, it is important that doctors not only prescribe the proper medication, but also the proper dosage. In addition, it is imperative that doctors consider whether a person will have an interaction with a medication based on other medications he or she is prescribed and any known allergies.
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors can include performing a procedure incorrectly, performing the wrong procedure, operating on the wrong site, or leaving a surgical instrument inside of a person after surgery is complete.
How Do Anesthesia Errors Occur?
An anesthesia error can be life-threatening, if an anesthesiologist does not administer the proper medication, delivers too much or too little medication, or does not properly monitor a person’s vital signs while under the effects of anesthesia, he or she may suffer adverse consequences.
Filing a Claim
Medical malpractice claims tend to be incredibly complex. Often there are several medical professionals who all may share some liability for a person’s injuries. This is particularly true in a hospital setting.
Generally, to prove that a healthcare professional breached his or her professional standard of care requires another medical professional to review a person’s medical records and all the medical records related to an incident.
In addition, anyone considering filing a medical malpractice claim in Chatham County should be aware that under O.C.G.A § 9-3-71 he or she must file a lawsuit within two years after an alleged incident of medical malpractice. A seasoned medical malpractice lawyer in Chatham County could help an injured individual file a claim within the statute of limitations.
Contact a Chatham County Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you or a loved one have suffered because of an incident of medical malpractice by a doctor, nurse, dentist, chiropractor, or another medical professional, contact an ethical and aggressive Chatham County medical malpractice lawyer.
Compassionate attorneys could handle all the details of your case, so you can focus on recovery. Our team even has an in-house doctor who can review your medical records to determine whether malpractice did occur. Call today to learn how a medical malpractice attorney in Chatham County help.
