Atlanta’s Northside Hospital is one of the premier healthcare providers in the state of Georgia and perhaps the nation. Nevertheless, no healthcare provider is completely free of malpractice concerns, just as no patient is ever completely free of risk. Following is a rundown of what you need to understand and what you need to do in the wake of medical malpractice.
Build a Medical Malpractice Claim
To build a medical malpractice claim, you need to gather evidence tending to prove the following facts:
- The existence of a doctor-patient relationship. Even a medical bill should be enough to establish this much.
- The doctor owed you a specific duty of care with respect to the incident that led to your malpractice. Your doctor might have had the duty to order a certain type of lab test, for example.
- Your doctor failed to meet the demands of their duty of care.
- Your doctor’s failure was the cause of the harm you suffered.
- The harm you suffered caused you actual damages-–pain and suffering, disfigurement, medical expenses, lost earnings, etc. ‘good scare’ is not enough for a medical malpractice claim.
Medical malpractice claims can be hard to win, but they can be lucrative if you do manage to prevail.
Get an Expert Affidavit
Before you can file a lawsuit, you need to prepare an expert affidavit—a sworn statement from a medical expert supporting your claim. You don’t have to have one for settlement negotiations, but it can be very persuasive.
Seek Settlement
If you have a lawyer, let them negotiate for you. Keep in mind that the opposing party’s offer will probably be ridiculously low. Keep bargaining until you reach a settlement or until your lawyer decides it’s time to play hardball (see below).
File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
If negotiations stall, it might be time to file a lawsuit to jolt the defendant into action. Filing a lawsuit complaint against a Georgia healthcare provider is a task that you should not try to handle on your own. You will need to file a formal complaint and comply with numerous esoteric rules of civil practice.
Additionally, the pretrial discovery process, which follows filing the complaint, is exceedingly complex. Pretrial discovery is a powerful evidence-gathering process that can often generate enough evidence to give the defendant no choice but to settle on your terms.
Remember that in most cases, you have only two years after the malpractice to file a lawsuit.
Respondeat Superior
You can sue the hospital for the malpractice of one of its employees without proving that the hospital itself was negligent. The problem is that many doctors who work for hospitals are independent contractors, not employees. Even if you can sue the doctor, you can’t necessarily sue the hospital unless you prove the hospital was negligent. That isn’t a problem most of the time because doctors tend to be very well-insured.
Sovereign Immunity
The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority owns Northside Hospital as a public entity. This means that suing Northside falls under the Georgia Tort Claims Act. You will have to comply with special procedures if you want to sue the hospital simply because it is a government entity. Compliance with these procedures makes it more difficult for you to win. You don’t need to worry about that, however, if you’re only suing the doctor.
Settle Your Claim Out of Court If Possible
Most claimants settle their medical malpractice claims out of court. Healthcare providers tend to be amenable to confidential settlements rather than public trials because their reputations are the lifeblood of their profession. If you haven’t gotten an attorney yet, get one and let them do the negotiating for you. If you file a lawsuit, you can offer to withdraw the lawsuit in exchange for a generous settlement.
File an Ethics Complaint With The Georgia Composite Medical Board
Georgia doctors are subject to a code of ethics. If they violate this code, they are subject to professional discipline by the Georgia Composite Medical Board, which oversees such matters. Although not all medical malpractice rises to the level of an ethics violation, some of it does. Consequently, you can file a complaint against a Georgia doctor for medical malpractice.
Contact the Atlanta Medical Malpractice Law Firm of Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers for Help Today
Medical malpractice claims tend to be complex. In fact, expert witnesses are used in medical malpractice claims perhaps more routinely than in any other area of legal practice. Do not try to handle a medical malpractice claim on your own. You’ll need the assistance of a dedicated Georgia medical malpractice lawyer.
If you or a close one have suffered from medical malpractice in Atlanta, Georgia, please call Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers at (770) 390-7550 or contact us online to schedule a free case evaluation today.
We proudly serve in Fulton County.
Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers
2 Ravinia Dr NE Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30346