Negligence is the failure to use a level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in the same situation. Medical negligence is the failure of a medical provider to fulfill their duty of care to a patient. It is a form of medical malpractice.
What Are Examples of Medical Negligence in an Atlanta Medical Malpractice Case?
Medical providers are expected to provide care that meets or exceeds the accepted standard of care for a specific situation. The standard of care is based on what similarly trained medical professionals would do given the same circumstances. When a medical professional’s actions deviate from the standard of care, it is considered medical negligence.
Examples of medical negligence include, but are not limited to:
- Failing to obtain informed consent for a procedure or treatment
- Misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or failure to diagnose a medical condition
- Mistakes and errors made during labor and delivery, causing birth injuries
- Anesthesia errors
- Surgical errors, including operating on the wrong patient or leaving items inside a patient
- Medication errors, including prescribing the wrong medication or giving a patient the wrong or incorrect dose of a medication
- Failing to monitor a patient after a procedure or surgery
- Not ordering the correct or timely diagnostic tests
- Failing to timely refer a patient to a specialist
- A hospital allowing a patient to fall or dropping a patient
- Mistakes made using medical devices
There are many reasons why doctors and other medical providers make medical errors and mistakes. What they all generally have in common is that the harm to the patient could have been avoided had the medical provider met their duty of care.
What Do You Have To Prove To Recover Damages for a Medical Negligence Claim?
A doctor does not need to intend to injure a patient to commit medical negligence. However, the patient must suffer harm for the negligence to rise to medical malpractice. If the patient is not harmed, the doctor might have breached their duty of care, but they did not commit medical malpractice.
Proving a medical malpractice claim in Georgia requires you to establish the following:
- The physician has a duty of care because there was a doctor-patient relationship (this applies to other medical providers, including hospitals, nurses, and other healthcare providers);
- The provider breached the duty of care by failing to provide an accepted standard of care because of their omissions or acts;
- The medical negligence or medical errors were the direct and proximate cause of the patient harm; and,
- The patient suffered damages that can be compensated for in a court of law.
Establishing the standard of care in a medical malpractice case requires hiring medical experts. Expert witnesses testify about the standard of care that should have been used in your situation. They also explain how your doctor’s actions deviated from the standard of care to cause your injury.
Medical negligence cases are complex personal injury claims. It is best to work with an experienced medical negligence lawyer as soon as you suspect you are the victim of medical negligence.
What Damages Could I Receive for a Medical Negligence Claim in Georgia?
Once you prove the elements of your case to create liability for damages, you can recover compensation for your economic damages. These damages represent your financial losses and can include the following:
- Medical bills and expenses
- The cost of future medical treatment or care for permanent conditions
- Lost wages and benefits, including future loss of income and decreased earning capacity
- The cost of rehabilitative care, including occupational and physical therapy
- Long-term care, including skilled nursing care and personal care
- Out-of-pocket expenses and costs
In addition to compensation for monetary losses, you can also recover compensation for the pain and suffering you experienced because of medical negligence. These damages are referred to as non-economic damages and include:
- Permanent disabilities and impairments
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
Other damages could be available, depending on the facts of the case.
For instance, family members could have a loss of consortium claim related to medical negligence. Additionally, you could receive punitive damages in some cases. If the medical negligence resulted in wrongful death, family members could seek compensation from the parties who caused their loved one’s death.
Our experienced Atlanta medical negligence lawyers analyze each aspect of your case to determine the damages you are entitled to receive. Our goal is to maximize the amount of money you recover for the harm you sustained at the hands of a medical professional.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Were you injured by a doctor or other medical provider? If so, you deserve compensation for the harm you suffered.
Call Malone Law at (770) 390-7550 or contact us online for a free case evaluation from an experienced Atlanta medical malpractice attorney. We want to help you recover fair compensation for injuries caused by medical negligence.