Georgia Medical Negligence Attorney

Health care professionals have both a legal and ethical responsibility to properly care for their patients. When they ignore these responsibilities, they can cause irreparable harm to their patients, resulting in medical malpractice or negligence.

Medical malpractice or negligence is when a doctor or health care professional makes a careless mistake while diagnosing, treating, or advising a patient – causing an injury to the patient that could have been otherwise prevented.

With the help of an attorney, you can file a medical negligence lawsuit as the injured patient and recover compensation for the harm you suffered. Contact the medical malpractice lawyers at Peak Wooten McDaniel & Colwell LLP to find out about the legal process during a free case evaluation.

An Overview of Medical Negligence

Defining Medical Negligence

Medical negligence occurs when a patient is harmed by a medical professional who fails to meet the appropriate standard of care expected of someone in their profession and role. Medical negligence isn’t just an honest mistake, but it is an act of carelessness that one can assume another doctor in the same position and situation would reasonably not have made.

Proving Medical Negligence

To prove medical negligence, you and your medical malpractice lawyer must show that:

• A relationship between the medical professional and patient existed – meaning the medical professional owed the patient a certain standard of care.
• The medical professional violated this standard of care through their negligent or careless actions.
• The medical professional’s negligence directly resulted in harm to the patient.
• The patient suffered real losses as a result of this harm that they can be compensated for.

Medical Malpractice Statistics

According to a study by Johns Hopkins Medicine, medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer. As many as 250,000 people die every year as a result of medical errors – making up nearly a tenth of the population. If you have lost a loved one due to medical malpractice, contact our Georgia wrongful death attorneys who can support you through the claims process and help you fight for financial compensation.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice

• Misdiagnosis: This is when a doctor fails to recognize and diagnose a condition that another doctor in the same profession reasonably would have. A misdiagnosis can cause the condition to worsen – resulting in more significant harm to the patient and requiring more significant medical treatment.
• Surgical errors: These are mistakes that happen during surgery – such as if the doctor carelessly operates on the wrong patient or the wrong body part, causing them harm and complications that could have and should have been avoided.
• Anesthesia errors: Anesthesia is the treatment used during surgery to prevent pain. When an anesthesiologist makes a careless mistake such as providing the wrong amount of anesthesia for a patient, the consequences can be serious.
• Medication errors: This is when a medical professional makes an error in prescribing or providing medication. For example, this could be when a doctor prescribes medication to one patient that was meant for another patient, causing them harm.
• Birth injuries: When a gynecologist, obstetrician or other medical professional makes a careless mistake during the process of childbirth and fails to meet the appropriate standard of care, they can cause the newborn baby permanent harm.

Contact a Georgia Medical Malpractice Lawyer

The trust between a medical professional and a patient is sacred. When that trust is betrayed due to medical negligence, you can seek justice and hold the medical professional accountable for their misconduct by filing a claim. Contact a medical malpractice lawyer at Peak Wooten McDaniel & Colwell LLP for more information, at no cost or obligation. Call (833) 644-1899 to speak to our Georgia personal injury attorneys and schedule your free consultation today.