If you were harmed due to the improper actions of a medical professional who was treating you, you may have a claim for medical malpractice. While not all harm suffered while under the care of a doctor or hospital, constitutes medical malpractice, if the conduct or failure to act that caused your injuries falls outside of the standard of care, you have the right to seek compensation for your losses.
Standard of Care
To win a claim of medical malpractice in Georgia, you must prove that your caretaker violated the applicable standard of care by either performing an inappropriate act (such as prescribing the wrong medication) or failing to perform an act (such as ignoring your symptoms). In Georgia, the medical standard of care is higher than an ordinary care that you might expect from, for example, an automobile driver on a public road. Because medical personnel such as doctors and nurses are trained professionals and patients entrust their health to them, they are held to a higher standard of care than other people.
This doesn’t mean, however, that any mistake in treating you automatically adds up to medical malpractice – to win, you must prove that your treatment failed to meet the minimum standard of care. In most cases, a medical malpractice claim is simply a negligence claim against your health care provider.
Causation
To win a medical malpractice claim, it is not enough to prove negligence. You must also prove that your health care provider’s negligence actually caused the harm you suffered. This is not necessarily as straightforward as it may seem and requires the help of a skilled and experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Damages
The damages available in a Georgia medical malpractice case exceed what many people expect. If you establish your claim you can win compensation for:
- past, present and future medical expenses
- lost earnings
- psychological harm such as pain and suffering and mental anguish
If you successfully prove physical harm, the amount you are awarded for psychological harm can far exceed the amount you are awarded for tangible losses such as medical bills and lost work time. In cases of outrageous misconduct (such as a doctor operating on you while intoxicated, for example), you might also be able to win punitive damages.
Attorney William P. (“Pope”) Langdale, III of Langdale Vallotton, LLC of Valdosta Georgia has successfully represented medical malpractice victims and their families. He stated: “Medical malpractice cases are among the most challenging to prove and win, but with the right resources and experience, we have been able to successfully represent our clients in South Georgia.”
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the deadline by which you must file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In Georgia this deadline is two years after the injury or death occurred (which could be more than two years after the date that the malpractice occurred). Even if the injury or death occurred after the malpractice occurred, however, you cannot file a medical malpractice lawsuit more than five years after the date that the malpractice actually occurred (except in cases of fraud). One exception to this rule is for children. If the injured party was a child, the statute of limitations clock doesn’t start ticking before the child’s seventh birthday.
Wrongful Death Lawsuits
If the patient died as a result of malpractice, close family members (or in some cases, the personal representative of the victim’s estate) may file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking damages for the victim’s death. The general statute of limitations deadline for a wrongful death lawsuit is two years after the date of death.
Out-of-Court Settlements
Even though most Georgia medical malpractice lawsuits are settled out of court, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t need to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In fact, filing a lawsuit shows the opposing party (generally a medical malpractice insurer) that you are serious about your claim, and may be the only way that you can drag the opposing party to the negotiating table or elicit an adequate settlement offer.
