We rely on doctors, surgeons, and medical specialists to effectively diagnose and treat our ailments. Most of the time, these individuals are highly skilled, compassionate, and competent at addressing our needs.
Sadly, though, there are individuals who are negligent, inattentive, or incompetent, and their failure to act properly can impact your health and wellness for years to come. In such cases, a personal injury attorney in Alpharetta can help you seek justice.
If you were injured by a doctor, nurse, or other medical practitioner, you can exercise your legal rights to seek justice and compensation for the physical and mental pain you’ve suffered. Led by attorney Ali Awad, The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm has successfully lodged medical malpractice lawsuits on behalf of injured patients.
Schedule a free, no-obligation case review with an experienced Alpharetta medical malpractice attorney when you call (470) 323-8779 or contact us online.
Why Hiring an Alpharetta Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help Your Case
Even in the highly-regulated, highly-supervised world of medicine, mistakes can happen. These mistakes may not be fueled by malicious intent, but regardless, they have far-reaching consequences.
A mishandled medication, botched surgery, premature discharge, or failure in care standards can lead to lifelong consequences for you and others. Therefore, doctors, nurses, and other professionals should be held accountable not just in order to restore damage but also as a matter of public safety.
A negligent provider may make the same mistakes again and endanger someone else’s health or life. That is one major reason why medical malpractice laws exist.
That said, lodging a medical malpractice claim on your own is challenging. Hospitals, clinics, and care providers often have deep roots in the community — as well as networks of legal professionals to call on if they’re accused of wrongdoing.
These teams will find any way possible to quash legitimate claims that aren’t backed up by solid evidence and legal justification.
Further, you need a strong understanding of Georgia laws to successfully make a claim. Each state is different, and the laws change frequently, which means having an attorney is critical in order to verify that your claim is built on a strong legal foundation.
With those points in mind, hiring an Alpharetta medical malpractice attorney is frequently the best move for getting the compensation you may be entitled to. Ali Awad and the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm team understand the ins and outs of the Georgia legal system in regard to personal injuries, including medical malpractice.
They know what evidence is needed and what standards must be met to demonstrate that you’ve been wronged. Further, they’ll pursue the maximum amount of compensation that you can reasonably receive.
You won’t have to worry about leaving money on the table with the CEO Lawyer by your side.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
Medicine is a vast and complicated field. If you aren’t familiar with it, you may have trouble identifying times when you’ve been wronged or put at risk.
Even if you feel a provider was acting with your best interests in mind, the results are what matter. Well-intentioned providers can make mistakes, and you shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill if a provider acts negligently.
Some common examples of medical malpractice include:
- Childbirth problems: Childbirth is a highly common procedure in hospitals, with an estimated 124,000 live births across GA in 2021. Although professionals deliver babies every day throughout Georgia, childbirth can be complex and dangerous for the baby and the mother. Improper treatment or negligence can lead to chronic issues for both the mother and the baby.
- Medication issues: Doctors and pharmacists must carefully evaluate your medical history before prescribing a medication. If they fail to recognize an allergy, a pre-existing condition, or a drug interaction, you could suffer serious consequences. Further, these professionals need to describe the symptoms, side effects, and potential complications that each drug can cause so that you can make an informed decision.
- Anesthesia mistakes: Anesthesia is used in medical settings for minor procedures as well as major surgeries. It’s often a necessity for successful operations, but if it’s administered improperly, there can be serious consequences. An anesthesia mistake can lead to breathing troubles or even brain damage.
- Misdiagnoses: Sadly, some people spend months or even years going in and out of medical offices to determine the cause of their symptoms. At times, all of these efforts result in a misdiagnosis. Without the proper diagnosis, your subsequent treatments may not be effective. In fact, the treatments may do more harm than good. A misdiagnosis can lead not only to delayed care of the actual problem but also mental distress, physical problems, and months or years of wasted time since the doctor failed to identify the real issue.
- Lab result mistakes or a failure to test: This area of malpractice refers to situations where a doctor fails to give you certain tests to diagnose your condition. Alternatively, they may conduct the proper tests but present inaccurate test results.
- Premature discharge: In some cases, doctors discharge patients before it’s actually safe for them to go home. If you were discharged before you could safely leave the hospital, you may have a case for medical malpractice.
- Surgical errors: Surgery is a highly vulnerable time for patients. You have to rely fully on your surgeon and their team to keep you safe and perform as expected. Unfortunately, there are stories of surgeons performing operations on the wrong side of the body, on the wrong patient, or performing the wrong procedure altogether. Mistakes made in surgery can also lead to hemorrhaging, organ damage, and other consequences. There are even cases where surgical instruments are left inside of the body. Anything that compromises your safety and health during surgery could fall under the umbrella of medical malpractice.
What Does the “Standard of Care” Mean in Regards to Medical Malpractice?
Medical professionals are required to adhere to what is known as the “standard of care.” The standard of care lays out certain criteria and practices that doctors, nurses, and other medical staff must uphold.
If a medical professional fails to meet the standard of care, and that failure leads to an injury, they could be found liable for medical malpractice.
The standard of care can be somewhat subjective, as every healthcare situation is unique. In other words, it is not always obvious at first glance what the standards would have dictated.
That nuance means there’s room for interpretation, depending on the circumstances. Negligence has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis since there are many factors to consider.
In regards to medical malpractice, a jury may deem that a professional failed to behave properly if they didn’t provide adequate care, disregarded a patient’s needs or wishes, mistreated a patient, or engaged in illegal or unethical conduct. Medical professionals are held to an especially high standard of care since they provide such crucial services to the public.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice can take many forms. In general, though, your case must meet three criteria:
- Failure to meet the standard of care: As described earlier, the medical professional must have failed to meet the basic standard of care. If an attorney can demonstrate that your provider did not act in good faith while you were in their care, you may have a case for medical malpractice.
- Negligence led to injury or death: If the provider failed to meet the standard of care, your attorney must next prove that their negligence directly contributed to an injury or death. They’ll also need to establish that the injury or death wouldn’t have occurred if the provider wasn’t negligent.
- Incurred measurable damages: In order to have a viable malpractice claim, the patient(s) must have suffered damages that can be calculated and pursued through the legal claims system, such as pain and suffering, medical bills, or lost wages as a result of negligence.
If you don’t know whether your case meets the standards for medical malpractice or not, don’t worry; the point of consulting with an Alpharetta medical malpractice lawyer is to determine what avenues make sense for pursuing your claim. When in doubt, it’s always worthwhile to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to get an opinion from someone who has experience handling cases like yours.
Contact an Alpharetta Medical Malpractice Law Firm Today
Suffering an injury at the hands of a trusted medical professional can be devastating.
In addition to the physical pain you may endure, you may feel like you can’t trust the medical system or providers to treat you moving forward. This can impact your desire to seek medical care and, as a result, affect your long-term health.
If you’ve been hurt in a medical setting, contact Ali Awad at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm. This trusted attorney has won millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards for Georgia residents since starting his practice.
You’ll benefit from his no-nonsense approach, deep understanding of medical malpractice law, and experience in and out of the courtroom. Attorney Awad will do everything he can to help you receive the compensation you may be entitled to.
You can call (470) 323-8779 or contact us online at any time to schedule a free case review with a medical malpractice attorney near you.
