Medical mistakes are one of the leading causes of death in the United States, trailing only heart disease and cancer. You trust doctors, nurses, and hospitals to take care of you and provide the right treatment. But it can be devastating when a provider breaches that trust and you or a loved one suffer significant harm.
If you’ve been injured or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, you have the right to hold them accountable. Whether the harm was intentional or not, if the care didn’t meet a certain standard or was the cause of your injuries, you could be entitled to compensation.
The Georgia medical malpractice attorneys at DuBose Miller have decades of combined experience representing the interests of clients just like yourself. Our law firm would be happy to review your situation and let you know if you have a case. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle
When you seek medical treatment, there are untold opportunities for a medical provider to make a grave error that could be life-altering. The medical profession is serious business. That’s why people train for years to become physicians, and hospitals have such rigorous standards. But mistakes still happen due to carelessness, recklessness, and negligence. Some of the medical malpractice situations our law firm handles include:
Diagnosis Errors
Perhaps the most common forms of medical malpractice are the various types of diagnosis errors that can occur:
- Failure to diagnose – When a physician or other medical professional fails to diagnosis an illness and the patient’s health continues to deteriorate due to lack of treatment.
- Delayed diagnosis – When a physician diagnosis a condition correctly but takes much longer to do so than they should have. Sometimes this can prove fatal.
- Misdiagnosis – When a doctor diagnoses and treats a patient for the wrong illness, meaning the true medical condition isn’t getting treatment and is progressing.
Birth Injuries
Birth injures are heartbreaking for parents because most are preventable. These mistakes can occur during pregnancy, delivery, or just after the baby’s birth. Examples of birth injuries include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Cerebral Palsy
- Brain damage
- Bruising and forceps marks
- Brachial Palsy
- Facial paralysis
Anesthesia Errors
There is a wide range of errors that can happen while a patient is under anesthesia. If a patient isn’t monitored properly, they could suffer complications, including death. Also, a patient that isn’t properly intubated won’t get enough oxygen to their brain and could suffer brain damage.
Surgical Malpractice
Among the most shocking medical malpractice cases we handle are those involving surgical procedures. These involve:
- Operating on the wrong body parts
- Damaging body parts during surgery
- Leaving surgical instruments inside a patient
- Failing to obtain informed consent for surgery
- Operating on a patient without a surgical plan
Medication Errors
Doctors commonly prescribe medication as part of their treatment. But errors in prescribing or filling medication can be dangerous and deadly. A doctor or pharmacist can be held responsible for various types of medication errors:
- Prescribing or filling the wrong medication
- Giving a patient the incorrect dosage
- Not considering interactions with other drugs
- Disregarding the patient’s known allergies
Faulty Medical Equipment
Medical staff and hospitals are responsible for making sure life-saving and diagnostic equipment are ready, available, and functioning properly. If the equipment is not up to standard, the medical providers could be held responsible for any injuries or deaths that occur.
Hospital Negligence
Hospitals and their staff are held to the highest standards when it comes to patient care. There are numerous opportunities for medical malpractice in this environment. For example, an unclean hospital could lead to a dangerous infection. Technicians could commit errors when doing testing. Or nursing staff might neglect or mistreat a patient, causing injury.
Compensation for Medical Malpractice Cases
The purpose of a medical malpractice lawsuit is to hold negligent medical providers responsible for the harms they cause and obtain full and fair compensation for damages. The compensation typically available in medical malpractice cases includes:
- Medical bills, past, and future
- Lost income
- Lost earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
Georgia Medical Malpractice Cases Must Meet Rigorous Standards
It’s not uncommon to experience doubt about the competence of medical staff after a loved one dies, or you experience an unexpected outcome while receiving treatment. It’s important to remember that medical malpractice isn’t responsible for every poor outcome. But, if you believe you have a case, the best way to confirm your suspicions is by consulting with a seasoned Georgia medical malpractice attorney.
When you consult with our law firm, we can tell you if the two components of a valid medical malpractice claim exist:
- Failure to meet the applicable standard of care – Medical professionals must deliver a certain level of care depending on the patient’s condition.
- The direct link between treatment and injury – There exists a direct link between the medical treatment provided (or not provided) and the resulting injury or death.
It isn’t a simple matter to prove the standard of care wasn’t met or that there was a direct link between the treatment and a poor outcome. Beyond the regular process for filing a lawsuit, the state of Georgia also requires an affidavit from a medical expert. The right attorney and legal team will have experience in getting positive results in even the most difficult medical malpractice cases.
Speak With An Experienced Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Unfortunately, medical malpractice is all too common across the state of Georgia and in the greater Atlanta area. Patients continue to suffer severe consequences because medical providers fail to deliver the quality of care the law obligates them to give.
If you believe you or a loved one have been a victim, contact our office today. DuBose Miller takes a limited number of these cases because they require detailed investigations and a substantial commitment of time and resources. But, if we do take your case, we will aggressively pursue the parties responsible for your injuries and seek justice on your behalf.
Your initial consultation with our law firm is always free, and we don’t charge any legal fees unless we win your case. Call our Atlanta office today at 855-44MILLER or reach out to us online to schedule your appointment.
