Medical malpractice is a term that covers a lot of different things that might happen under the care of a medical practitioner. Unfortunately, medical malpractice can result in devasting injury that could change someone’s life in a very negative way. Our Georgia medical malpractice attorneys have handled many cases where people have been victims of negligent from a medical professional and have ended up worse off than they were to begin with. If you believe you have been harmed due to the negligence or carelessness of a medical professional, please do not hesitate to call our office today to set up your free initial case review. We will go over the details of your case and let you know what your legal options are from here.
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Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
As mentioned, medical malpractice is a term that means more than one thing. There are several types of common medical malpractice cases, including:
- Misdiagnosis
- Surgical Errors
- Pharmaceutical Mistakes
- Pregnancy, Labor/Delivery, and Postpartum Negligence
Misdiagnosis frequently happens when there are tumors or growths, a heart attack, an infection, pulmonary embolisms, or heart disease. These are the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions which, as you may already know, can be near-fatal.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for surgeries to go badly and involve errors, as well. Things can be left in the body after surgery, there could be a wrong operation performed, and there may even be an error with the anesthesia.
Pharmaceutical mistakes are all too common, too. These victims not only are not having their condition taken care of if they are given the wrong prescription, but could be harmed by unknown side effects from medication they have not been counseled to get. There could be wrong doses of medication as well that can cause harm.
Pregnancy, too, can involve medical malpractice, unfortunately. The United States has a staggeringly high maternal mortality rate compared to other developed nations. When there is malpractice involved with pregnancy, labor, and delivery, as well as the post-partum period of time, both the baby and the mother can be harmed. To win a medical malpractice case in these scenarios would require that there be proof that there was negligence involved under the care of the medical professional, be it an OBGYN or labor nurse.
Georgia Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
When pursuing a medical malpractice case, you need to be aware that you are given a limited amount of time in which you can bring your claim or have it settled in civil court. You will be given two years as your statute of limitations. A medical malpractice case works a little differently than other personal injury cases in Georgia. If someone is in a car accident, they know the exact date of the crash and who was at fault for that injury. Medical malpractice has a lot of gray area. In some cases, there is an obvious date of when you were injured. A severe example would be having the wrong limb surgically amputated which, as outlandish as it sounds, does actually happen in rare cases. There are other examples in which you would know right away that a medical professional has harmed you. However, in instances where it is not blatantly obvious that you have been harmed, you might not know when the statute of limitations had started. It would not be fair if a law stated that you had from the date of a surgery to bring your case, if it took you a few weeks to discover that you got an infection from the surgery team leaving a tool in your body. Therefore, with medical malpractice, you either get two years from the date of the incident or the date in which you discovered (or should have reasonably discovered) that there was malpractice. Two years might seem like it is a long time, but you should never delay in seeking an attorney to take on your case. You want to give them as much time as possible to build your case to be as strong as it can.
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Call Our Georgia Medical Malpractice Attorneys Today
Medical malpractice is a very serious type of personal injury case. You could have your health compromised, have a mistrust of medical professionals, and even need further medical treatment. We understand that you have most likely had a lot of medical bills, had to miss work and lost wages, and perhaps not been able to enjoy your normal daily routine after you have been harmed by a medical professional. We will take your case all the way and get you the compensation that you deserve. We will hold the liable party responsible for your injuries and make sure that your rights are fully protected. Please do not hesitate to call our office today to set up your free initial case review.
