What Are the Different Types of Medical Malpractice Claims?
We expect our doctors to treat our lives as though they are as valuable to them as they are to us, but sometimes doctors or other medical providers make careless errors or oversights, with disastrous consequences for our health and lives. If you think you or a loved one suffered an injury, worsened medical condition, or shortened life expectancy due to medical malpractice, you may have questions, including what types of medical malpractice cases do we see in successful compensation claims? A medical malpractice lawyer from Piasta Walker Hagenbush, LLC can help you know if your circumstances warrant a medical malpractice lawsuit.
What Are the Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice In Georgia and Elsewhere in the U.S.?
Not every undesirable outcome of medical treatment is medical malpractice. Only when a doctor’s mistake or negligence results in an injury, worsened medical condition, or wrongful death do you have the right to seek a legal remedy. A successful medical malpractice claim recovers the compensation a victim deserves. Common types of medical malpractice claims include the following:
- Medication mistakes, including wrong medication, wrong dosage, wrong delivery method, or failing to obtain a complete patient history, and administering a medication that’s contraindicated for the patient or to which they are allergic
- Misdiagnoses, missed diagnoses, or delayed diagnoses
- Surgical errors, including wrong-patient, wrong side, and wrong-site surgeries, surgical instruments left inside a body cavity, or a slip-of-hand mistake that nicks, damages, or severs an artery or organ
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to obtain informed content
- Birth injuries
- Failure to treat
When medical malpractice causes a patient’s death, the case becomes a medical malpractice wrongful death claim under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2,. These claims are brought by a close surviving family member.
What Are the Elements of Medical Malpractice In Georgia?
The evidence in a medical malpractice claim must meet the following requirements showing a violation of the medical provider’s standard of care in order to constitute medical malpractice:
- A doctor-patient relationship was in place at the time the malpractice occurred
- The doctor or medical provider owed a duty of care to the patient, requiring them to treat the patient at the level of care considered as the standard by the medical community
- They breached this duty of care through malpractice
- The breach of duty directly caused injury or harm to the patient
- The patient suffered economic and non-economic damages from the malpractice
Damages claimed in Georgia medical malpractice cases include past and future medical expenses, past and future income loss, compensation for pain and suffering, and any catastrophic injury damages that apply for permanent harm, such as loss of limb, the loss of an organ, the loss of one of the senses, permanent scarring, disfigurement, or wrongful death damages for a family member.
Most medical malpractice claims are resolved through settlements from the at-fault provider’s medical malpractice insurance.
How Does a Georgia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help?
Medical malpractice lawsuits are complex, requiring an in-depth investigation, careful documentation of evidence, access to medical experts, and meticulous attention to filing details. Doctors and medical facilities often challenge these claims, sometimes leading to a court case rather than a settlement. Call the trial-ready injury attorneys at Piasta Walker Hagenbush, LLC for the experienced representation your case deserves.