Negligent medical care in Alpharetta can devastate a patient’s life, leaving them with physical injuries or chronic health complications that require more treatment. Severe injuries or complications can even result in lifelong disabilities, resulting in considerable financial burdens for the harmed patient.
If you’ve become the victim of medical malpractice in Alpharetta, Georgia, you need experienced legal advocates who can stand up for your rights and demand accountability for the harm you have experienced.
Contact Geiger Legal Group, LLC, today for a free initial claim evaluation. You can talk to a medical malpractice lawyer in Georgia about your legal options for pursuing compensation and justice. Our family-run law firm provides injured patients with aggressive legal advocacy that includes vigorously negotiating with insurance companies to fight for maximum compensation. Our legal team won’t hesitate to take your case to trial if necessary to pursue the best possible result.
Understanding Medical Malpractice
What is medical malpractice? Medical malpractice refers to negligent treatment provided by a healthcare professional or facility that harms a patient. Examples of errors that may constitute medical malpractice include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Failure to treat
- Premature discharge
A healthcare provider commits negligence when their treatment fails to meet the applicable standard of care. The standard to determine negligence is whether the caregiver’s treatment decisions and actions matched what other reasonable healthcare professionals of similar training and experience would do in similar circumstances.
Proving that a healthcare provider provided treatment that failed to meet the standard of care and harmed the patient requires complex evidence, including testimony from medical experts to explain the details of the standard of care in the patient’s case and how the healthcare provider’s conduct fell below that standard.
Healthcare professionals who commit malpractice may face financial liability to patients for economic and personal losses.
Common Misconceptions About Medical Malpractice
Due to the complex nature of medical malpractice law, patients often have misconceptions about what malpractice involves and what happens in medical malpractice claims. Examples of popular misconceptions about medical malpractice include:
- Every adverse outcome for a patient occurs due to medical malpractice. Not true. Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider renders treatment that falls below the applicable standard of care.
- Only doctors can commit malpractice. Not true. Healthcare professionals, including nurses, physician’s assistants, radiology technicians, pharmacists, physical therapists, chiropractors, and others, can also commit medical malpractice.
- Medical malpractice suits contribute to increasing healthcare costs. Not true. Medical malpractice claims encourage healthcare professionals and facilities to deliver focused, top-quality care that avoids costly patient treatment mistakes.
- Patients always receive substantial compensation in malpractice claims. Not true. Compensation in medical malpractice cases depends on many factors specific to the individual circumstances. Working with an experienced attorney like those at Geiger Legal Group, LLC, can improve the likelihood of maximizing your benefits.
- Most patients bring medical malpractice claims for frivolous or non-existent injuries. Not true. For a malpractice case to succeed, another medical professional must agree that negligence has occurred. Frivolous suits won’t pass that test.
- Pursuing a malpractice claim will cost too much for an injured patient. Not true. Our medical malpractice attorneys represent patients on a contingency fee basis, meaning the patient pays no money upfront to hire us. We get paid a legal fee only if we win compensation for you in a settlement or at trial.
- Patients don’t need to act quickly to file a medical malpractice claim. Not true. State law imposes a deadline called the statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims. Trial courts can dismiss any lawsuit filed after this deadline expires.
Legal Rights for Medical Malpractice Victims
Victims of medical malpractice may have the legal right to pursue compensation claims against the healthcare professionals and facilities responsible for the malpractice. Financial recovery in medical malpractice cases may include money for:
- Costs of required additional medical treatment and rehabilitation
- Costs of long-term care and support for permanent disabilities
- Lost income when a patient must take extra time off work to recover
- Lost future earning capacity if a patient becomes permanently disabled from working
- Physical pain and emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life due to disabilities, permanent scarring, disfigurement, and altered bodily function
- Reduced life expectancy from missed or mistreated terminal diseases
At Geiger Legal Group, LLC, our dedicated medical malpractice attorneys will leave no stone unturned advocating for your legal rights.
Steps to Take If You Suspect Medical Malpractice
If you believe you may have suffered medical malpractice, you can take steps to protect your health and your legal rights to pursue financial recovery. Things you should do after suffering harm from negligent care include:
- Seek emergency medical treatment if the medical errors have caused life-threatening complications.
- Get a second medical opinion as soon as possible to determine your course of treatment for injuries or complications you’ve suffered.
- Gather copies of your medical records from the negligent treatment and keep copies of medical records of treatment you receive for complications.
- Keep any bills, invoices, or receipts for expenses you incur to recover, and collect your pay stubs or income records if you need to miss work.
- Contact Geiger Legal Group, LLC, as soon as possible to get help with your case.