Doctors and other medical professionals are supposed to help fix your health problems or at least provide treatment that can help you better manage these issues. Unfortunately, medical professionals often fail to provide the care their patients need, which can result in severe injuries or the worsening of your health issues.
If you have suffered because of substandard medical care, you could be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, physical and emotional pain, and various other damages. The Savannah medical malpractice lawyers at Roden Law can guide you through the legal process, investigating your situation and building a strong case as we pursue all of the compensation you deserve. We have many years of experience obtaining millions in combined compensation for victims of many types of personal injuries.
Your consultation with our attorneys is free, and you will not be charged legal fees unless we obtain the compensation you deserve.
Fill out a Free Case Evaluation form or call us today at 1-844-RESULTS.
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Types of Medical Malpractice
Our Savannah medical malpractice lawyers may be able to file a lawsuit over many different forms of medical negligence, including:
- Failure to diagnose – This is one of the most common forms of medical malpractice, and it occurs when a doctor or other medical professional fails to diagnose an illness. This can cause the patient’s health to continue to deteriorate because his or her illness is not being treated.
- Misdiagnosis – This occurs when medical professionals diagnose a patient with the wrong illness and begin treating it. This means that the patient’s true medical problem is not being treated. It can also mean that the patient undergoes unnecessary treatment.
- Delayed diagnosis – This occurs when a doctor diagnoses the correct illness, but long after he or she should have done so. This can be a fatal error with diseases like cancer.
- Anesthesia errors – There are many different types of anesthesia errors. Sometimes doctors fail to properly intubate a patient who is under anesthesia, which can result in a lack of oxygen to the brain that could cause severe brain damage. Another type of anesthesia error is failing to adequately monitor a patient while he or she is under anesthesia to discover and address any signs of stress.
- Birth injuries – This form of medical malpractice occurs during pregnancy, delivery or right after the birth of the baby. For example, doctors could fail to properly monitor the mother or fetus for signs of distress. Doctors can also use forceps incorrectly, causing severe injury to the baby, such as cerebral palsy or damage to the brachial plexus.
- Medication errors – Prescribing medications is one of the most common things a doctor does. However, if he or she is not careful, he or she could prescribe a patient a medication that has dangerous interactions with other medications the patient is taking. Other medication errors include giving a patient an incorrect dosage of a medication or giving a patient the wrong medication.
- Surgical malpractice – This includes operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical instruments inside patients, or damaging tissues and other body parts surrounding the surgical site. Other examples of surgical errors include operating on a patient without a surgical plan or failing to obtain the patient’s informed consent.
- General hospital negligence – Medical malpractice can also be committed by people who work at the hospital or medical facility who are not directly treating you. For instance, technicians could commit errors when reviewing test results or performing tests. Poor sanitation practices could cause you to get an infection from unsanitary surgical instruments or other things in the facility. These forms of malpractice can occur at a variety of medical facilities, such as Memorial University Medical Center or Candler Hospital.
If you were injured as a result of these or any other forms of medical malpractice, contact a Savannah medical malpractice lawyer at our firm today for a free legal consultation. There is a limited amount of time to file a claim so it is important to contact us as soon as possible.
Contact Roden Law today by calling 1-844-RESULTS.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
Georgia has a deadline for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. This deadline is also known as the statute of limitations, and once the statute expires, you no longer have the right to file a lawsuit.
This statute says that claims must be filed within two years of the injury or death caused by medical malpractice. However, there are various exceptions to this deadline, such as:
Statute of Repose
This statute says that you have two years from the date you discover malpractice to file a lawsuit. This covers situations when the patient is not immediately aware that he or she may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
For instance, if a doctor misdiagnoses an illness, it could be weeks or months before you find out. If you were the victim of a surgical error, it might not cause health problems immediately after surgery.
Because of this, the statute of repose says that the statute of limitations begins to run when you knew or should have known that you could file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
The statute of repose also places a five-year limitation on claims. This means that you cannot file a claim more than five years after malpractice occurred, no matter when you discovered it. The only exception to this is if your Savannah medical malpractice attorney can prove there was fraud, concealment or misrepresentation.
Foreign Objects Left in the Body
If a surgeon leaves a scalpel or other surgical instrument or foreign object inside your body, you have one year from the discovery of the object to file a lawsuit. This means you have one year to file a lawsuit no matter when you discover the object.
Claims by Minors
The same statutes of limitations apply to minors who are victims of medical malpractice. However, the two-year statute of limitations will not start running until a minor turns seven years old. The statute of repose also does not start running until a minor turns 10 years old.
These laws are complicated and difficult to interpret on your own. That is why you should contact a Savannah medical malpractice attorney right away to determine how much time you have to file a claim. Our lawyers are well-versed in the statute of limitations and the exceptions to these rules. We can review your situation to determine how these rules apply to your case.
Fill out a Free Case Evaluation form today.
Compensation for Medical Malpractice
The purpose of a medical malpractice claim is to hold negligent medical professionals accountable and obtain compensation for the damages their negligence caused. Compensation is the law’s way of putting you back into a position similar to the one you were in before malpractice occurred.
One of the most common questions about medical malpractice claims is what forms of compensation are available. The answer is we can pursue compensation for a variety of physical, financial and emotional damages, such as:
Medical Bills
If our medical malpractice lawyers in Savannah are able to prove that malpractice occurred, we may be able to recover compensation for any past, current or future medical expenses you incurred because of medical malpractice.
This could include bills for:
- Surgical procedures, such as surgery to remove a foreign object
- Medical testing to identify problems caused by malpractice, such as MRIs, x-rays and blood analysis
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation expenses
- Mobility aids, like crutches or canes
- Prescription medications
Our attorneys will conduct a detailed investigation to determine all of the ways negligence has affected you physically as we try to determine an accurate valuation of your medical expenses.
Lost Wages
Victims of medical negligence are often unable to work for a period of time. In some cases, people miss work sporadically. For instance, maybe there are some days where doctors prohibit you from working. There may be other days where you are not physically able to work. In other cases, you could miss work because you are receiving treatment.
These are all reasons why the law allows our medical malpractice lawyers in Savannah to pursue compensation for wages lost as a result of your injuries.
If your injuries are so severe that they have a long-term effect on the amount of work you can do, we may be able to pursue compensation for lost earning capacity. This can help make up for the loss of income if you are unable to work in the same capacity as before your injury.
Pain and Suffering
We will also attempt to recover compensation for the physical and emotional pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
One of the reasons you need an attorney for your claim is because it is difficult to value these damages. Our Savannah medical malpractice lawyers can help you collect evidence showing how much physical and emotional pain and suffering you are experiencing. This could include a daily journal where you explain all of the issues you are dealing with. This could include debilitating pain and emotional problems like depression, sleeplessness and anxiety.
Unlike some states, Georgia does not place a cap on any forms of compensation available in a medical malpractice case. That means we can go after the full value of your economic damages, like medical bills, and an accurate valuation of your pain and suffering.
Contact a Savannah medical malpractice lawyer today for a free legal consultation.
Proving Medical Malpractice
There are several requirements for proving medical malpractice in Georgia. When we file your medical malpractice complaint, which is the document that begins the lawsuit process, we must file an affidavit created by a medical expert who is qualified to testify in court and who can provide evidence of at least one act of malpractice committed by the party accused of malpractice. This requirement is stated in Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.) 9-11-9.1.
If we do not provide this affidavit, the lawsuit will probably be dismissed. However, there are circumstances where the court will allow you to remedy the situation.
Fortunately, our Savannah medical malpractice attorneys have access to medical experts who meet the qualifications in the Georgia code. When you contact us, we will carefully evaluate your situation to determine the type of medical expert we need to provide evidence of malpractice.
After filing a claim, we will need to prove the five elements of medical malpractice to have a chance of obtaining compensation.
- Doctor/patient relationship – Our medical malpractice lawyers in Savannah need to establish that there was an agreement between you and a medical professional for this person to provide treatment. This relationship is also established if you receive treatment without an agreement.
- Duty of care – Once a doctor/patient relationship is proven, the medical professional automatically has a duty of care. This is a legal obligation to provide the same level of care as a similarly trained medical professional would provide if he or she were in a similar situation. In other words, the medical professional in question has an obligation to provide care that meets accepted standards in the medical community.
- Duty of care was breached – Our Savannah medical malpractice lawyers need to prove that the care you received did not meet accepted medical standards. We will need a medical expert to show the different ways the duty of care was violated in your medical treatment.
- Proximate cause – We need to prove a causal link between the injuries you suffered and the breach of duty of care. This is often one of the most difficult parts of a medical malpractice case. The other side will attempt to argue that your injuries are a result of a pre-existing condition or something else besides the medical professional’s actions.
- Damages – There is no case unless we can prove that the medical negligence that occurred caused you some type of damage, such as medical bills or lost wages.
At Roden Law, we have the resources and knowledge required to have a chance of building a strong case to prove medical malpractice occurred. We understand how devastating medical malpractice can be and that is why we are committed to fighting for all of the compensation you deserve.
Contact an experienced attorney right now by calling 1-844-RESULTS
Contact a Savannah Medical Malpractice Attorney
Unfortunately, medical malpractice is a common occurrence across the state of Georgia. Many medical professionals simply do not provide the quality care they are obligated to by law, causing patients to suffer severe consequences.
If you think you have been a victim, contact one of our medical malpractice lawyers in Savannah for a free, no obligation legal consultation. We have a limited amount of time to pursue a claim and these cases require a detailed investigation. That is why you should contact us as soon as possible.
Our medical malpractice lawyers in Savannah have in-depth knowledge of the many aspects of these claims, including statutes of limitations and what we need to establish to prove malpractice.
Your consultation with us is free and we do not charge legal fees unless there is a favorable resolution of your claim and you receive compensation.