Overview
Doctors, dentists and other medical specialists have an obligation to conduct themselves professionally. When they do not, patients in their care can be seriously injured. Gone are the days when hospitals, doctors and nurses could do 'No Wrong'. Sadly, today's fast pace and focus on volume, rather than quality, often lead to sub-standard medical care. Many mistakes are simply swept under the carpet with the hope that they will go unnoticed. Patients are commonly discharged with negligently caused infirmities and told "... sometimes these things just happen." Physicians, nurses, and hospitals are not perfect. They make mistakes just like the rest of us. Therefore, like the rest of us, they should be held responsible for their mistakes.
- Insist that a report be filed with the police, sheriff or state highway patrol;
- Obtain names, addresses and telephone numbers of all witnesses;
- hotograph the accident scene, including all vehicles involved (before repairing) and any visible injuries (cuts, bruises). Professional photographs are generally preferable, but not essential; Talk to no one about the accident or injuries other than your personal physician or lawyer. Sign nothing without consulting a lawyer. Truthful statements you make in an attempt to be helpful can easily be misinterpreted and turned against you;
- Tell your physician or surgeon exactly how the injury occurred, and describe all symptoms and complaints. Be sure to report memory problems, confusion or disorientation, however minor these things may seem at the time. Begin keeping a diary of how the injury or death affects your life. In particular, write down all medical related visits and everything that causes you physical pain, frustration or worry. Obtain and keep receipts for all expenses relating to the collision; and
- Consult a lawyer before paying a ticket or appearing in court, even if you believe you were partially at fault. Admissions made in traffic court could hurt your case.
Common instances of medical malpractice include failure to properly monitor a patient while under care, wrong-site surgery, objects left inside patients, medication errors, and failure to diagnose time sensitive illnesses until it is too late.
Unfortunately,
such errors are often avoidable and result from medical professionals
who are inadequately trained or just too busy to be thorough.
In a medical malpractice case we must prove that the medical
provider did not meet the applicable standard of care in your
or your loved one's particular case in order to recover monetary
damages.
Georgia Medical Malpractice Lawsuits--After 2005 Tort Reform Laws
In February 2005, the Georgia legislature, along with Governor Sonny Purdue, signed into law a sweeping medical malpractice "reform" bill that makes it more difficult for those injured by a health care provider's negligence to achieve a just recovery for medical malpractice in Georgia. For instance, in a case by our law firm in January 2007, the trial court ruled, citing the medical malpractice reform law, that the Plaintiff could not put forth testimony of the treating doctor who made a statemitting admitting fault shortly after a surgery in which someone had suffered a devastating and permanent injury.
In addition to the alteration to the evidence doctrine allowing statements of fault to be admitted against those admitting wrongdoing, the tort reform laws have reduced the amount that someone can claim for compensatory damages to $350,000.00 per wrongdoer with a total cap of $1,050,000.00 for compensatory damages (up to 3 wrongdoers). Testifying experts must meet the standards of the federal Daubert standard for experts and must defend themselves against attacks by medical malpractice defense attorneys. What does this mean for the citizen of Georgia injured by medical malpractice? Reduced compensation for those injured by medical malpractice and increased costs to bringing a claim forward because experts charge more for their services in the post-tort reform era.
Choosing an attorney in post-tort reform era.
It is crucial to find an attorney who has experience trying medical malpractice cases since the tort reform changes here in Georgia. The changes in medical malpractice law in Georgia are numerous (much more than those listed on this website) and failure to fully understand the new laws can result in cases being dismissed with prejudice or experts being excluded before trial, or worse, at trial. Our Georgia medical malpractice lawyers, will review your case with a potential testifying expert to examine whether we believe your case is one that we would be interested in bringing forth on your behalf. Please understand that if we review your case and do not wish to take on representation, it does not mean that you do not "have a case." It simply means that this law firm is extremely selective in the Georgia medical mapractice cases that we take on for representation. Trying a medical malpractice case almost always costs in excess of $50,000.00 to take to trial and therefore we only take on a handfull of medical malpractice cases at any one time.
When selecting a medical malpractice attorney in Georgia, remember to ask the following questions: 1) How many medical malpractice cases have you tried before a jury in Georgia since 2005?; 2) If the attorney has tried any cases in Georgia for medical malpractice since 2005, approximately how much were your expert testimony fees?; 3) Has the attorney ever handled a case with facts similar to the ones involving the case at hand?
We look forward to hearing from you regarding your potential Georgia medical malpractice claim. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us. You may use our interactive to the left, send us an email, or call us at 404.521.3455.
Attorney Representation in Atlanta Since 2000
730 Peachtree Street
Suite 875
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
The law office of Panessa & Associates, LLC represents clients located throughout the state of Georgia, including the communities of Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Smyrna, East Point, Marietta, Sandy Point, Duluth, Fairburn, Decatur, Jonesboro, Athens, Macon, Canton, Lawrenceville, Wilburn, union City, Roswell, Warner Robins, Gainesville, Fulton County, Douglas County, Clayton County, and Fayette County.