KENNESAW MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY

What Constitutes a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim is a legal action that arises when a healthcare provider injures a patient by deviating from the accepted standards of their profession. It is crucial to understand that an undesirable or poor medical outcome does not, by itself, constitute malpractice.

Medicine is an imperfect science, and patients can have adverse results even when receiving excellent care. A viable malpractice claim exists only when a patient’s injury directly results from a provider’s negligence.

The “Standard of Care”: The Cornerstone of Your Claim

The entire foundation of a medical malpractice case rests on a legal concept known as the “standard of care.” The standard of care is defined as the level and type of care that a reasonably prudent and skilled healthcare professional, with a similar background and in the same medical community, would have provided under the same or similar circumstances. To win your case, we must prove that your provider’s actions (or lack of action) fell below this accepted standard and that this failure directly caused you harm.

Common Examples of Medical Negligence

A breach of the standard of care can occur across all medical fields. Some of the most common grounds for a medical malpractice claim include:

• Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: Failing to correctly diagnose a condition like cancer, stroke, or heart attack promptly, leading to a worse prognosis or death.
• Surgical Errors: Performing surgery on the wrong body part, leaving a foreign object inside the patient, causing nerve damage, or making an anesthesia error.
• Birth Injuries: Causing preventable harm to a baby or mother during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, such as cerebral palsy or Erb’s palsy due to a delayed C-section or improper use of forceps.
• Medication Errors: Prescribing or administering the wrong drug, the wrong dosage, or a medication to which the patient has a known allergy.
• Emergency Room Errors: Failing to properly triage, diagnose, or treat a patient with critical symptoms.
• Failure to Treat: Correctly diagnosing a condition but failing to provide appropriate or timely treatment.

Can I Bring a Medical Malpractice Case?

To successfully bring a medical malpractice case in Georgia, your attorney must be able to prove four distinct elements:

1. A Duty Was Owed: You must first show that a doctor-patient relationship existed. This creates a formal “duty of care” owed by the medical provider to you, the patient. This is typically the easiest element to prove.
2. The Duty Was Breached: This is the core of the case. We must prove that the doctor or healthcare provider breached their duty by deviating from the applicable standard of care. This requires testimony from another qualified medical professional who can explain the standard and how your provider failed to meet it.
3. The Breach Caused the Injury: We must establish “proximate cause”—a direct link between the provider’s negligence and your injury. The defense may argue that your injury was caused by your underlying condition or another factor, not their client’s error.
4. You Suffered Damages: Finally, you must demonstrate that you suffered specific, quantifiable harm due to the injury. This includes economic losses like medical bills and lost wages and non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

Who May Be Held Liable in a Kennesaw Medical Malpractice Claim?

Identifying all responsible parties is a critical step in a medical malpractice investigation. While a single doctor’s error might be the most apparent cause of harm, the negligence often extends to the institutions and systems that employ them. A comprehensive claim seeks accountability from every party whose failure contributed to your injury.

Depending on the facts of your case, liable parties may include:

• Physicians and Surgeons: A primary care doctor, specialist, surgeon, anesthesiologist, or any other physician who provided substandard care may be held liable for their negligence.
• Hospitals and Medical Facilities: Hospitals and surgical centers can be held vicariously liable for the negligence of their employees. They can also be held directly liable for their own administrative negligence, which includes things like failing to properly credential or supervise doctors, being understaffed, or failing to maintain sterile equipment.
• Nurses and Support Staff: A nurse who administers the wrong medication, a lab technician who misreads a sample, or a radiologist who misinterprets an X-ray can all be held liable for their specific acts of negligence.
• Dental Professionals: Dentists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons are held to a professional standard of care just like medical doctors, and their mistakes can form the basis of a malpractice claim.
• Pharmaceutical Companies: While less common, if an injury was caused by a dangerously defective drug or medical device, the manufacturer may be held liable through a product liability action.

What Damages Are Available in a Kennesaw, GA, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

The harm caused by medical negligence is often profound and lifelong. The damages awarded in a lawsuit are intended to provide the financial resources necessary to account for a lifetime of consequences. We work with medical experts, life care planners, and economists to calculate the full, long-term impact of the injury to ensure your compensation is just and complete.

Your recoverable damages are typically divided into two categories:

• Special Damages (Economic Losses): These are the tangible financial costs related to the malpractice. They include:
  • All past, current, and future medical expenses required to treat the new injury or worsened condition. This can include corrective surgeries, long-term care, rehabilitative therapy, and medical equipment.
  • Lost wages and income from the time you have been unable to work.
  • Loss of future earning capacity if the injury prevents you from returning to your profession.
• General Damages (Non-Economic Losses): These damages compensate for your severe, personal, and intangible harms. They acknowledge the human cost of the negligence and include compensation for:
  • Physical pain, discomfort, and suffering.
  • Mental and emotional anguish, trauma, and distress.
  • Permanent disability, scarring, or physical disfigurement.
  • Loss of enjoyment of life and loss of consortium (the impact on your marital relationship).

What is the Deadline for Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Kennesaw, GA?

Georgia has a particularly complex set of deadlines for filing medical malpractice claims. Speaking with an attorney when you suspect negligence to protect your rights is critical.

• Statute of Limitations: Generally, you have two years from the date the injury occurred or was discovered to file a lawsuit. However, in some cases, this deadline may be one year.
• Statute of Repose: Critically, Georgia also has an overriding deadline called a statute of repose. This law states that a medical malpractice claim can not be filed more than five years from the date of the negligent act itself, regardless of when the injury was discovered. There are very limited exceptions, such as cases involving a foreign object left in the body.

Because it takes significant time to obtain medical records, have them reviewed by an expert, and secure the required Affidavit of Merit, waiting to contact an attorney puts your ability to file a claim in serious jeopardy.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Medical Malpractice Injury Attorney in Kennesaw, GA?

Litigating a medical malpractice case is expensive, often costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for expert witness fees, depositions, and other expenses. At Williams Elleby Howard & Easter, we believe that the cost of justice should never be a barrier for victims of negligence.

That is why we handle all medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis. This means:

• You pay zero upfront fees or out-of-pocket costs.
• We advance the full cost of litigating your case.
• We only get paid if we win a settlement or verdict for you.
• Our fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover on your behalf.

This model allows you to access the highest level of legal representation and resources, leveling the playing field against large hospitals and their well-funded insurance carriers.

How a Williams Elleby Howard & Easter Lawyer Can Help You

Navigating a medical malpractice claim is an uphill battle that is nearly impossible for an individual to win alone. When you entrust your case to our firm, we manage every complex detail from start to finish. Our team will:

• Listen to your story with compassion and provide an honest assessment of your case.
• Collect and organize all relevant medical records from every provider.
• Identify and retain highly qualified, credible medical professionals in the appropriate specialty to review your case.
• Secure the legally required Affidavit of Merit to initiate your lawsuit.
• Handle all aggressive defense tactics and communications from the hospital’s or doctor’s lawyers and the insurance company.
• Conduct depositions of all parties involved to build a powerful record of evidence.
• Relentlessly pursue a fair settlement or, if necessary, present a compelling case at trial.

Contact the Trusted Kennesaw Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter Today

You trusted a medical professional to help you, and they failed you. Now, you need a legal team you can trust to fight for you. Holding a negligent doctor or hospital accountable is a difficult but necessary step toward finding closure and securing the resources your family needs to move forward.

Let our experienced and compassionate attorneys be your voice and your strength. We have the knowledge, resources, and resolve to challenge powerful medical institutions and demand justice. Contact our Kennesaw personal injury law firm today by calling (404) 389-1035 or filling out our online contact form for a free, completely confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights and options.