Medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, have a responsibility to make a proper diagnosis and provide quality medical services. When they fail to meet that responsibility and patients are harmed, those victims have a right to seek full and fair compensation. Malpractice cases are complex. If you have suffered an injury as the result of malpractice, you need the help of an experienced Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer. Contact us today for a free consultation.
We handle a broad range of medical malpractice claims in Georgia, including:
These cases can be very complex and expensive. If you are seeking compensation from those responsible for your injuries, you need a firm with the ability to analyze all the issues involved and successfully represent your interests at trial.
Under Georgia law, you have the right to collect compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial losses following an act of medical malpractice. These may include economic damages, non-economic damages, and, in rare cases, punitive damages.
Economic damages refer to the financial losses you incur as a result of the malpractice. These may include lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and past and future medical care for your injuries. You cannot claim compensation for medical expenses related to the injury or illness that caused you to seek care for the first place; all of the damages you claim must result from the negligence of the medical professional.
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, refer to the intangible pain and suffering you endure due to the malpractice. These damages may include the following losses:
Finally, the court may award you punitive damages if the defendant in your case exhibited willful misconduct, fraud, oppression, malice, wantonness, or conscious indifference to the consequences of his or her actions. The purpose of this compensation is to punish the defendant, rather than recover your losses.
For example, a doctor who makes a mistake when interpreting your test results will not likely have to pay punitive damages. However, if your doctor accurately interprets your test results and intentionally passes on false information to you about your condition, you may have grounds for punitive damages.
Georgia places a cap, or a limit, on the amount of punitive and non-economic damages you can receive in a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, the state does not impose a cap on the number of economic damages you can claim.
You cannot claim more than $1.5 million in total non-economic damages in a single claim, with no more than $350,000 total from all healthcare provider defendants and no more than $700,000 from all medical facility defendants.
For punitive damages, Georgia imposes a $250,000 cap for most medical malpractice lawsuits. However, if your case involves intentional harm or the use of drugs or alcohol, the court will not limit the punitive damages you claim.
All civil lawsuits must adhere to the statute of limitations, which is a rule that places a deadline by which you must file your claim. In Georgia, you have two years from the date of the negligence to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
If you do not file within this time period, the court will dismiss your lawsuit — and you will lose your chance at collecting the monetary damages you need to recover. There are some exceptions to the two-year time limit:
Georgia does not allow plaintiffs to file medical malpractice lawsuits more than five years after the date of the negligence. To ensure you meet your filing deadline, speak to a medical malpractice lawyer at Hilley & Frieder, P.C.
Call (404) 233-6200 today to discuss your situation with an Atlanta medical malpractice attorney. You may also send us an email or contact us through our convenient online form. We offer a free consultation to discuss your options and only collect attorney fees out of any compensation we recover for you.
