According to Georgia law [O.C.G.A. § 51-1-27], a medical professional must use a “reasonable degree of care and skill” when providing medical care. These are the accepted standards outlined for each professional for general and unique medical situations. It is the responsibility of an attorney to prove that the standard of care was violated. This task can be very difficult and is the reason many attorneys do not specialize in medical malpractice law.
It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to pursue a medical malpractice case, and typically the attorney will absorb those up-front costs when they agree to take a case. That is why Med Mal Attorneys are quite selective about what cases they will take on. Obtaining medical records, hiring expert witnesses, and gathering other evidence is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. If the case is not decided in favor of the plaintiff, the attorney’s expenses will not be reimbursed by the client unless the attorney-client agreement indicates so. Attorney expenses are paid back out of the settlement or judgment once the attorney has successfully resolved the case.
Two years ago we were approached by a family seeking our help when their daughter was paralyzed during a spinal fusion surgery. The surgeon himself followed the appropriate standard of care, and left the operating room stating “everything with the surgery went fine.” The parents were not immediately allowed to go see their child, and soon discovered there was a crash cart in the room, being used by staff to try to resuscitate the girl. The surgeon had followed the standard of care as he indicated while exiting the room. The anesthesiology team did not. The team had used a blood pressure cuff that was sized for an adult arm instead of a petite12-year-old girl. As a result, they had done the surgery without accurate pressure readings. The girl’s blood pressure had dropped so low, it resulted in vein collapse and permanent paralysis. This case took over three years to try, with thousands of dollars in expenses. The tactics taken by the defense team were at times daunting, yet we were able to prevail and provide our clients with the compensation they really could not live without.
If you are considering filing a medical malpractice claim, our team can help! Remember the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit in Georgia is two years, so don’t delay! Contact Us today at 770-408-6364