Jonesboro, GA

Steps to Take if You Suspect Medical Negligence

After a serious medical complication or unexpected outcome, it can be hard to know what to do next. Taking the right steps early on can protect your health and strengthen any potential claim. Consider the following actions:

• Prioritize your health: Seek any necessary follow-up medical care or a second opinion right away. Your well-being comes first.
• Gather medical records: Request copies of your medical records, test results, and discharge papers. These documents will be important evidence if you pursue a claim.
• Write down what happened: While it’s fresh in your mind, note the timeline of events, the names of healthcare providers involved, and anything said to you. This record can help clarify details later.
• Consult an experienced attorney: Contact a qualified Georgia medical malpractice lawyer to review the situation. An attorney can evaluate whether you have a case and guide you on the legal process.

By taking these steps, you empower yourself and lay the groundwork for a potential medical negligence claim. Acting promptly is especially important because evidence can fade and legal deadlines (discussed below) may limit how long you have to file a case.

Understanding Medical Malpractice in Georgia

What is medical malpractice? In Georgia, medical malpractice (also called medical negligence, or “med mal” for short) occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the “standard of care” and injures a patient as a result. The standard of care is the level of skill and caution that a reasonably competent doctor or nurse would use under similar circumstances. If a provider deviates from that standard and their mistake causes you harm, they may be legally negligent.

Examples of malpractice include a surgeon operating on the wrong site, a doctor misdiagnosing a serious illness, a nurse giving the wrong medication dose, or a hospital infection due to poor sanitation practices. These errors can lead to life-changing injuries or even fatalities. Unfortunately, such incidents are more common than many realize — preventable medical errors, infections, and accidents kill over 500 patients a day nationwide. This makes medical errors one of the leading causes of death in the United States, highlighting why accountability is so important.

How do you prove a malpractice claim? Successful Jonesboro medical negligence claims require proving several key elements:

• Duty of care: The medical provider owed you a duty by agreeing to treat you (this is established whenever a patient–doctor relationship exists).
• Breach of duty: The provider violated the standard of care by acting (or failing to act) as a competent provider would. This could involve a careless mistake or an omission.
• Causation: The provider’s negligence directly caused injury or harm. It must be shown that you would not have been hurt if not for the provider’s error.
• Damages: You suffered losses as a result — such as additional medical bills, pain and suffering, lost income, or other impacts on your life.

Georgia law also requires an affidavit from a medical expert when filing a malpractice lawsuit. This expert (usually a doctor in the same field) must review the facts and swear that the care was substandard. This rule helps ensure that claims in Georgia are backed by a professional opinion that negligence occurred.

Clayton County Hospital Safety and Southern Regional Medical Center

Jonesboro is located in Clayton County, which is served by major healthcare facilities like Southern Regional Medical Center in nearby Riverdale. Local Clayton County hospital safety metrics are one way to gauge patient risk. Southern Regional Medical Center has earned an “A” rating from the independent Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program (as of Fall 2023), reflecting a strong commitment to patient safety. This is encouraging news for our community. However, even at well-rated hospitals, mistakes can still happen. No medical center is immune to human error.

If a preventable error or oversight at a Clayton County facility causes a patient serious harm, it falls under medical malpractice. For example, a highly rated hospital could still have an incident of a surgical instrument being left inside a patient or a critical lab result being overlooked. The good news is that Georgia law gives injured patients the right to hold healthcare providers accountable. A Jonesboro medical malpractice lawyer familiar with our local hospitals and standards of care can help investigate what went wrong and determine if a safety protocol was breached.

It’s worth noting that Georgia’s overall patient safety record has shown some improvements in recent years. Statewide, safety initiatives have reduced rates of infections and other hospital-acquired injuries. But when you or a loved one becomes an unfortunate exception — suffering an injury due to a medical provider’s negligence — the priority shifts to getting answers and justice for that individual case.

Georgia Malpractice Timeline and Deadlines

Georgia has strict legal deadlines, known as statutes of limitation, for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. In most cases, you have two years from the date of the injury or death to bring a claim. This deadline is established by O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71 in Georgia law. There is also a broader cutoff called the “statute of repose,” which is an absolute five-year deadline from the date the malpractice occurred — meaning no lawsuit can be filed more than five years after the negligent act, even if the harm wasn’t discovered right away.

There are a few limited exceptions to these timelines. For instance, if a doctor left a foreign object (like a surgical sponge) inside a patient’s body, Georgia law gives the patient one year from the date of discovering that object to file a claim, even if the usual time limit has passed. Likewise, if the provider fraudulently covered up their negligence, the clock might be tolled (paused) until you discover the fraud. Additionally, special rules extend the time for injuries to young children. However, these exceptions are narrow and complicated, so it’s safest not to rely on them. The key takeaway is that you should consult a lawyer as soon as possible after suspecting malpractice.

Apart from legal deadlines to file the lawsuit, there’s also the practical timeline of a malpractice case to consider. Medical malpractice claims take time to investigate and prepare. Your attorney will need to collect extensive medical records, consult with experts, and often give the hospital or doctor a chance to respond before a suit is filed. All of this can take many months. Once a lawsuit is filed, the litigation process (discovery, negotiations, and potentially trial) may span a year or more. By starting early, you give your case the best chance to progress smoothly within the required timeframe.

The Legal Process for a Medical Malpractice Claim in Georgia

Pursuing a malpractice claim is a complex undertaking, but understanding the steps can make it less daunting. In Georgia, the legal process for med mal claims generally involves the following stages:

• Initial case review: Your attorney will listen to your story, review medical records, and often consult a medical expert early on. This step determines if the facts suggest negligence and if your losses justify a claim.
• Expert affidavit: Before a lawsuit can be filed in Georgia, an affidavit from a qualified medical expert must be prepared. The expert will outline how the care fell below standards. This affidavit is filed along with the complaint to officially start the lawsuit.
• Filing the lawsuit: Your attorney files a complaint in the appropriate Georgia court (for Jonesboro cases, this is usually in Clayton County) detailing what happened and the damages you are seeking. The healthcare providers (defendants) are then served with the lawsuit.
• Discovery phase: Both sides exchange information and evidence. This includes written questions (interrogatories), document requests, and depositions (interviews under oath). You may need to give a deposition, and medical experts will be deposed as well. Discovery can be extensive in med mal cases due to the technical medical issues involved.
• Settlement negotiations: Throughout the process, there may be opportunities to settle. Georgia courts often require mediation before trial. Many Jonesboro medical malpractice claims are resolved through negotiated settlements if the evidence of negligence is clear. A settlement can provide compensation without the uncertainty of a trial.
• Trial (if needed): If no fair settlement is reached, the case goes to trial before a jury. Your lawyer will present evidence and expert testimony to prove the healthcare provider’s negligence and the harm it caused you. Medical malpractice trials can be complex, but a successful outcome can provide justice and financial relief. The jury will decide if the provider was liable and how much compensation to award.

Throughout this legal process, it’s crucial to have a skilled malpractice attorney guiding you. Hospitals and doctors (and their insurance companies) will vigorously defend these cases, so you want an advocate who understands Georgia’s medical malpractice laws and has experience with the technical medical issues. We handle the legal heavy lifting so that you can focus on your recovery.

Pursuing a Jonesboro Medical Negligence Claim

When a medical provider’s negligence causes you serious harm, a legal claim serves two important purposes: accountability and compensation. First, it holds the hospital or doctor accountable for the harm done. This accountability can drive improvements in safety and prevent future patients from suffering the same fate. Second, a claim seeks financial compensation for the losses you have endured. In Georgia, patients injured by malpractice can recover a variety of damages, including:

• Medical expenses: All additional treatment costs caused by the malpractice, from hospital bills and surgeries to rehabilitation and medication.
• Lost income and benefits: If you missed work or cannot return to your job due to your injuries, your past and future lost wages can be recovered.
• Pain and suffering: Compensation for the physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life that the injury caused. These non-economic damages recognize the very real human impact of medical injuries.
• Long-term care: If you suffered a permanent disability or impairment, the cost of ongoing care, therapy, or home modifications may be included.
• Wrongful death damages: In the tragic event that a patient dies from medical negligence, Georgia law allows the surviving family to recover the full value of the life lost, as well as expenses like funeral costs. Although no amount of money replaces a loved one, these claims provide a measure of justice and financial support to the family.

Georgia does not cap compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases. This means your actual economic and non-economic losses can be fully compensated based on the evidence. (There is a cap on punitive damages at $250,000 in most med mal cases, but punitive awards are rare unless there was egregious or intentional misconduct by the provider.) Most importantly, by pursuing a claim, you take control of the situation and demand accountability. Many clients find that simply uncovering what went wrong and why can provide a sense of closure in addition to any financial recovery.

It’s also worth mentioning that malpractice cases in Georgia are typically handled on a contingency fee basis. This means you do not pay anything upfront — our firm only gets paid if and when we successfully recover compensation for you. This fee arrangement allows injured patients to seek justice without worrying about hourly legal bills. We shoulder the financial risk so you can focus on healing.

You do not have to navigate the aftermath of a medical injury alone. Our dedicated team at Davis Adams is here to support families in Jonesboro and across Georgia who have been harmed by medical negligence. We understand the physical, emotional, and financial toll these injuries cause. With deep experience in Georgia medical malpractice law, we will thoroughly investigate your case, consult with respected medical experts, and fight for the answers and compensation you deserve.

Please know that help is available – we invite you to reach out to discuss your situation in a free consultation. There is no obligation, and because we work on contingency, you pay nothing unless we win your case. Facing a medical malpractice crisis is overwhelming, but with a trusted Jonesboro medical malpractice lawyer by your side, you can pursue justice and begin to rebuild your life with confidence.