Columbus Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Columbus Medical Malpractice Attorney

At some point in your life, you will likely seek medical attention. For individuals living in Columbus, Georgia, that attention may come from a local hospital system like Emory Healthcare or Piedmont Columbus Regional. However, disasters can occur, resulting in injury and death. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed while seeking medical attention, a Columbus medical malpractice attorney can assert your right to compensation and justice.

When an incident of medical malpractice arises, it is vital that you seek the aid of a legal professional. They can work to hold the liable physician and hospital system accountable for the actions that led to your injury or the death of a loved one. In some cases, this may be an inaction that kept you or your loved one from receiving the necessary medical care.

Consult the Skilled Attorneys at The Tolson Firm, LLC

If you have suffered an act of medical malpractice at Emory Healthcare, Piedmont Columbus Regional, or any other medical facility in the area surrounding Columbus, Georgia, the legal team at The Tolson Firm, LLC, can pursue compensation for the full scope of the damages you have sustained.

At The Tolson Firm, LLC, our proud Black attorneys can guide you through every step of the legal process surrounding medical malpractice cases. The laws involved can be intricate, and insurance companies will try to place you at a disadvantage. Don’t let them. Instead, work with our personal injury attorneys. We can stand by you and seek the compensation you deserve.

Defining Medical Malpractice in Columbus, Georgia

Residents of Columbus, Georgia, place their trust in their doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers every single day. These professionals have received training and are held to a specific level of care. They must also meet strict standards of ethics when they treat patients. Unfortunately, these standards are not always met. When this happens, medical malpractice incidents become more likely. Every year, thousands of victims are injured or killed due to medical negligence.

In Georgia, all medical professionals are held to the same reasonable standard of medical care. This standard is measured by how another professional might treat a patient with the same or a similar kind of medical condition. An act of medical malpractice typically arises when there is a deviation from the accepted level of care practiced widely within the medical community. These deviations can happen in several ways, including:

Surgical errors

In cases where a surgical injury is the cause of medical malpractice, the doctor who performs the surgery must have failed to follow the proper procedures or standards of care, and the surgical error itself must have been the cause of the harm the patient sustained.

Common surgical errors can include:

• Cutting a nerve
• Cutting in the wrong location of the body
• Operating on the wrong part of the body
• Performing unnecessary surgery
• An error in anesthesia
• Leaving a tool or surgical instrument inside the body
• Puncturing an organ during surgery
• Failing to fix the punctured organ
• Not asking the patient for a full and complete medical history

Failure to treat

When a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional fails to take the necessary measures to successfully treat or diagnose an illness, it can result in further injury to the patient. This is considered a failure to treat or diagnose.

The most common examples of a failure to treat or diagnose include:

• The diagnosis of an illness based on inadequate or inaccurate test findings
• A failure to order or complete all the needed tests or medical procedures
• The failure to send a patient to other providers when the need arises
• Not informing an individual of all the treatment alternatives available to them
• Delaying a diagnosis or treatment when the medical condition requires swift action

Birth injuries

In most cases, birth injuries arise during the labor and delivery of a baby. These injuries can be devastating and lead to lasting damage. They may even result in the death of the mother, the baby, or both.

Common instances of birth injuries can include:

• Brain damage to the baby
• Broken bones
• Newborn jaundice
• Vacuum extraction issues or complications
• Intrauterine fetal demise
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
• Nerve damage to the baby
• Injuries to the spinal cord
• Kernicterus
• Erb’s palsy
• Cerebral palsy

Misdiagnosis

Often, the most common kind of medical malpractice seen in Georgia is a missed diagnosis or an incorrect diagnosis. A missed or delayed diagnosis can often lead to the patient suffering further harm, ineffective care, or improper treatment, which, in some cases, could lead to death. A doctor who has received the necessary training to diagnose a patient’s condition should know if the patient is suffering from the disease.

The misdiagnosis of a patient can often cause extreme danger, leading to severe injury and even death. This is especially true in situations where the patient has been prescribed the incorrect medication or treatment for an illness they are not actually suffering from.

Defective medical device installation

In certain medical malpractice cases, parties other than your medical care professionals may be held liable for the injury. If a patient receives a defective or malfunctioning medical device, they risk suffering incredible amounts of harm if the device does not perform the functions it is designed to carry out.

Examples include certain blood-clot prevention devices or IVC filters, which can malfunction and spread into the patient’s bloodstream, causing them to suffer catastrophic harm and even death. In other cases, a device may simply fail to deliver the promised advantages or benefits, causing the patient’s condition to worsen.

Medication errors

On a national level, nurses are required to follow the regulations and guidelines for administering medication. That way, the medication can be delivered in the correct dosage, to the required patient, at the necessary time, and via the proper mode of administration.

One example of a common medication error involves giving the wrong medication to a patient, which can result in serious harm and further illness. Another is administering an excessive dosage to the patient, which may result in further damage or even death. Unfortunately, these errors are quite common and widespread throughout the healthcare community.

How The Tolson Law Firm LLC Can Help

No one seeks medical attention and expects to become a victim of medical malpractice. However, these situations happen all the time. In the unfortunate circumstance that this happens to you, it is wise to be aware of your rights. In the U.S., 28.7% of physicians say they’ve been sued for malpractice. When you work with the team at The Tolson Firm, LLC, we can represent your interests throughout your medical malpractice case.

We can defend your rights as the victim of medical malpractice. Our team can obtain your medical records and healthcare bills as we gather and analyze any evidence present in your case. We can then help you file the necessary paperwork for your medical malpractice case and enter into negotiations with the at-fault party, the hospital system, their legal teams, and the involved insurance companies.

Keep in mind that these insurance companies will not work in your favor. Most likely, they will try to offer you a lowball settlement amount with the hope that you will take it out of desperation and an urgent need for financial recovery. Don’t fall for this unfair treatment. Instead, hire the team at The Tolson Firm, LLC, and let us protect your rights to compensation and justice after a negligent medical professional or hospital system in Columbus harms you.

Recoverable Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases

You may be eligible to recover several kinds of damages in a Columbus, Georgia, medical malpractice case, depending on the nature and severity of the harm you have suffered. The most common forms of compensation seen in medical malpractice claims include the following:

• Lost wages due to an inability to work
• Reduced earning capacity in the future due to temporary or permanent disability from the injuries
• Diminished quality of life
• Loss of consortium or the enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering
• The costs of any medical bills, current or anticipated, for future related treatment
• Mental anguish
• Emotional distress
• Punitive damages, in rare cases where the liable party has been found to have acted in a particularly egregious or grossly negligent manner
• Wrongful death damages

A Columbus medical malpractice lawyer from The Tolson Firm, LLC, can review the details of your case, such as the bills incurred from the harm you have suffered. Then, we can calculate the value of your overall medical malpractice claim. Furthermore, we can meet the two-year statute of limitations for these cases.

Proving Negligence in a Medical Malpractice Case

With 517,187 reported adverse events occurring in Medicare hospitalizations, it’s essential to understand what goes into proving medical malpractice. Establishing negligence in a medical malpractice case takes more than showing that a patient had a bad result. The injured patient must show how a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other care provider failed to act within the standard level of care that another provider would have followed in similar circumstances.

This often starts with a close review of medical records. An attorney may look at test results, surgical notes, prescriptions, discharge instructions, and the timeline of care to find where providers may have fallen short. In many malpractice cases, testimony from other medical professionals is also necessary. They can explain what the provider should have done, how the provider failed to meet the standard of care, and how that failure led to the patient’s injury.

Causation is one of the most important parts of personal injury cases and medical malpractice claims. It’s not enough to prove that a mistake happened. The evidence needs to connect that mistake to real harm, such as a worsened condition, delayed treatment, permanent injury, or death. An attorney can collect records, consult professionals, evaluate damages, and organize the evidence needed to support your claim.

FAQs

Q: Is It Worth Filing a Claim for Medical Malpractice?

A: Yes, it’s often worth filing a claim for medical malpractice. First, you shouldn’t have to pay for your losses when they were caused by someone else’s negligence. The injuries you suffer from medical negligence can leave you with expensive care costs, not to mention the pain and suffering you could experience. Furthermore, filing a claim to hold a negligent medical care provider accountable can prevent them from acting similarly in the future. Your claim could protect other patients.

Q: Do I Need an Attorney for a Medical Malpractice Case?

A: You don’t legally need to hire a medical malpractice attorney, but it’s wise to consult one. These cases can be incredibly complex; even a simple mistake can be the difference between recovering the compensation you deserve and walking away with nothing. Medical malpractice laws can be especially hard to navigate on your own, which is why it’s smart to work with an experienced lawyer. Let them focus on your case while you focus on recovering your health.

Q: What Are the Odds of Succeeding in a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A: It’s impossible to say what the odds are of succeeding in a medical malpractice claim without knowing the specific facts. When you sit down with your attorney in your initial consultation, you can explain your situation, provide the evidence you currently have, and discuss the potential outcomes. At that point, they can better explain what the legal process may look like going forward. Even then, your attorney can’t make any guarantees about the outcome of your case.

Q: How Much Is My Medical Malpractice Claim Worth?

A: There’s no way to know beforehand what your medical malpractice claim is worth without reviewing your economic and non-economic losses. Whether negotiating a settlement agreement or arguing in court before a judge or jury, the goal is to recover compensation for all your losses. These include emergency medical treatment, ongoing care costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Speak with your attorney to get a better understanding of your case’s value.

If You Have Experienced Medical Malpractice, Hire a Medical Malpractice Attorney From The Tolson Firm, LLC

If you or a loved one has suffered from an act of medical malpractice at Emory Healthcare, Piedmont Columbus Regional, another local hospital, or a nearby medical facility, the team at The Tolson Firm, LLC, can represent you.

Our injury lawyers can investigate what happened to you, compile evidence to support your case, negotiate your claim with the provider’s legal team, and forcefully argue your case in court if they won’t deal in good faith. Contact us today to schedule an initial consultation.