The Medical Malpractice Epidemic: Georgia Court Strikes Back Against Medical Negligence

Whether we go to the hospital or visit our family doctor, we routinely entrust our health and even our lives to the professional expertise of medical professionals. There is sometimes a sense that a medical professional is infallible and does not make mistakes. Unfortunately, this perception is a significant distortion of reality.

Although most medical professionals are dedicated and proficient, medical providers can and often do make life altering and fatal mistakes. How serious is the problem? According to leading studies, there are more deaths each year resulting from medical malpractice than auto accidents, breast cancer and AIDS combined.

Unfortunately, the health insurance and medical malpractice providers have a strong lobby and have been very successful in recent years in limiting recovery in medical malpractice cases that result in life-long disabilities and fatalities. If you or someone you love is injured by the negligence of a medical professional, it can be very disturbing to learn, it may be easier to recover fair compensation from an unskilled, negligent driver than a highly trained, skilled medical professional who is negligent. Fortunately, earlier this year the Georgia Supreme Court struck down a law that provided caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The state's high court recognized that such caps often result in an injured patient being grossly under-compensated for one's injuries. At Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, we have Georgia medical malpractice attorneys available to represent those who have been injury or killed by the negligence of medical professionals.

There are many types of errors by medical professionals that can lead to serious injuries and give rise to a medical malpractice claim in Georgia. These errors may include any of the following:

• Failure to diagnose deadly diseases including cancer or heart conditions
• Errors in dosage, choice of drug, interactions between drugs when prescribing medications
• Birth injuries which can result in cerebral palsy and other lifelong medical or physical disabilities
• Mistakes in anesthesia which can cause serious brain damage or fatalities
• Lack of informed consent where patients are not informed of all risks or side effects of a procedure
• Negligent surgical procedures
• Inadequate follow-up care

While these are just a few examples of common types of medical malpractice, the scope of the problem can hardly be overstated. Studies show that almost 100,000 deaths per year are caused by the negligence of medical professionals. Every time you visit a medical professional, you face a risk of being the victim of medical malpractice from negligent treatment, improper prescriptions, or delayed diagnosis. A victim of negligence by a medical professional has a compelling need for an experienced medical malpractice attorney. Despite the epidemic reach of medical malpractice, tort reform has led to very strict procedures and limits in successfully pursuing a negligence claim against a medical professional.

Tort reform often takes the form of caps on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, and loss of consortium (loss of companionship or services of a spouse or child). While the Georgia Supreme Court took action to protect those injured by medical professionals, it is important to oppose such measures in the future because they can have a devastating impact on injured patients. Aside from non-economic caps on damages, there are many other procedural challenges in pursuing a lawsuit against a medical professional including special showings of merit from medical professionals, astronomical litigation costs, and complications in proving that the medical provider's error was the cause of a patient's injuries.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured or killed by the negligence of a medical professional, the compassionate legal team at Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, can navigate this complex litigation mine field to get you the compensation you deserve. Call Montlick & Associates today to see how we can help. We are available to assist clients throughout all of Georgia, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. Call us today for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333), or visit us on the web at www.montlick.com. No matter where you are in Georgia, we are just a phone call away and we will even come to you.