Understanding Medical Malpractice Law in Georgia

by | Apr 22, 2014 | Legal Services

Whenever there is an instance where medical treatment, diagnosis, or the overall medical care was not administered properly or timely and excessive mistakes were made, there exists medical malpractice.  If you live in the greater Georgia area it may prove beneficial to have an understanding of medical malpractice law.  Georgia lawyers can provide insight, however, prior to scheduling an appointment with a lawyer it will be useful to understand malpractice law when it comes to medical mistakes.

Background
The basics behind the laws are simple.  Medical malpractice can stem from anesthesia errors, surgical errors, failure of the doctor to follow the right protocol, failure to diagnose correctly, failure to utilize available treatments, medications and tests as well as an array of other errors in medical judgment.  These errors are responsible for unnecessary deaths, injuries and long term diseases in patients.

Examples
Sometimes a stroke can be a repercussion not of an open-heart surgery, but of the medical staff’s oversight.  While a stroke can be revered as a possibility, it can also be avoided.  The medical team that performs the open heart surgery needs to follow protocol in order to avoid the stroke from occurring.  A stroke occurs when the normal blood flow to the brain is obstructed resulting in a lack of oxygen.  This can happen either during the surgery or after the surgery.  There is no room for error.  But if an error is made, then there is cause for the patient or family of the patient to sue for medical malpractice.

Another example where medical malpractice lawsuits are commonplace falls under the category of fetal brain injury.  Commonly known as anoxia or anoxic brain injury, fetal brain injury can be prevented by better monitoring the fetal heart monitor, accurately reading fetal heart monitors, notifying the doctor as soon as fetal distress is notices and having the doctor perform the delivery in an adequate amount of time.

When a member of the medical staff has faulty fetal heart monitoring equipment or have a tendency to misread the fetal heart monitor then the likelihood of anoxia is greater. Taking the proper precautions and working well under pressure all factor in to preventing anoxia, but unfortunately medical staffs set themselves up for lawsuits by not following protocol and ignoring warning signs.  This is why it is essential to understand medical malpractice law – Georgia attorneys can help you with that.

Learning about what constitutes medical malpractice in Georgia is important if you live or work there.  If you need a malpractice lawyer.

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