Malpractice Claims

 

What happens when your treating physician botches a surgery or fails to provide adequate medical care,  and the consequences are catastrophic? Can you pursue, in addition to your workers’ compensation settlement, a medical malpractice claim against the treating physician?

The answer is yes; you can sue a doctor for medical negligence in Georgia if he/she is treating you under a workers’ compensation program.

A Word (or Several) of Warning

However, there are many issues to consider if you are thinking about doing this. For one, the timing of the suit is very important, as there is a statute of limitations of 2 years for medical negligence cases in Georgia.

Secondly, you will obviously need to get another doctor to continue treating you for your on-the-job injury. There are several strategies to obtain a “change in treating physician” under Georgia’s workers’ compensation laws.

I am happy to advise you if you believe that medical malpractice has been committed in your case.   I see numerous medical malpractice cases every year and I currently represent several of my workers’ compensation clients and others in pending malpractice claims.

I can tell you from experience that pursuing medical malpractice claims in Georgia is difficult and the standard of proof is difficult to meet.  Despite what the “tort reform” crowd asserts, there is no medical malpractice crisis in Georgia and there is no evidence at all that malpractice claims affect medical costs or access to health care.  I firmly believe that hard working physicians should not have to defend frivolous claims.  However, if a physician has damaged you inappropriately, you can and should pursue money damages.

Georgia law provides that in order to file a malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff must find a doctor to complete an affidavit setting out at least one specific instance of malpractice.  A bad result does not necessarily mean that malpractice has been committed – instead, we must show that the defendant physician did not fulfill the standard of care for the particular surgery or treatment.   If you believe that you have been subjected to malpractice, you should consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney  as soon as possible.