Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyer
At The Moses Firm, we are dedicated to providing exceptional service in everything that we do. Drawing upon our extensive experience and expertise in handling complex cases, we work tirelessly to achieve great outcomes for our clients. We understand the significance of having a relentless and detail-oriented advocate by your side after a tragic event. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of such events, mistakes are often hidden, falsehoods are spread, and accountability is evaded.
If you have been affected by a tragic incident such as medical malpractice, a serious car or truck accident, or any other form of negligence, we are here to help and support you. Our team of experienced personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys are committed to unraveling the details of what occurred and ensuring that you and your loved ones are protected. To learn more about how our dedicated attorneys in Atlanta, GA can help you during this challenging period, please don't hesitate to contact The Moses Firm today at 404-721-1050.
Holding Hospitals, Doctors, and Nurses Accountable for Medical Errors
A 2018 study conducted by Johns Hopkins University revealed that medical errors rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States, following heart disease and cancer. It's difficult to grasp that reputable healthcare institutions and high-credentialed doctors could be accountable for such a significant number of preventable medical errors. These medical errors can have serious consequences, ranging from death to life-changing injuries like permanent brain damage, complete paralysis, and amputations to multiple arms and legs. When this happens, it's imperative to find what happened, why it happened, and whether it could have been prevented.
As legal professionals with decades of experience specializing in navigating complex personal injury and medical malpractice cases, we possess a deep understanding of the standards for safe and high-quality medical care and the reasons behind these medical errors. We know how to fight large hospital systems and healthcare providers who refuse to take accountability for obvious, preventable medical errors.
Our team collaborates with highly-credentialed practicing physicians nationwide who are experts in their field and who are willing to fight for patients and teach a jury what standards exist for safe and high-quality medical care.
While the prospect of pursuing a medical malpractice case against a large healthcare system or a highly-respected doctor may seem daunting, we have the knowledge, expertise, and skill to guide you through this challenging process. If you are in need of help, don't hesitate. Contact The Moses Firm, where our Atlanta medical malpractice attorneys offer free consultations.
The Moses Firm Will Represent You With Expertise
If you are concerned that you or a loved one are a victim of medical malpractice in Atlanta, it's crucial to seek guidance from a reliable and seasoned Atlanta medical malpractice attorney who understands Georgia law inside out and has the necessary expertise and connections to assist you effectively. Many victims of medical malpractice mistakenly hire lawyers from out of state to handle their Georgia cases. However, these out-of-state attorneys lack the deep understanding of Georgia's legal intricacies and may not have the contacts needed to secure the best possible outcome for your case.
The respected and experienced medical malpractice attorneys at The Moses Firm in Atlanta, GA have a proven track record and will thoroughly assess both the legal and practical aspects of your case at no cost to you to determine its viability. If we find that your case is viable and decide to take it on, The Moses Firm will represent you at no upfront cost to you. We'll cover all the expenses associated with the case, and you'll only need to pay attorneys' fees and litigation expenses if we successfully recover compensation for you.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
Medical malpractice happens when healthcare providers, like doctors, nurses, or hospitals, don’t follow existing “standards of care” to act reasonably like other professionals when caring for patients. This expectation to follow the standard of care is required by Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-27. Standards of care are often well-defined by basic medical teaching in medical and nursing schools, documented in widely-accepted textbooks, professional guidelines, hospital policies and procedures, peer-reviewed literature, and even in basic internet searches. These standards are taught to ensure high-quality patient care and to prevent known and unnecessary complications that hurt people. Not following these standards, which is called a “breach” or “violation” in the standard of care, that causes an injury, constitutes as medical malpractice or medical negligence.
Common instances of medical malpractice include:
- Anesthesia Errors: Anesthesiologists and related healthcare professionals must ensure that patients can breathe safely during and after surgeries and medical procedures. When anesthesia care providers fail to administer anesthesia safely, fail to properly monitor a patient, disregard warning signs of difficulty breathing, fail to have a safe anesthesia plan, and fail to properly and promptly respond to airway difficulties, it can lead to serious brain injuries and even death.This should not happen, and families should investigate these instances for possible misconduct.
- Birth Injuries: Medical malpractice often occurs during labor and delivery. A common medical malpractice scenario is that a mother is induced for labor during which she is given a medication called “Pitocin” or “Oxytocin” to cause contractions to expedite the delivery. This medication is considered a high-alert medication because not administering it properly or not monitoring it adequately can cause serious injuries to the patient. Often, too much medication is given, which causes too many contractions, and too many contractions decrease the blood flow to the baby. When babies do not get enough blood flow, babies do not get enough oxygen, and without timely nursing interventions or an urgent cesarean section, the baby can suffer permanent brain damage or even die. If the baby survives, the baby is diagnosed with “hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy” and, ultimately, develops cerebral palsy with a lifetime of debility, missed milestones, and suffering. If this occurs, your situation should be immediately investigated by an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who has the expertise in handling “birth injury” cases.
- Misdiagnosis, a Missed Diagnosis, or a Delayed Diagnosis: Medical malpractice often occurs when there is a failure to diagnose and treat an urgent medical condition in a reasonable time frame. Frequently, a patient goes to an emergency room or to their doctor’s office with the common signs and symptoms of a serious medical condition, but gets discharged without any treatment because the healthcare providers did not recognize the common signs and symptoms of the condition. We commonly see these types of failure-to-diagnose cases with heart attacks, strokes, cancers, Type A aortic dissections, brain infections like meningitis or herpes encephalitis, testicular torsions, and other infections. If doctors don't quickly diagnose and treat serious conditions like these (and others), it can cause permanent harm or death. People affected by these situations should seek advice from experienced and trial-tested medical malpractice lawyers.
- Medication Errors: Nurses must follow the "5 Rights" of medication administration, that is, making sure that the right medication; is given for the right patient; in the right dose, through the right route; and at the right time. Some instances of a medication error is giving the wrong medication to the wrong patient causing a serious injury; giving an exorbitant dose of a medication to a patient; or even giving the right medication to the patient in the hand instead of a large vessel. Unfortunately, these errors are common and cause major injuries. If this has happened to you, you need your case investigated by an experienced and proven medical malpractice lawyer.
- Surgical Mistakes: Mistakes happen during surgery. Sometimes, doctors operate on the wrong body part, leave tools inside the patient, perform surgeries that aren't needed, or damage important body parts that the surgeon must protect to prevent serious injuries like amputations. These senseless and preventable medical errors can have serious life-altering and even deadly consequences. It's crucial for surgeons to recognize the potential complications in advance and avoid these preventable mistakes.
Malpractice Case
A metro Atlanta dermatologist settles a medical malpractice case where he removed a nerve sheath tumor instead of referring his patient to an experienced neurosurgeon who could remove it safely, leaving her with a permanent foot drop for the rest of her life.
Malpractice/Wrongful
Death Case
Jury verdict in a medical malpractice/wrongful death case for the failure to transfer a 1-year-old suffering from myocarditis to a tertiary care center.
Malpractice Burn
Injury Case
Atlanta hospital system severely burned a baby's foot causing her a life long deformity and premature disability.
Malpractice/Wrongful
Death Case
Settlement in a medical malpractice/wrongful death case for the failure to establish an airway for a mother being intubated in preparation for a c-section.
Moses Kim is an Atlanta medical malpractice & injury lawyer, and the Founding Partner of The Moses Firm. He represents people who have been seriously and catastrophically injured and the families of loved ones who have been needlessly killed in auto & truck accidents, medical malpractice, and premises liability cases. Read More
Wynn B. Sowersby is a wrongful death and catastrophic injury attorney with 27 years of experience—not only as a private attorney—but as a Staff Attorney in Georgia’s court system. Read More
Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers Serving Atlanta, GA
Do I have a medical malpractice case?
Several legal and practical factors need to be considered to determine if your case is viable. Every case is different so it’s crucial to speak with a seasoned medical malpractice attorney in Atlanta, GA to determine if you have a viable medical malpractice case.
To determine if you have a viable medical malpractice case, we need to obtain and review the relevant medical records. The review may also require getting expert physicians or nurses involved to evaluate the case and help us identify the medical errors. The respected and skilled medical malpractice lawyers and personal injury attorneys at The Moses Firm in Atlanta offer free consultations and will assess your case at no cost to you. If the situation warrants it, they may also have your case reviewed by an expert and will incur the cost of doing so. So, do not hesitate to reach out.
Legally, in order to win a medical malpractice case in Georgia, a lawyer must prove that (1) there was a duty (that is, a standard of care existed); (2) the healthcare provider violated or breached that duty or standard of care; (3) more likely than not, that breach of duty “caused” injuries; and (4) as a result of that negligence, the patient suffered actual injuries and damages.
DUTY: In a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff, who is typically the patient, needs to demonstrate that the healthcare provider, whether it's a doctor or a nurse, had a responsibility to either take certain actions or refrain from taking certain actions. This responsibility is legally termed as the "standard of care." Essentially, this means that the care provided by the healthcare provider must meet the level of care and skill that is typically expected in similar circumstances within the profession.
To establish this standard of care, expert witnesses, usually practicing doctors or nurses, will be brought in by your Atlanta medical malpractice attorneys. These experts will testify about what an ordinary and reasonable healthcare provider would do under the circumstances in question.
In simpler terms, it boils down to what any competent healthcare provider would do in a similar situation. This helps establish whether the defendant healthcare provider acted negligently or not, according to the legal standards set forth in O.C.G.A. § 51-1-27 and Georgia Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions – Civil 62.300.
BREACH OF DUTY: When a healthcare provider doesn't act in a way that an average and reasonable healthcare provider would in a similar situation, it's known as a breach of duty or a deviation from the standard of care. Just showing that a healthcare provider breached their duty or deviated from the standard of care isn't enough to have a valid medical malpractice case. You also need to prove the other elements required for a medical malpractice case.
CAUSATION: To have a valid medical malpractice case, you must be able to prove causation. In other words, the violation of the standard of care must have caused or contributed to the patient’s injury. In contrast to the “beyond a reasonable doubt standard” that applies in a criminal case, causation must be proven by a "preponderance of the evidence" because a medical malpractice case is a civil case. This merely means that a jury must be convinced by a “more likely than not” standard that the negligence caused the injury to the patient. A jury doesn't have to be completely certain, according to Georgia law. They just need to have at least 50.1% confidence level that the negligence caused or contributed to the injury at issue. In Georgia, the negligent act or omission doesn't have to be the sole or only cause. There might be other contributing causes to the injury, but what matters is that negligence played a contributing role in causing the injury.
DAMAGES: For a medical malpractice case to hold up, the plaintiff must have suffered an actual injury. Typically, these cases involve severe or life-altering injuries such as death, brain damage, paralysis, or limb amputations. In Georgia, damages fall into two main categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages cover medical expenses, lost wages (both past and future), and funeral medical expenses. Non-economic damages include compensation for pain and suffering, the lasting effects of injuries, the disfigurement, the permanency of the injury and/or the loss of life.
Given the complexities and risks involved, it's crucial for anyone considering a medical malpractice claim to seek evaluation from experienced lawyers. These attorneys assess various factors including the strength of the case, the severity of the medical error, the extent of the injury and resulting damages, the jurisdiction of the case, the patient's medical history, and the impact of the injury on their life.
The Cover Up is Real
When serious medical errors occur, doctors and hospitals have an ethical obligation to disclose the medical error promptly, honestly, and completely to the patient and/or their family. There is usually a hospital policy that requires it. Believe it or not, we have handled many medical malpractice cases where the hospitals and doctors lie and cover-up the medical error. They alter the medical record. They leave out important information from the medical record. They make up medical conditions that do not exist to try to explain that something else besides the actual medical error caused the injury or death. They blame the patient for being too sick in the first place. They keep secret notes and communications in emails, text messages, and hospital messaging apps that they don’t reference or include in the patient’s own medical records. They hire aggressive defense lawyers who will defend the case for years on end even when the care is indefensible, hoping that the patient will die or the patient will give up. They hire highly-credentialed doctors and nurses as expert witnesses who create false narratives and baseless arguments to deny accountability and responsibility for the negligence and try to convince a jury that the healthcare providers didn’t do anything wrong. Unfortunately, these tactics are real, and all the large hospital systems do this without exception. It is extraordinarily rare for a hospital or doctor to admit fault and attempt to settle a case for fair value with a patient or family shortly after a known medical malpractice event. If you or a family member have been a victim of medical malpractice, you should hire an experienced and aggressive medical malpractice attorney to fight for you and force the healthcare providers to accept responsibility and accountability. By doing so, not only are you fighting for your loved one, you are helping make healthcare safer for your neighbors and your community.
Because of the challenges, the effort, and the risk involved in pursuing a medical malpractice case, your situation must be carefully evaluated—legally and practically—by experienced medical malpractice lawyers. Lawyers take into account the strength of the case; the egregiousness of the medical error; the magnitude of the injury and damages; the venue of the potential case; the patient’s medical history and how healthy they were before the injury; the significance and value of the pain and suffering that the injury caused among other things.
If you have a medical malpractice concern in Atlanta, it is best to consult and hire a trusted, experienced, and proven Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer who knows the nuances of Georgia law and who has the contacts to be able to help you. Many medical malpractice victims make the mistake of hiring an out-of-state lawyer to handle their case. Out-of-state lawyers do not know the intricacies of Georgia law, and they do not have the contacts to obtain the best possible outcome for the case. The trusted, experienced, and proven Atlanta medical malpractice attorneys at The Moses Firm will carefully evaluate the legal and practical aspects of your case for free to determine whether you have a viable case.
If you have a viable case that we accept, The Moses Firm will represent you for free and will pay for all the case expenses at zero risk to you. You will only pay for attorneys’ fees and expenses of litigation if we obtain a recovery for you. If you have questions about the medical care you or a loved one received, please reach out to the trusted, experienced, and proven Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers at The Moses Firm. We are here to help.
Contact the Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyers at The Moses Firm Today
At The Moses Firm, we're dedicated to fighting for patient safety. Our team of Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers is ready to stand by your side and advocate for you. Reach out to us today at 404-721-1050 for a free consultation to learn how our firm can help you or your loved one.
Moses took a catastrophic, life-altering situation and made it manageable. He was very supportive and responsive throughout the entire process. He demonstrated amazing skill during mediation, and honestly, I couldn't... Read More
- Jillian S.
One of the most personable and caring attorneys that I have ever worked with. A family oriented type of vibe with everyone at the firm. I recommend them a 1000xs... Read More
- Kozman S.
On recommendation from a friend, I contacted Moses for a consultation. He returned my call right away and his sage advice most likely saved me a small fortune in legal... Read More
- Parker W.
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