Have you or someone you love been injured by a nursing error in Atlanta, Georgia? The Moses Firm: Medical Malpractice Lawyers can help you understand your options and next steps. Call (404) 721-1050 to request a free consultation with an Atlanta nursing error lawyer who can review your situation and explain your rights.
Nurses are required to provide a professional standard of care, and even a single mistake can lead to serious, lasting harm. If you are dealing with the consequences of a medical error, an attorney can help you evaluate what happened, determine whether negligence occurred, and pursue compensation for the losses you’ve experienced.
Why Choose The Moses Firm: Medical Malpractice Lawyers To Help Me Recover Compensation After a Nursing Error in Atlanta?
When you’re hiring a law firm to protect your interests, it’s important to choose an attorney with expertise in handling cases similar to yours. At The Moses Firm: Medical Malpractice Lawyers, our Atlanta, GA, team has dedicated our entire practice to fighting for victims of medical mistakes.
We have the experience and resources to take on even the most powerful hospitals and their insurance companies. Here are some reasons why you should choose us:
- Our attorneys have over 50 combined years of experience handling complex medical malpractice cases.
- We’ve recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts.
- For our success, we’ve been recognized by Super Lawyers, among the “Top 100” attorneys in Georgia, Martindale-Hubbell, with a top-level AV-Preeminent lawyer rating, and Avvo, with a perfect-10 Superb lawyer rating.
- Hospitals and medical centers have teams of experts on standby to protect their nurses when they make mistakes. Our Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers have our own network of experts to level the playing field.
When it comes to standing up for our clients, we’re committed to delivering results. Contact us today to learn more about the benefits of hiring an Atlanta medical malpractice attorney to handle your legal battle.
Nursing Errors and Georgia Medical Malpractice Laws: An Overview
When medical malpractice is discussed, attention is often focused on physicians and hospitals. However, any healthcare professional can commit an error, including nurses. When a nursing mistake causes patient harm, the nurse may be held legally and financially responsible, just as a physician would be.
Claims involving nursing errors frequently rely on both medical malpractice principles and vicarious liability law. Most nurses are classified as common-law employees, meaning they may be personally liable for their actions, while their employers can also be held accountable for negligence committed within the scope of employment.
Our Attorneys in Atlanta Handle All Types of Nursing Error Claims
Nurses play a vital role in the healthcare system. When they make mistakes, patients can suffer all types of negative consequences.
At The Moses Firm: Medical Malpractice Lawyers, we handle all types of nursing error cases, including cases involving:
- Failure to properly monitor a patient’s vital signs
- Charting errors, or failing to adequately document information in the patient’s chart
- Failure to properly recognize and address signs of complications
- Failure to properly recognize and treat infections
- Communication errors between nurses and physicians or other medical professionals
- Providing improper or inadequate discharge instructions
- Administering the wrong type of medication or the wrong dosage
- Improper use of medical devices and equipment
- Ignoring a patient’s needs
- Errors during a surgical procedure
- Failing to change bandages as needed
- Failure to provide sanitary conditions
Again, nurses are held to certain standards. Like any other medical provider, they can be held responsible for failing to adhere to accepted standards. These are just a few scenarios that may result in patient harm.
In reality, many patients aren’t exactly sure why they’re suffering. Our attorneys can help you determine what happened–and who can be held responsible. Call us today to learn more about how an Atlanta nursing error attorney can help.
How Much Compensation Is My Atlanta Nursing Error Case Worth?
After being harmed by a medical error, it’s understandable to wonder how much compensation you deserve. As our lawyers build your case, we’ll assess multiple factors that can impact the amount of money you receive.
These factors include:
- The seriousness of the harm you have suffered
- Your current expenses, including medical costs
- Whether you’re expected to make a full medical recovery
- The amount of income you have lost if you were prevented from working
- How long-term damage will impact your career and earnings
- The level of pain and trauma you have experienced
- The nature of the medical error
- How your family’s life has changed
Any impact you have experienced should be considered in your compensation award. Remember that you’ll likely be dealing with a hospital or doctor’s insurance carrier. They know exactly how to convince victims to take less money than they deserve.
What Types of Compensatory Damages Can I Receive if I Was Harmed Because of a Nurse’s Error in Atlanta?
The exact damages you receive will depend on the losses you have experienced. You may be able to recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are awarded as reimbursement for direct financial losses you have incurred, including:
- Current medical bills
- Expected future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Lost job benefits
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Medications and devices
- Mental health treatment
- In-home health care
- Personal care assistance
Non-economic damages are designed to help you cope with the more intangible and personal losses you’re experiencing, including:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma and distress
- Depression
- Reduced quality of life
- Reduced life expectancy
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium and other damages for wrongful death
Insurance adjusters are trained to downplay any losses. An experienced attorney can help you prove that your damages exist and establish their financial value, often with the help of experts.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer To Handle a Nursing Errors Case in Georgia?
Our attorneys at The Moses Firm: Medical Malpractice Lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This is a standard fee structure for personal injury and medical malpractice lawyers.
Plainly speaking, a contingency fee arrangement means:
- You aren’t responsible for any upfront costs
- We don’t charge hourly fees
- Your attorneys’ fees are deducted directly from your compensation award
- We only get paid if we win
There’s no financial risk to hiring an experienced attorney.
How Do I Prove I Deserve Compensation if I Was Harmed Due to a Nursing Error in Georgia?
Victims in medical malpractice cases have the burden of proof. You must prove each element of your case by a clear and convincing evidence standard.
The elements of a medical malpractice case include:
- You were the nurse’s patient, creating a legal duty of care
- The nurse made an error that deviated from the medical standard of care when she was treating you
- You were harmed as a result of that deviation
- You sustained damages
The standard of care is the level of care that a reasonable, trained nurse would have provided under the circumstances. That standard will depend on the facts, considering the nurse’s level of training, as well as the medical condition involved.
Expert witness testimony is critical in Georgia medical malpractice cases. The expert in your case will testify about the care you should have received and how the care you did receive deviated from the standard.
What Are Some Common Causes of Nursing Errors in Georgia?
Medical errors can occur for many different reasons. Some common reasons why nursing errors occur include:
- Understaffed hospitals and medical facilities
- Inexperienced or undertrained nurses
- Failure to properly supervise less experienced nurses
- Distraction or fatigue
- Inadequate policies or procedures at the facility level
Nurses are often overworked and exhausted. Unfortunately, it’s the patients who suffer most when nurses are rushed or aren’t paying attention.
How Much Time Do I Have To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit if I Was Harmed by a Nursing Error in Georgia?
Medical malpractice victims have two years to file a lawsuit. The two-year clock technically begins running on the date of your injury. This statute of limitations means you will lose your right to damages if you wait too long.
It’s possible that different timeframes may be involved. You may not have discovered the harm for some time. If that’s the case, you have two years from the date you discovered–or reasonably should have discovered–the harm.
The law also provides for a statute of repose. Under this rule, you cannot file a lawsuit more than five years after the date of the error.
Contact an Experienced Atlanta Nursing Error Lawyer Today for a Free Case Review
We highly recommend consulting an experienced attorney if you suspect you were a victim of a medical error in Atlanta, GA. An experienced Atlanta nursing error lawyer can review your case without any fees or obligations attached.
Contact The Moses Firm: Medical Malpractice Lawyers today to learn how our attorneys can help you fight for a fair compensation award.