Atlanta Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Attorneys
Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death
Wrongful death in Georgia and throughout the United States stemming from medical malpractice is a serious problem. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies estimates that 225,000 Americans die each year due to medical malpractice, and another 1.5 million are injured.
Medical malpractice, or medical negligence, occurs when a health care professional provides less than a reasonable standard of care, causing injury or harm to the patient. If the lack of care is severe enough, it may result in the patient's death. Most U.S. states allow a patient's family or the executor of the patient's estate to bring a wrongful death suit if the patient dies due to medical malpractice.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) estimates that 90 percent of medical malpractice cases filed every year are brought by the family after a wrongful death. Nearly half of these cases are filed after a physician fails to diagnose a serious condition or gives the wrong diagnosis. Some of these errors can be fixed without seriously harming the patient, but when a disease requires early detection in order to be treated, a doctor's failure to recognize the obvious can be deadly. For instance, if a physician doesn't detect cancer in its early stages, the disease might be untreatable by the time it's discovered - spelling an untimely death for the patient.
Surgical errors also cause a large number of Georgia medical malpractice-related deaths every year. Surgical teams are trained not to make errors like leaving surgical tools or sponges inside a patient, but sometimes, that training is not enough to prevent surgeons and nurses from making a fatal mistake. Internal damage caused by a lack of care during surgery can result in internal bleeding or organ damage that can also cost the patient his or her life.
Physicians aren't the only health care professionals who may be responsible for medical malpractice. Hospitals have a duty to maintain sterile environments in order to keep the risk of infection as low as possible. Unfortunately, the widespread use of antibiotics and anti-bacterial cleaner means that hospitals may harbor "superbugs," or disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to treatment. If hospitals do not protect patients from catching one or more of these infections, the patient may suffer serious injury or death.
Nursing malpractice is another situation with potentially deadly consequences. In both hospitals and physicians' offices, nurses are responsible for administering medications, assembling sterile tools and equipment for procedures, and taking a patient's vital signs and assessing his overall functioning. If a nurse administers the wrong medication, or if the nurse fails to notice a patient's condition or to communicate with the rest of the health care team, it is the patient who suffers.
When Georgia medical malpractice causes the death of a loved one, the family suffers both the weight of the untimely loss and of their own unanswered questions. What would have happened if the doctor had made the right diagnosis sooner? What if the surgery team had been paying attention? What if the nurse had stopped to double-check the name or dose of the medication before giving it? Would our loved one still be alive today?
A Georgia medical malpractice wrongful death suit is one way the family, with the help of an experienced attorney, can find the answers to these questions. While a wrongful death case can't bring a loved one back, it can help the family by providing compensation for medical bills, lost wages, funeral costs, and other damages related to the loved one's untimely death. It can also provide the peace of mind that comes with knowing that a health care professional who failed to live up to the serious responsibility of caring for others has been held accountable for his or her actions. To find out more about your legal options, contact the Atlanta wrongful death lawyers at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. We can help.
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