Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Malpractice is commonly defined as the negligent performance of a professional duty. Health care providers, including hospitals, doctors, and nurses, must exercise reasonable care in the discharge of their professional duties, namely the rendering of heath care services. Reasonable care is that level of care which is considered ‘standard’ in the medical profession. 'Standard' care is defined as the type of care provided by similarly qualified health-care professionals under similar circumstances. Medical malpractice is, therefore, the provision of medical care found not to rise to the requisite 'standard of care' due to the negligence of the health care provider. In other words, a medical professional commits medical malpractice when that person renders health care services, or fails to render such services, in a manner that is a deviation from the ‘standard of care’ generally accepted within the profession. A health care provider may be liable for injuries sustained from treatment determined to constitute malpractice.

Common examples of errors that might be pursued as malpractice include:

• mistakes in diagnosis, including the failure to or delay in making a diagnosis;
• medication errors, including prescription and delivery errors;
• the failure or delay in providing treatment;
• the delivery of improper or inappropriate treatment;
• the failure to follow up after treatment;
• improperly informing the patient about a procedure (ineffective informed consent);
• the failure to meet the requisite standard of care.

As noted above, medical malpractice includes errors in the provision of and failure to provide reasonable care. Due to the expansive list of errors in judgment and mistakes that form a potential medical malpractice claim, it has become a significant cause of death in the United States. The Committee on Quality of Health Care in America at the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, reported that

[preventable adverse events are a leading cause of death in the United States. When extrapolated to the over 33.6 million admissions to U.S. hospitals in 1997, the results of . . . two studies imply that at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors. Even when using the lower estimate, deaths in hospitals due to preventable adverse events exceed the number attributable to the 8th-leading cause of death. Deaths due to preventable adverse events exceed the deaths attributable to motor vehicle accidents (43,458), breast cancer (42,297) or AIDS (16,516).¹

The overwhelming number of preventable medical errors illustrates the importance of pursuing legal remedies, not only to recover expenses and damages flowing from the injury, but to provide an impetus for forcing accountability in the medical profession. Unfortunately, medical malpractice cases are complex, time consuming, and costly, varying in result from state to state depending on accepted standards of care and interpretations of negligence. Due to this complexity, Mark L. Stuckey, LLC suggests that injured persons consider retaining the services of a qualified attorney to represent their interests.

When considering whether to proceed with a claim, aggrieved parties

• should consult with a qualified attorney at the earliest possible date following the injury causing event in order to avoid violating the statute of limitations

and

• document evidence showing that
   
  • the health care provider had a duty to render care;
  • the health care provider negligently breached that duty by failing to meet the requisite standard of care; and
  • the actions of the health care provider are the proximate cause of the injury.

Additionally, in the State of Georgia, persons claiming to have suffered an injury are required obtain an expert opinion verifying the potential claim before filing suit. The expert opinion, to be submitted by a qualified health care provider, must identify the care or treatment that is the source of the claim. The expert must also provide cause to believe that the care or treatment received was below that considered to be the ‘standard of care.’

This requirement creates a financial burden that must be initially borne by aggrieved parties, making representation by qualified counsel essential. Mark L. Stuckey, LLC has extensive experience handling medical malpractice claims. We will preliminarily review your case and discuss with you the viability of your claim before this expenditure is required.

Mark L. Stuckey, LLC has significant experience reviewing, investigating, and litigating medical malpractice claims, faithfully representing persons that have suffered injuries resulting from medical negligence. We will carefully review the facts of your case, discuss the matter with you, and decide on a proper course of action. We will honestly inform you about the merits of the case (because not all injuries are the result of malpractice), the practicality of pursuing a legal claim (because the injury may be far outweighed by the cost of litigating the matter), and our role in the process (as both advocate and officer of the court).

If you have suffered an injury due to medical malpractice and would like to obtain the assistance of counsel, please contact Mark L. Stuckey, LLC. We will discuss your case and analyze the merits in an honest and forth-right manner. Our primary goals will be to assist in the preservation of your rights and in obtaining adequate, allowable compensation for your injury.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers

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NOTE: (cite - Append as Footnote - To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, The National Academy of Sciences, 2000, http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309068371/html/26.html )