How To Sue for Medical Mistakes in Georgia

When you go to a doctor in Savannah, you hope that they are going to do everything they can to help you with whatever ails you. You hope that they aren’t going to hurt you. Medical mistakes can happen, though, because doctors aren’t perfect. Not every mistake a doctor makes will allow you to sue for medical malpractice.

So, how do you know when you can sue for medical malpractice in Georgia? There are a few ways to know. One, you can easily ask a Savannah medical malpractice lawyer who will tell you whether you have a case. The other way to know is to examine your case to see if it has all of the elements of medical negligence.

Elements of Medical Negligence

There are several elements that must be present for most medical malpractice cases in Georgia to move forward. Here are the main elements.

You Were Being Treated by a Medical Practitioner

The first and most obvious element that must be present in a medical malpractice case is whether a particular doctor was treating you. You simply need to have evidence that the doctor or medical provider in question treated you. This is to prevent random people from suing doctors who never treated them in the first place.

Were You Injured?

The second element that must be proved in a medical malpractice case is that the actions of a doctor or medical provider caused you harm. If you weren’t harmed, you have no reason to file a claim. This is important because a lot of people want to sue because they were almost harmed. 

When you were almost harmed because of a medical error, this event is frightening. You may want to sue simply for the emotional suffering you went through because of the scary situation you were in. However, almost harmed is not harmed, and you can’t sue for that.

Were the Doctor’s Actions Negligent?

Another element of a medical malpractice case is that the doctor’s actions, which resulted in you being harmed, were negligent. As mentioned earlier, doctors make mistakes. They could accidentally harm a patient even though they made every effort not to. If you can’t prove negligence, you may not have a malpractice case. Talk to a lawyer to be sure. 

Proving negligence is the most difficult aspect of a medical malpractice case. It often requires the testimony of another medical professional who can speak to whether the actions of the doctor in question were out of the ordinary.

Did You Suffer Damages?

The final element that must be proved in a medical malpractice case is whether you suffered damages. If a doctor made a mistake during surgery, but that mistake didn’t cause you any lasting harm or damages, you may not have a case. 

For example, suppose a doctor does injure you during hand surgery by cutting your pinkie finger. If the doctor quickly stitched up the cut and no lasting harm was done, you might not be able to sue the doctor.

Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Georgia

If you have further questions about whether you have a medical malpractice case in Savannah, Georgia, just call a lawyer at our firm. The call is free. The Nye Law Group can be reached through the online form below or call 912-200-5230.