We are experienced Georgia medical malpractice lawyers. For more than 15 years, medical malpractice has been a primary focus area for attorney Daniel Ragland. He has considerable expertise and an impeccable state-wide reputation in this area. Each year, the Atlanta Magazine publishes a list of Georgia’s “Super Lawyers” based upon voting results from lawyers throughout the state. Every year between 2004-2009, attorney Daniel Ragland was awarded the “Super Lawyers” designation in the area of medical malpractice. There are only a handful of law firms in Atlanta who can legitimately claim that they are medical malpractice specialists - Ragland Law Firm, LLC is one of those premier malpractice law firms. Attorneys there diligently study the medical science involved in the cases they handle which is why other personal injury attorneys often refer prospective clients with possible medical malpractice matters to the firm.
Attorneys at Ragland Law Firm, LLC have represented victims of medical malpractice in Atlanta, Gainesville, Cartersville, Dalton, LaGrange, Columbus, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Thomaston, Albany and many other parts of Georgia. These cases involved many different circumstances including infections, medication errors, failures to diagnose, improper surgery and surgical complications, negligent administration of anesthesia, misreading of x-rays, sexual misconduct by a physician, post-operative retention of a foreign object, and obstetrical mistakes leading to birth injuries. View our Case Results page if you want to learn more about some of the Georgia medical malpractice lawsuits which the attorneys at Ragland Law Firm, LLC have successfully handled.
Because of their vast experience in this area, the attorneys at Ragland Law Firm, LLC are able to evaluate the merits of potential claims and determine whether a medical malpractice lawsuit is advisable. Some of the circumstances which may justify the pursuit of a medical malpractice lawsuit would include the following:
We invite you to contact us if someone has died or been injured by any of these examples of potential malpractice.
Doctors and Hospitals Do Commit Medical MalpracticeMedical malpractice is not a myth – it takes place every day. Indeed, surgical errors and medical mistakes by doctors, nurses and other medical professionals occur with alarming frequency. Sometimes medical malpractice is the result of incompetency, but it can also be the result of inattention, oversight, intoxication, or mistakes by even the most qualified or reputable health care provider. Therefore, all patients, even those who can afford to go the “best” doctors and hospitals, are at risk of severe injury or death due to medical negligence.
Unfortunately, because of aggressive and well financed propaganda campaigns by physicians and their insurance companies, the general public has been falsely led to believe that medical malpractice rarely occurs and that it poses no significant threat to patients. That simply is not true, and ignores solid information which proves that real malpractice causes thousands of patients to lose their lives or suffer paralysis, limb amputation, disfigurement and other severe injuries every year. The documented data and facts are these:
Despite this hard evidence, the insurance industry and medical lobbies have done an effective job of misleading citizens and convincing them that the problem is not the relative frequent occurrence of real malpractice, but the proliferation of “frivolous” lawsuits filed by greedy lawyers. Yes, there are some bad lawyers who file malpractice cases of questionable merit. But, most malpractice lawsuits are filed because the patient suffered a disabling injury and there are legitimate issues surrounding the competency of the doctor or the adequacy of care received by that patient. The well documented facts are that there is no “litigation crisis,” that malpractice cases are not proliferating, that most malpractice cases have merit, and that malpractice lawsuits are not the cause of increasing medical costs. These truths have been proven by numerous quality studies which document the following facts and data:
Of course, the attorneys at Ragland Law Firm, LLC have never needed any studies or statistics to confirm that people of all ages, race and economic status are all too frequently suffering the catastrophic consequences of real medical negligence. They have been handling these medical malpractice cases for many years, and have seen firsthand many instances of actual and sometimes blatantly obvious malpractice which devastated the lives of their clients and their clients’ families.
Here are just a few of the medical malpractice lawsuits which attorney Daniel Ragland has successfully handled on behalf of a patient or their family. These are not hypothetical scenarios – these things took place and resulted in an actual lawsuit being filed and settled on confidential terms.
As evidence of its dedication to malpractice victims, Ragland Law Firm, LLC has taken one of its medical malpractice cases all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court where a unanimous decision was rendered in favor of the law firm’s client. See Schramm v. Lyon, 285 Ga. 72 (2009). That case involved physicians who failed to give needed vaccinations to an asplenic woman who had lost her spleen due to injuries she suffered in a car accident as a teenager. Many years later, because she was not properly immunized, the asplenic woman suffered an overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI) which resulted in the amputation of all four limbs. Afterward, she retained attorney Daniel Ragland who filed a malpractice lawsuit claiming that her primary care physician and OB-GYN physicians could and should have guarded against OPSI with certain vaccinations which are recommended for any individuals without a functioning spleen. The physician defendants convinced the trial judge to dismiss that malpractice lawsuit on grounds it was time barred by Georgia’s 5 year statute of repose. Attorney Ragland successfully appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals which, in a 4-3 decision, reversed the trial court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit. See Lyon v. Schramm, 291 Ga.App. 48 (2008). The Georgia Supreme Court granted the defendants’ request for certiorari and in February 2009, published a 7-0 decision in which it unanimously affirmed the Georgia Court of Appeals and reinstated the lawsuit. Soon after the Georgia Supreme Court’s favorable ruling, the defendants agreed to settle the case on terms which are confidential.
From empirical data and our own experience representing the victims, we know full well that real malpractice occurs often and with devastating consequences. We also know that the pursuit of meritorious medical malpractice cases in Georgia has a rightful place in our society. No citizen should allow the propaganda of insurance companies and lobbyists to convince them that medical malpractice lawsuits are wrong, or that medical care providers deserve to be immune from civil liability even though their incompetence or negligence cause severe injuries or death. Doctors, nurses and hospital personnel are no different than anyone else. Like other citizens, medical professionals make mistakes and when they do, they should be accountable to the injured patient and their families. Medical malpractice litigation serves two key purposes. It encourages doctors and hospitals to act carefully and provide competent, quality care. And, most importantly, malpractice litigation is the means by which patients conduct investigations to determine how or why they were injured, and obtain needed compensation from those found to have committed malpractice.
A cause of action for medical malpractice in Georgia is provided in both the statutes and common law (i.e., appellate court decisions) of this state. The statutory basis for claims of medical malpractice can be found at O.C.G.A. § 51-1-27, which provides as follows:
“A person professing to practice surgery or the administering of medicine for compensation must bring to the exercise of his profession a reasonable degree of care and skill. Any injury resulting from a lack of such care and skill shall be a tort for which a recovery may be had.”
The appellate courts of Georgia have repeatedly said that medical malpractice is defined as the failure of the physician, nurse or other medical care professional to provide the degree of care and skill which is required by the “standard of care” applicable to that particular professional under the circumstances presented. The phrase “standard of care” refers to what reasonably competent and skilled physicians, nurses or other medical professionals would ordinarily do under “similar conditions and like circumstances.” Georgia appellate courts require that in addition to proving a deviation from the “standard of care,” the plaintiff must show, usually through expert testimony, that the alleged negligence caused or contributed to the patient’s death or injury based upon “reasonable medical probability.”
Medical malpractice law in Georgia is not limited to doctors and hospitals. If their negligence causes injury or death to a patient, any healthcare professional can be the subject of a malpractice lawsuit. Thus, malpractice claims can be asserted against dentists, psychiatrists, chiropractors, podiatrists, lab technicians, physical therapists, midwives, nurses, and other medical care providers.
Georgia Law Requires Expert Testimony in Medical Malpractice LawsuitsNo lawsuit alleging medical malpractice against a physician, nurse, hospital or other medical care professional can be filed in Georgia without support from an expert witness who practices or teaches in the same field of medicine as the defendant. Specifically, there is a statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1, which requires that a sworn affidavit signed by at least one competent medical expert be attached to every medical malpractice lawsuit filed in Georgia. This is an absolute requirement and any malpractice case filed without an attached expert affidavit is subject to dismissal by the judge.
Atlanta Lawyers Especially Qualified to Handle Medical Malpractice LitigationAs shown above, we are experienced medical malpractice specialists located in Atlanta. We have considerable expertise in this field, and we regularly handle malpractice cases all over Georgia. Malpractice litigation is probably the most complicated and costly type of personal injury case. It requires the use of medical experts, and the attorney must study extensively to be adequately versed in the medical conditions, procedures, and standards of care involved in the patient’s course of treatment. Only those Georgia lawyers who have the ability, experience and willingness to do this should handle malpractice cases. Because medical malpractice lawsuits are very difficult, time consuming and costly, we are especially selective and each year, we accept only a few of the many malpractice cases presented to us. As a result, we are able to devote the time, resources, and diligent study required to pursue medical malpractice with success.
Contact an Experienced Georgia Medical Malpractice LawyerIf you believe you or a family member has been the victim of medical malpractice, we encourage you to contact us so that we can learn more about your potential case and review it at no charge. We are conveniently located near Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, Georgia. There are no fees and no obligation for you to call and consult with us about your potential medical malpractice case.