The Process of Hiring an Atlanta Medical Malpractice Law Firm

Have you experienced an injury or the death of a loved one that you think was caused by the medical negligence of your hospital, surgeon, or doctor in Atlanta? If so, you should consider pursuing a medical malpractice claim. Medical errors occur all the time in emergency rooms, surgeries, pharmacies, and medical labs. When these errors happen, they can have devastating repercussions such as death, life-changing injuries, and unending suffering for the victim and their family.

Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C is an Atlanta medical malpractice law firm that has long-term experience. Contact or live chat with us, and we will ensure you receive the maximum compensation you deserve.

Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C.
1355 Peachtree St NW #1000, Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 885-1983

What Is Medical Malpractice?

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice includes any mistake by hospital staff, nurses, doctors, lab personnel, pharmacists, and other medical professionals. Under Georgia law, health care professionals are required to use a reasonable degree of care and skill. However, sometimes, mistakes and careless actions occur. Every year, a substantial number of Americans die or suffer injuries from medical mistakes. The Institute of Medicine estimates that 98,000 patients die annually from medical negligence.

In addition to deaths caused, a larger number of patients suffer injuries. Serious misdiagnoses and medical mistakes cause life-threatening injuries that require extra treatment. This means time taken off from work to seek treatment and in the worst cases, the loss of life.

In some cases, medical malpractice is clear. For instance, when a surgeon operates on the wrong body part or a surgical item is left inside the body of a patient after surgery. However, in other cases, it is very difficult to prove that a medical error was made. Therefore, it is important to hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney to assess and handle your case. Our medical malpractice lawyers are experts in such cases. Besides, they can call upon reliable advice from other professionals whom they rely on to prove medical negligence.

Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle

Our lawyers at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. represent clients and families harmed by medical and nursing errors, hospital negligence, physician malpractice, nursing home abuse, lab mistakes, and doctor malpractice. Over the years, we have advocated for and protected the rights of patients and delivered successful claims for our clients.

We represent clients who have been injured or clients who have lost a loved one from errors, mistakes, and reckless conduct in hospitals, nursing homes, labs, etc. These are some of the medical malpractice cases we handle:

• Failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, and failure to inform: Failure to identify a medical problem places the patient’s life at greater risk. Misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor fails to correctly identify and diagnose a medical problem, especially if another doctor with the same qualifications would have accurately identified the condition and commenced treatment.
• Surgical Errors: Surgery is always risky, a mistake can increase the risk and cause loss of life. Injuries after surgery happen when a surgeon or a surgical team member acts negligently or makes an error. Such mistakes can include operating on the wrong organ, surgical equipment left in the patient, blood transfusion errors, etc.
• Hospital Infections: Most common claims involve infections acquired in the hospital or after surgery due to the lack of a proper and timely diagnosis of post-surgical infection. Due to this lapse, the patient suffers from dangerous complications.
• Anesthesiologist, nurse, doctor, and other health care specialist errors: Anesthesia mistakes can cause brain injury, respiratory or cardiac arrest, vision loss, paralysis, and even death. Common anesthesiologist errors include improper intubation, transfusion errors, and anesthesia awareness - the patient regaining consciousness during surgery. Other health care specialist errors can cause catastrophic injuries or lead to the patient's death.
• Emergency room and hospital negligence: Doctors are required by the law and their code of conduct to adhere strictly to set out standards of care when examining, diagnosing, and treating patients. In the hospital or emergency room, doctors can breach the established protocols by failing to conduct proper diagnosis, refusing to order necessary imaging studies or tests, failing to consult appropriate specialists, etc.
• Nursing home neglect and abuse
• Medication errors: Medication errors can include administering contraindicated drugs to the patient, prescribing or administering the wrong drug, giving the wrong dose, or failure to medicate.
• Breach of established medical protocols
• Wrongful death
• Failure to adhere to advanced medical instructions and living wills

Do I Have a Valid Medical Malpractice Claim?

This question may be on your mind after your injury or the death of a loved one. Each case is unique due to specific circumstances. This is why you should talk to our specialist medical malpractice lawyers at our firm as soon as possible. Assemble all your medical records, and put together all the key details, from your first visit to the doctor up to the last contact with your health facility. If you can, request all your medical records from your hospital and bring them when meeting our attorney. Note that statute limitations govern how long one should take before filing a medical malpractice claim.

Once you contact Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C, our lawyers will assess and evaluate your claim. We focus on two essential elements to decide if your medical malpractice claim is valid.

The first is a failure to adhere to the necessary standard of care. Medical professionals are required to practice a certain degree of care based on the condition of the patient. Second, the presence of a direct link showing that the medical treatment provided or omitted led to the patient's injury or death. This relationship must be proved.

Demonstrating that standard care was breached and showing a direct link between the negligent act and the consequent injury or death is extremely hard. But, our firm has enough experts, including investigative and medical professionals who are experienced in doing this.

How Can I Strengthen My Case?

Though our medical experts and investigators at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C will conduct their investigations, there are several measures you can take to ease your compensation claim case. First, during your medical examination, cooperate fully with our doctor and answer all questions comprehensively. Also, prepare a detailed medical history that specifies the hospitals and doctors who treated you or your deceased family member and hand over this information to our lawyers. If possible, provide a detailed timeline from your initial appointment with your physician up to now, highlighting the symptoms, and the treatment received up to date. Remember to maintain a record of your ongoing medical treatment.

Do I Have to File My Medical Malpractice Claim Now?

Typically, you are allowed a two years window from the time your injury occurred to file a suit. After that your claim is time-barred. However, there are some exceptions. For instance, if you are unaware of a surgical tool inside your body, then you are allowed one year from the discovery date to file your claim. For minors, the statute of limitations is set at two years though it only begins to run once they attain the age of 7 years.

In Georgia, a statute of repose disallows one to file a medical claim case after five years from the incident that caused the injury. In the case of minors, the statute of repose only starts running after their tenth birthday.

Who is Responsible for My Medical Injuries?

When you visit a hospital or doctor you entrust them. Unfortunately, you were harmed. This means the professional or hospital did not exercise the applicable standard of care. Therefore, you are entitled to sue the hospital or doctor for your injury or the loss of a loved one. Their insurance company will pay your compensation. In these cases, several parties can be responsible. However, to sue a medical practitioner such as a doctor, anesthesiologist, nurse, or lab technician you must show beyond doubt that they did not adhere to the necessary standard of care.

To prove this is not that easy. Though the law expressly states that medical professionals must utilize a “reasonable degree of care and skill”, this is open to different interpretations. That is why it is important to engage our qualified lawyers who will consult medical experts to present strong evidence to clearly show that a medical professional was negligent and did not comply with the required standard of care.

In Atlanta, any medical malpractice claim must have an expert witness's testimony substantiating that the care accorded to the victim was below reasonable standards of care. Our attorneys will assist in providing an expert witness to testify in your case. They will also put together all the necessary evidence to demonstrate negligence and hence liability.

Why You Should Hire Atlanta-based Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C?

Our law firm is committed to advocating for the rights of our clients and reinstating victim families as a way of moving forward. There are several reasons why you should consider working with our medical malpractice lawyers:

Work with the best medical experts: Our medical malpractice lawyers are highly qualified specialists able to effectively anticipate and manage the sophisticated legal and medical problems that are found in these cases. Moreover, we have very useful relationships with qualified medical consultants who are crucial in arguing out any successful claim.

Highly experienced in the medical malpractice field: Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C has a combined experience of over 350 years in our team. Our attorneys have spent years representing clients and are familiar with the applicable special procedures and the local court system. By selecting us, you will be engaging a capable team of lawyers that will ensure a fair resolution of your claim.

Skilled in handling evasive insurance companies: The main objective of insurers is to make a profit. No insurance provider is readily willing to pay a claim. Denying claims is their default approach. Then they will attempt to reduce your claim as much as they can. They have persuasive claims adjusters who are paid to convince you to accept a lower claim. Our firm has experienced all their tactics and will negotiate strongly to get the maximum damages you deserve.

We cover your legal charges until your case is decided: Our firm understands your plight. Already, you may have spent substantial amounts in seeking additional treatments for your injury. To ease your burden, we cover all your legal expenses until your claim is decided.

Contact Our Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Do you have an injury from any medical treatment received? We are open and ready to advise you on whether a medical error happened and guide you on the next course of action. Contact us online or make a free call at 1-888-579-1790 and book an appointment with Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C., an experienced Atlanta medical malpractice attorney firm. We have the resources, expertise, and experience to assess your claim and pursue your right to receive the full compensation you deserve.