It is a sad reality, but medical errors are not rare in Georgia and across the United States. Thousands of people are injured as a result of badly performed procedures, medication errors, and general negligence. While we want to trust our doctors and assume that they will never make a mistake, mistakes are all too common to ignore. That is why the law provides a way for patients injured by a doctor’s negligence to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit.
When a victim receives sub-standard care and that poor quality of care leads to the victim’s injuries, a malpractice lawsuit provides an opportunity for the victim to be compensated for his or her losses. Usually, this compensation is paid for by a doctor’s medical malpractice insurance. Unfortunately, eight percent of doctors in the state of Georgia do not have any medical malpractice insurance at all.
In a recent investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it was reported that more than 2,500 Georgia doctors do not have malpractice insurance. The information was gathered from an analysis of state medical board data. Although many of these uninsured doctors are not currently seeing patients, over a dozen doctors currently are practicing on patients without malpractice insurance.
Implications of Not Having Proper Medical Malpractice Insurance
One hundred thirteen of those doctors without insurance had been sanctioned by medical boards for some impropriety or mistake, which means that they were at risk for lawsuits. One uninsured doctor even had a $900,000 malpractice settlement. While victims can still attempt to collect a deserved settlement from a uninsured doctor, it can be more difficult and a longer process.
A doctor without insurance bears full personal responsibility for malpractice suits. This means the doctor’s personal assets can be seized to pay a judgment against him or her. Not only is this a serious risk for the doctors, but it also can negatively affect the amount of an award the victim can actually recover.
Many malpractice settlements can be settled for sums of up to millions of dollars. A doctor may only have thousands of dollars worth of assets available. In these cases, victims will be out of luck for the rest of the settlement. For this reason, an uninsured doctor can be a very dangerous choice. Furthermore, if a doctor has lost his or her insurance, there may be a reason why. If a doctor makes a huge error, he or she becomes a higher insurance risk.
Have You Been The Victim Of Medical Malpractice?
If you or a loved one has been injured due to a medical error you need to speak with a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. Please contact us online or call our office directly at (800) 234-9556 to schedule your free consultation.