Medical Malpractice

Atlanta, Georgia Medical Malpractice Attorney – Anesthesia Errors

Published on: March 20, 2019 | By Van Sant Law

Local, regional and general anesthesia are necessary for a variety of medical procedures. Everything from root canals to tattoo removal to major surgery can necessitate that your pain response be dulled or that you be made relaxed, forgetful or sleepy. Unfortunately, any type of anesthesia can be dangerous and, if the medical professionals administering the medications don’t exercise proper care, the consequences could be damaging or even fatal.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of an anesthesia error, you have legal rights. You can hold the doctors, hospitals and healthcare institutions who caused your harm responsible for what they have done. Victims can seek recovery for medical costs and lost wages as well as compensation for pain and suffering and emotional distress. In the event that an anesthesia error is fatal, surviving family members of the deceased may also consult with an Atlanta medical malpractice attorney to make a wrongful death claim.

The Dangers of Anesthesia Errors

Atlanta, Georgia Medical Malpractice Attorney – Laboratory Errors

Published on: March 20, 2019 | By Van Sant Law

In 2006, the Post Gazette published alarming information indicating that as many as three to five percent of medical specimens evaluated in labs each year are defective. The Post Gazette emphasized the dangers of faulty laboratory results and indicated that hospitals were taking steps to prevent dangerous lab errors.

Unfortunately, more than six years later, devastating lab errors continue to present a major risk to patients. In fact, the New York Times indicated in an October 12 article that new medical efforts on managing test results had been prompted by the death of a boy who was misdiagnosed in part because his lab results were never communicated to parents or treating physicians.

When a laboratory error of any type occurs, from a false negative to a false positive to a failure on the part of the lab and doctors to follow up, the consequences can be devastating to patients. Delayed treatment can exacerbate the dangers of certain diseases and significantly reduce the cure rate while a false positive could result in patients undergoing expensive, stressful, painful and unnecessary treatment. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a laboratory error and suffered harm as a result, an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help.

Atlanta, Georgia Medical Malpractice Attorney – Radiological Errors

Published on: March 20, 2019 | By Van Sant Law

The job of a radiologist is an important one: to use medical imaging devices such as x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, PET scans and other technologies to diagnose disease. Radiologists also play a role in treating diseases through the use of nuclear medicine. Because radiologists are responsible for helping to ensure patients get appropriate diagnoses and appropriate medical care, radiologists are considered healthcare professionals and have a duty to provide reasonably competent medical care to patients.

Unfortunately, radiologists are not perfect and they can sometimes make mistakes. In fact, according to the American Journal of Roentgenology, approximately four percent of interpretations radiologists make contain errors. While many of these errors are minor ones, others have serious consequences and impact a patient's health and medical prognosis.

If you or a loved one has been harmed as a result of a radiological error, it is important to understand you have legal rights. Medical malpractice laws don't just extent to doctors and surgeons but can also cover radiologists and other healthcare providers. An Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer can help you to determine if you have a viable medical malpractice claim against your radiologist and can assist you in taking legal action to recover monetary damages including compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, emotional distress and other losses.

2500 Georgia Doctors Don't Have Malpractice Insurance

Published on: March 20, 2019 | By Van Sant Law

Our Atlanta medical malpractice attorneys read recent news about an Atlanta-Journal Constitution Life Mental Health via Compfight cc

See Our Related Blog investigation about doctors in Georgia practicing without medical malpractice insurance. The investigation, analyzing state data, found that more than 2,500 doctors are doing this in Georgia, including dozens who have been previously disciplined by the state medical board for things like sexual misconduct, drug use, and patient deaths. While 18 other states have laws mandating malpractice insurance or have methods for compensating injured patients, Georgia only encourages doctors to get insurance.

AJC analysed state medical board data that was collected under a 2011 law requiring licensed doctors to inform the board if they have malpractice insurance. There are more than 29,000 licensed doctors in Georgia that provided this information, and 2,536 of them admitted they didn't have insurance. Another 3,000 didn't provide the information. These numbers mean a little less than eight percent of doctors with medical licenses aren't insured.

Could Anesthesia Errors Put You at Risk of Injuries Due to Atlanta Medical Negligence?

Published on: March 20, 2019 | By Van Sant Law

Anesthesia is necessary for many medical procedures in order to allow a patient to undergo painful treatments. There is both local anesthesia, which numbs pain only in a certain area, as well as general anesthesia which involves putting a patient under. General anesthesia can be really dangerous if it is not done correctly, and many victims of medical negligence are harmed by their anesthesiologists who make mistakes that have devastating consequences.

If you or someone you love had a medical procedure done and problems with anesthesia caused harm to occur, you need to take action. An Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer can provide you with assistance in pursuing a case against the care provider who harmed you and a case against the employer of that care provider.

Atlanta Medical Malpractice Claims for Anesthesia Problems

Atlanta Dental Malpractice and Anticoagulant Medications

Published on: March 20, 2019 | By Van Sant Law

When most people think of medical malpractice, they think of surgeons botching procedures or of doctors who misdiagnose cancer or another serious medical condition and fail to provide adequate care. These are all serious examples of medical negligence which can cause life-threatening and potentially fatal outcomes. However, MDs are not the only care provides who could make dangerous choices that harm patients. Dentists are also healthcare providers who are held to a professional standard of care and who can be held accountable if something they do causes harm to their patients.

There are many different examples of dental negligence which could give patients the right to pursue a damage claim with the help of an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer. However, one common type of complaint which arises occurs when dentists make bad choices regarding performing procedures on patients who take anticoagulant medication.

Atlanta Dental Malpractice Involving Patients on Anticoagulant Medications

Atlanta, Georgia Medical Malpractice Attorneys – Obstetrics Errors

Published on: March 20, 2019 | By Van Sant Law

News of a pregnancy can be a wonderful and exciting thing for women and couples as they get to bring a new family member into their lives. To ensure a smooth pregnancy and a healthy baby, women count on their obstetricians to provide quality pre-natal care and to manage the childbirth and delivery process. Unfortunately, many things can go wrong both before and during the birth and obstetricians must monitor both the mother and child carefully to minimize the risk of complications.

Obstetricians have a tough job and they are expected to exhibit a professional degree of skill when performing it. When an obstetrician fails to do so and provides poor care below the standard that a reasonable doctor with their background and area of specialization should provide, this can constitute medical negligence.

Under Georgia law, a doctor or healthcare provider who is negligent can be sued by an injured patient or by loved ones of a patient who has been killed by the medical negligence. Medical malpractice lawsuits provide the victim with compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical costs and even wrongful death damages. An Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer can help in cases where obstetrics errors constitute medical malpractice by assisting victims in taking legal action to recover compensation.

Woman Dies from Collapsing Operating Table: Who’s Liable?

Published on: January 13, 2017 | By Van Sant Law

An operating room should be the safest place for a patient to be. Here, the patient is amongst professionals and experts, and the room is kept to a specific standard. Unfortunately, for one 70-year old woman, the operating room was a deadly place.

operating room table Van Sant Law

About the Case?

The 70-year old woman was in the middle of extensive open heart surgery when the operating table collapsed. Now, the case is being investigated by hospital executives and the coroner. While in surgery, the pensioner was jolted and the bypass machine was delayed.

Eight Percent of GA Physicians Have No Malpractice Insurance

Published on: August 7, 2014 | By Van Sant Law

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.

Malpractice Myths: Tort Reform Would Reduce Health Care Spending

Published on: April 1, 2013 | By Van Sant Law

Many people believe that tort reform will lower health care spending, but this is a myth that can be debunked. In fact, in order to see what effect tort reform will have on health care spending, it is important to distinguish between both the direct and indirect costs of the medical malpractice liability system. The direct costs of the system include the cost of all the awards and settlements to plaintiffs and the costs that are associated with defending the costs.

This means court costs and the administrative costs that come from the medical malpractice insurers. There are also indirect costs of medical malpractice cases. These typically come when insurance providers take a step to reduce their likelihood of being sued. These are expenses like running extra tests for patients and making costly preventative measures in hopes of avoiding any lawsuits with cantankerous patients that seem to be hungry for litigation.

Tort reforms would make lawsuits happen less often, and would make the process of litigation in these cases less expensive. This means that the tort reform might reduce the amount of defensive medicine needed. Defensive medicine is typically the indirect costs of malpractice. This means that health-care spending may do down.