Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals usually approach their work with expertise, compassion and care. But mistakes can happen.
Sometimes, these stem from common challenges in our healthcare system, like burnout, staffing issues, documentation expectations, and the threat of violence or abuse on the job. Other times, problems arise when a hospital or healthcare system doesn’t have a robust set of quality guardrails in place to ensure patient safety and reduce errors. Employers may also hire the wrong people, fail to train their teams in expectations around patient care, or ignore complaints and red flags.
When errors happen—whether because of burnout, a failure to listen or medical negligence— patients can get hurt. And when treatment dips below a certain standard of care, meaning a medical provider with similar training and experience would not have made the same mistake, patients may be able to pursue a medical malpractice claim.
Medical malpractice cases, however, are some of the most challenging, difficult-to-prove cases lawyers will handle. Medicine is subjective, and it’s common for patients to face undesirable outcomes even after exceptional medical care.
To have a medical malpractice case, you must show that:
- The healthcare provider had a duty to care for you
- The provider did not meet the expected standard of care
- The provider’s carelessness caused you harm or injury
- The provider’s care caused suffering
If you feel that your situation meets the above criteria, the next step is talking to medical malpractice lawyers to determine if it makes sense to move forward with a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Hiring a medical malpractice attorney
When facing a healthcare injury, misdiagnosis, hospital-acquired infection or medical error, it can be hard to know how to handle a potential malpractice case. Is suing for medical negligence the right choice?
Because medical malpractice cases involve a high burden of proof, it’s important to talk to medical malpractice attorneys who understand how these suits work. Some cases with poor outcomes are not the result of medical errors. Others may be, but the evidence to support the case isn’t there.
In Georgia, there’s also a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, ending claims two years after the injury or death of a loved one occurred. There are a few exceptions to this two-year limit: In malpractice claims where a medical error is only discovered later, the timeline extends to as long as five years. And if a foreign object is left in someone’s body after a surgery of procedure, a one-year statute of limitations only starts when the object is found.
If a case falls within the statute of limitations, a medical malpractice attorney will primarily assess two factors before deciding to take it on:
- The healthcare provider’s liability and whether there’s evidence to support it
- The severity of the injuries or loss
While personal injury claims for more minor injuries can often move forward, medical malpractice claims usually involve serious mistakes with lifelong consequences, like an unnecessary appendectomy, an anesthesia error or a failure to share an abnormal screening result, leading to a delay in a cancer diagnosis.
How medical malpractice claims work
After accepting a case, a medical malpractice attorney determines whether the suit will be against the medical professional or their employer, like a hospital or clinic. In some cases, both may be fault, for example when a nursing home employee administers the wrong dosage of medicine, but the nursing home also fails to properly train the team or respond to the error.
The attorney will also gather evidence, like medical records from before the event, medical bills from the resulting injury and other documentation, like missed time off work.
In Georgia, medical malpractice suits require an expert affidavit with filing—a document from a medical expert stating an opinion about at least one negligent act from the suit.
Medical malpractice insurers typically settle valid claims after some negotiation, but cases can go to court. Medical malpractice attorneys try to seek out a solution that covers the medical expenses and care needs of the injured person, plus compensation for pain and suffering. In 2025, however, Georgia’s governor signed a new law into place limiting the noneconomic damages for medical malpractice claims—it’s currently a contentious point among Georgia insurance companies, businesses, healthcare systems and patient rights advocates.
Medical malpractice claims
Medical malpractice cases can cover errors, omissions, misdiagnoses and even cases of gross negligence, like when a medical provider is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Cases might include:
- Delayed diagnoses: When a doctor fails to order necessary tests or misreads results and the patient misses out on valuable treatment time
- Surgical errors: When a surgeon leaves a sponge or instrument behind after an operation, or operates on the wrong patient or the wrong area of the body
- Medication errors: When a nurse fails to document dosage, or a nursing home assistant mistakes the medications of two residents, giving one the wrong medication
- Birth injuries: When a physician delays an emergency C-section, causing serious injury to the baby or mother, or when a maternity nurse doesn’t escalate signs of a mother’s hemorrhaging after delivery
- Anesthesia errors: When an anesthesiologist fails to monitor vital signs or gives the incorrect dose during a surgery
- Dental errors: When a dentist extracts the wrong tooth, or the dental staff fails to limit the infection risk of instruments
In cases involving the loss of a loved one, a medical malpractice attorney will pursue a wrongful death suit.
Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyers
We place a lot of trust in our healthcare providers, and it can feel devastating when that trust is broken. If you’ve been hurt by the negligence of a medical provider, it’s helpful to understand your options for legal representation before you near the statute of limitations. At Litner + Deganian, we have experience helping clients assess their medical malpractice claim, and we handle each case with sensitivity and compassion. If you need help, contact the medical malpractice and personal injury attorneys at our law firm for a free case evaluation and free consultation.
