Medical Malpractice
Category RSS FeedConfidential Settlements – bad secrecy or good privacy?
Though common in litigation, confidential settlements can be controversial.
While confidentiality agreements had help expedite settlement, there are concerns that secret settlements can work against public safety by covering up health and safety hazards. As with much in life, the hardest choices are not between good and bad, but between good and good, and between bad … Continue Reading
Jury can decide if ER malpractice was under “gross negligence” or “ordinary negligence” standard
In the national debate over health care there has been much discussion of the fact that many people go to hospital emergency departments for medical care that is not necessarily due to a true emergency involving a serious personal injury or immediately life threatening illness.
There are many reasons for that, some good and some not. … Continue Reading
Is failure of ER to treat with antibiotics leg gash in river “gross negligence” in Georgia?
Atlanta area news coverage this spring has been dominated by the story of a young woman graduate student who suffered a gash on her leg in an accident on a homemade zip line during a rafting trip on the Tallapoosa River. She was taken to the emergency department of the local hospital in a suburban … Continue Reading
Georgia medical malpractice damages cap constitutionality argued in Supreme Court
The tort reform legislation that passed the Georgia legislature in 2005 involved an unfortunate clash between the medical and legal professions. Then just a rank and file attorney handling catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases in metro Atlanta, and a back row member of the State Bar Board of Governors, I had no … Continue Reading
Georgia’s medical malpractice statute of repose held unconstitutional as applied to mentally handicapped
South Georgia federal judge finds no rational basis for shortening time for mentally handicapped people to file a medical malpractice case.
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Can I sue a doctor for malpractice in 1994?
Once again, we often hear from folks after their time has run out. Here’s a question I got last week from a lady who waited way too long.
Q. When I had my first child in 1994, the MD performed an episiotomy which caused severe nerve damage (sliced through tissue from vagina to rectum). I did … Continue Reading
Fulton County judge holds $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases violates Georgia Constitution
The $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, which was enacted by the Georgia legislature in 2005 as part of an omnibus tort reform bill known as SB3, faces another constitutional challenge this week. Yesterday, Fulton County State Court Judge Diane Bessen held the cap unconstitutional in the case of Nestlehutt v. Atlanta … Continue Reading
$1.25 million Georgia verdict for nursing home neglect
As an Atlanta trial lawyer, I have often seen instances of severe neglect in nursing homes. Last week I wrote on this blog about the ratings of Georgia’s 358 nursing homes, 115 of which rated "much below average."
A few days ago, a DeKalb County jury returned a $1.25 million verdict for the family of an … Continue Reading
Where to send mama, or not — Georgia nursing home ratings
Of 358 Georgia nursing homes, 17 rank “much above average” and 115 rate “much below average.”
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$5.8 million verdict reduced to $3.6 million in medical malpractice wrongful death case
Even after tort reform, a medical malpractice case with substantial economic damages can produce a substantial settlement.
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