Georgia birth injury victims must show evidence of a deviation from accepted standards

Atlanta, GA – When a mother is giving birth, this is a time when she is vulnerable to certain specific injuries, and the child may also experience serious problems if the birth procedure is not handled correctly by the medical staff present. Sometimes, these risks do materialize into complications that can permanently harm either the mother, child, or both of them. When a doctor or other healthcare professional has made a mistake that caused these injuries, the victim has the right to bring a civil medical malpractice case and attempt to receive compensation for their injuries. 

State laws for malpractice

Under Georgia law, a medical malpractice case is essentially a type of negligence case which says that a doctor deviated from the accepted standard of care that is relevant to the procedure in question. 

Anyone who attempts to provide medical services can be sued for medical malpractice in the state, even if they did not actually possess a license to practice medicine at the time. The statute says that the doctor must display a reasonable degree of care and skill during the procedure.  

There are three distinct elements that must be demonstrated to show that malpractice occurred. This includes a duty of care relevant to the relationship between the patient and the doctor, a breach of that duty due to the fact that the doctor did not utilize sufficient care, and proximate cause linking the breach of duty and the injuries sustained by the plaintiff. This follows a similar outline to standard negligence cases that include a duty of care, breach of that duty, actual and proximate causation, and damages. 

There is generally a two year limit from the date of the injury in which a victim can bring their claim under the state’s statute of limitations. 

How these elements may apply to birth injuries

From the time a mother goes into labor, she may be given medication, spend hours in a hospital setting, and various tools and implements may be used to extract the child. Doctors sometimes prescribe a medication that is dangerous because of side effects, and this is one type of malpractice. Several medications have also been shown to disrupt the normal blood flow between the mother and the child before delivery. A newborn child’s body is also fragile, and some of the extraction equipment can cause physical damage that does not heal properly. There may be testimony from doctors who work in a similar specialty to show that these kinds of problems occurred, and that the doctor who supervised the procedure was not careful enough. 

Finding out if a civil lawsuit is necessary

USAttorneys.com is a valuable resource for anyone who thinks that they may need legal assistance in the future. The site contains a directory of lawyers in Atlanta and throughout the United States divided by geographic location and practice area.