This is my second blog post where I discuss a Medical Malpractice Case out of the State Court of Fulton, County Georgia and the first blog post is titled, “A Medical Malpractice Case in Fulton County, Georgia whereby a Plaintiff, even with Injuries that were caused by the Defendant, lost the case as the Plaintiff failed to prove that the Standard of Care was Breached: VIDEO included ~ part one.”
The Honorable Diane Bessen would hear the case along with the Jury for three (3) days. Before deliberating, the Defendant reminded the jury that the burden of proving this case by a preponderance of the evidence was the Plaintiffs’ responsibility, and that, in the event there is a tie, that it goes to the Defendant. On February 24 the jury would return a verdict indicating that they were indeed deadlocked with 11 jurors finding for the Defendant and only 1 juror finding for the Plaintiffs. Therefore, the Plaintiffs would collect nothing in this case.
Medical Malpractice cases can be the most time consuming and expensive cases to take to trial since the Plaintiff is up against at least one, if not more depending on how many Defendants are named in the lawsuit, Insurance Companies. As a reminder, it is the insurance companies job to give out the least amount of money as possible in any given case.
In Medical Malpractice Cases there can be a number of expert witnesses for both the Plaintiff and the Defendant and all of these expert witnesses are paid to testify and that can lead to very expensive litigation. Furthermore, to avoid as many frivolous lawsuits as possible, Georgia Law requires that any complaint filed in a Medical Malpractice case must have a 9.1 Affidavit submitted along therewith and said Affidavit must be from an expert in the field and the expert must state in the Affidavit that there was at least one element where the Defendant acted, or failed to act, that would rise to a breach of the standard of care in the case at bar. Again, the 9.1 expert does not work for free and even if the attorney is being paid on a contingency fee basis, the money to pay the experts many times comes out of the attorney’s pocket if the case is lost, and if the case is won, then that money comes out of the settlement proceeds before the Plaintiff receives any monies.
At Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates our Medical Malpractice Lawyers are experts at every juncture of a medical malpractice case including, but not limited to, vetting the case from the beginning to see if the Plaintiff has the type of claim that would render a favorable verdict, negotiating a settlement when possible, if settlement is not effective, then having an expert ready to execute the 9.1 Affidavit so a lawsuit can be filed, and then having the stamina of trying these most complicated cases. If you or a loved one have been injured or if there was a wrongful death as a result of what you think may be negligence on the part of a health care provider(s), then Contact Us to discuss your case. All consultation are free of charge.
We look forward to speaking with you about your case.
The following is a Video of the trial: