Medical Negligence And Workers’ Compensation
When the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Board approves your
workers’ compensation claim, you will be entitled to have your medical bills paid during the course of treatment for your job-related injury. However, in order to ensure coverage of your medical expenses and ease administrative burdens for employers, you will receive an official notice that lists “authorized” medical providers that you may utilize for treatment.
In certain circumstances, you may find that the authorized physician you visit fails to act within the standard of care established by the profession for that particular type of injury, illness or debilitation. The absence of the proper medical care can cause serious harm, either by resulting in an additional injury or by exacerbating your ongoing condition. This is commonly referred to as Medical Negligence or Medical Malpractice.
Georgia Workers’ Compensation Law does not prevent you from raising a claim of medical negligence against an authorized physician. While these laws typically prevent an employee from bringing a negligence, or tort, claim against an employer for an injury that he or she experiences on the job, these limitations do not extend to physicians selected by the employer. In other words, a Medical Malpractice or Medical Negligence Claim can be independently raised aside from the existing Workers’ Compensation Issue.
Proving Your Malpractice Claim
Incidents of medical negligence can give rise to lawsuits known as Malpractice claims:
- The first Step in these cases consists of showing that the defendant doctor had a particular duty of care, defined as using the same level of diligence and precautions that a physician in the same specialty would use in similar circumstances.
- The Following and Next Steps in the elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim include:
- Breach;
- Causation; and
- Damages.
This means that your treating physician’s actions must have failed to meet or
“breached” the professional standard of care commonly used in the profession for that particular type of medical situation, that the breach
caused harm to you that resulted in
damages to you. In other words, the physician’s negligent action must have been a breach from the normal standard of care, and that the particular breach must have directly caused harm to you.
Georgia is one of many states that have enacted laws meant to reform Medical Malpractice Claims in order to reduce frivolous lawsuits against doctors. As a result, tough standards have been imposed for bringing this type of claim. For this reason, you will want to seek out the advice of Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates. We have the success, knowledge and experience in both the Workers’ Compensation Claims in Georgia as well as Medical Malpractice Claims in Georgia.
Contact Our Attorneys
If you are dealing with a serious workplace injury or disability, you should be focused on your recovery and moving past your health issues to resume your normal life. One of the unexpected challenges in that process may be dealing with a physician or medical facility that is not treating your situation properly, prolonging your healing time or possibly making the condition worse. In certain cases, you may wish to explore the option of bringing a Medical Malpractice Claim against the physicians, hospitals and other medical facilities responsible for Medical Negligence in the handling of your care that has led to your continued suffering.
Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates, understands the complexities that injured employees in the State of Georgia may face. Many of our clients have come from Atlanta, Decatur, Marietta, and Lawrenceville, among other communities in Fulton, Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb Counties, as well as throughout the entire State of Georgia.
If you or a loved one has a question about Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Medical Negligence or Malpractice involving treatment being received by a Workers’ Compensation Benefits Doctor, then you may contact Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates for an initial free, no-obligation, legal consultation by phone at 770-865-8654 , by email at juliericelaw@icloud.com or online on this website. We look forward to hearing from you soon and assisting you with your case.
