Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

Plaintiff was entitled to a new trial on damages in his wrongful death action against the defendant doctor after his child was delivered stillborn, since the jury’s award of zero damages after returning a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and his wife was contrary to the law and inconsistent with the evidence. See Court…

Georgia law does not allow the unrepresented estate statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92 to toll the ultimate statute of repose in medical malpractice actions by the period during which the estate is unrepresented. See Georgia Supreme Court opinion below. The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and…

A new study by Dartmouth College researchers suggests that huge jury awards and financial settlements for injured patients have not caused the explosive increase in doctors’ insurance premiums. The researchers said a more likely explanation for the escalation is that malpractice insurance companies have raised doctors’ premiums to compensate for falling investment returns. See article.…

Last week Judge Tony DelCampo in the State Court of DeKalb County held unconstitutional a provision of Georgia’s new tort reform statute affecting venue in medical malpractice cases. Section 9-10-31(c) provides for a medical malpractice defendant to transfer venue to the county where a negligent act occurred. Judge DelCampo held that this provision violates the…

According to an article in the New York Times on 3/6/05, lawyers in states with caps on noneconomic damages have been largely successful in recasting damages to fit the available categories. The article is titled “Go Ahead. Test a Lawyer’s Ingenuity. Try to Limit Damages.” It cites a new study by Catherine M. Sharkey, a…

Senate Bill 3 caps noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases at $350,000 against any defendant. If there are two medical facilities and at least one additional health care provider held liable, then the cumulative cap may reach a maximum of $1,050,000. The cap applies to “damages for physical and emotional pain, discomfort, anxiety, hardship, distress,…

Senate Bill 3 includes a provision that health care institutions are not liable for negligence of independent contractors when a sign to that effect is posted in the lobby, etc. On the surface this appears to be merely a codification of existing Georgia law. It has long been the law that hospitals are not responsible…

SB 3 provides, with regard to causes of action arising after 2/16/05, that, “In an action involving a health care liability claim arising out of the provision of emergency medical care in a hospital emergency department or obstetrical unit or in a surgical suite immediately following the evaluation or treatment of a patient in a…

SB 3, effective 2/16/05, requires reporting of all medical malpractice judgments and settlements, in any amount, to the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners. Whenever there is a judgment or settlement of at least $100,000, and whenever a physician has a third judgment or settlement in any amount, the board must investigate the doctor’s fitness…

SB 3, effective 2/16/05, includes a provision that in the event of an “unanticipated outcome resulting from medical care” a health care provider’s “statements, affirmations, gestures, activities or conduct expressing benevolence, regret, apology, sympathy, commiseration, condolence, compassion, mistake, error, or a general sense of benevolence” are not admissible in evidence. The word “fault” was deleted…