The Olson Law Firm, LLCThe Olson Law Firm, LLC2026-07-02T10:28:08Zhttps://www.theolsonlawfirm.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1304357/2019/11/cropped-favicon-min-32x32.jpgOn Behalf of The Olson Law Firm, LLC<![CDATA[Medical malpractice vs. medical negligence vs. medical mistake]]>https://www.theolsonlawfirm.com/?p=506402026-07-02T10:28:08Z2026-07-02T10:01:18ZWhen a medical treatment does not go as planned, you may wonder if your healthcare provider made a legal mistake. Terms such as medical malpractice, medical negligence and medical mistake often appear together, but they do not always mean the same thing. Understanding the difference may help you better understand what happened and what Georgia law may consider a valid legal claim.
Are medical malpractice and medical negligence different?
In Georgia, people often use "medical malpractice" and "medical negligence" to mean the same thing. Both generally describe a situation where a healthcare provider failed to provide the level of care that another reasonably careful provider would have provided under similar circumstances.Still, a poor outcome alone does not usually mean malpractice occurred. Medical care involves risks and some patients may experience complications even when a provider delivers appropriate treatment.
When does a medical mistake become malpractice?
Not every medical mistake leads to a malpractice claim. Some mistakes do not cause harm, while others may happen even when a provider acts carefully. In many cases, you need more than proof that a mistake occurred.Georgia law states that healthcare providers must use a reasonable degree of care and skill. As a result, a malpractice claim may depend on showing that a provider failed to meet that standard and that the failure directly caused your injury.You may need to show that:
Your healthcare provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care.
The provider's actions directly caused your injury.
The injury caused you to suffer losses, such as more medical treatment, lost income or lasting health problems.
Without those elements, a medical mistake may not qualify as medical negligence under Georgia law.
Why does the difference matter?
Understanding these terms may help you set realistic expectations after an unexpected medical outcome. Although a mistake can feel upsetting, the law generally focuses on whether the provider gave care that fell below the accepted standard and whether that failure directly caused your injury.For example, a delayed diagnosis that allows a condition to get worse might support a malpractice claim if another reasonably careful provider would likely have found the condition sooner. On the other hand, an unexpected complication during surgery may not amount to negligence if the provider followed accepted medical practices.
When might it help to seek legal guidance?
Learning more about your legal options may help you better understand if the facts of your situation could support a medical malpractice claim.The state of Georgia also sets deadlines for filing medical malpractice lawsuits. Many medical malpractice claims must begin within two years of the injury, although Georgia law recognizes some exceptions. Medical records and filing deadlines often play an important role, so seeking legal guidance sooner rather than later may help you better understand your rights and any time limits that could apply.
Understanding the difference can help you move forward
Medical malpractice, medical negligence and medical mistakes may sound alike, but they do not always have the same legal meaning. Understanding the difference may help you recognize when an unexpected medical outcome could involve more than an unfortunate error and when it may make sense to learn more about your legal options.]]>On Behalf of The Olson Law Firm, LLC<![CDATA[9 common (and potentially devastating) forms of medical malpractice]]>https://www.theolsonlawfirm.com/?p=506392026-06-15T22:36:16Z2026-06-15T22:36:16Z1. Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor rushes through the diagnostic process without adequate information and arrives at the wrong diagnosis. Diagnosing a patient with a cold when they have pneumonia is an example of misdiagnosis, as testing could have validated the true cause of the patient’s symptoms.
2. Failure to diagnose
Without a diagnosis, a patient may not receive the care they require for their optimal recovery. Doctors who fail to order tests or who ignore self-reported symptoms from patients may fail to diagnose a patient when another competent professional could reach the correct diagnosis. If a doctor ignores symptoms, a patient’s cancer could worsen due to their failure to diagnose the condition.
3. Surgical errors
Surgical malpractice often involves never events that are fully preventable with proper care. Common surgical malpractice examples include leaving items behind in the patient, performing the wrong procedure or operating on the wrong body part, possibly caused by multiple back-to-back procedures.
4. Anesthesiology errors
The medication used to sedate patients during surgery is the most dangerous part of any operation. Anesthesia malpractice may involve failing to assess a patient's history or family background. Anesthesiologists might provide the wrong dose or mix up drugs in a high-stress situation, especially if they are tired after multiple procedures.
5. Prescribing errors
Physicians prescribing medications should check for potential issues before choosing a treatment. A doctor who doesn’t check a patient’s current medications could prescribe a drug that dangerously interacts with another prescription they take, for example.
6. Birth injuries
In some cases, doctors don't intervene promptly when something goes wrong during labor and delivery. Other times, they choose inappropriate interventions that put mother and child at risk. They can also make preventable mistakes while administering interventions. Ignoring fetal heart rate monitor readings could lead to a delay in interventions that produces preventable brain injuries.
7. Medication administration errors
Medical negligence cases involving prescribed medications can involve errors that occur during administration, rather than the prescribing process. Nurses inputting the wrong information into an IV machine or attaching the wrong bag of fluid can lead to a patient receiving the wrong drug or an excessive dose.
8. Failing to secure informed consent
Patients beginning medication regimens or preparing for surgery need accurate information about the risks involved and other treatment options available to them. The failure to secure truly informed consent by providing accurate in-depth information to patients is a common form of malpractice. Patients who don’t know their options might agree to unnecessarily dangerous treatment plans, such as experimental surgery instead of physical therapy.
9. Failure to address infections and sepsis
Medical providers should take careful steps to prevent patients from contracting infections. They also need to treat patients for early symptoms of infection and watch for signs that a condition has progressed into sepsis. Ignoring the early warning signs of sepsis can result in rapid medical decline for a patient, as sepsis can become life-threatening in a matter of hours.
Whether grieving family members want to pursue a misdiagnosis lawsuit or a patient wants to file a malpractice insurance claim due to experiencing common medical errors in Georgia, those affected by malpractice generally need help. They only have at most two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
If another competent medical professional could have avoided the mistake at issue or prevented a poor outcome, the situation may constitute medical malpractice. Working with a skilled lawyer can help people to better ensure that they conform to state timelines and have the evidence necessary to hold medical professionals or their employers accountable for poor care.]]>On Behalf of The Olson Law Firm, LLC<![CDATA[Recognized or Known Risk of Procedure]]>https://www.theolsonlawfirm.com/?p=492792023-09-13T09:06:48Z2020-06-12T18:58:19ZSee Zarate-Martinez v. Echemendia, 332 Ga. App. 381, 387 (2015). An example of the “pronounced results” exception is a case in which a patient’s lung was punctured during a shoulder muscle injection for pain relief. Id. (citing Killingsworth v. Poon, 167 Ga. App. 653, 656 (1983)).
If a complication is “known” or “recognized” for a procedure, the injury does not qualify for the pronounced results exception and expert testimony is required to establish medical negligence. Because bowel perforation and resulting peritonitis and sepsis are recognized and known complications of laparoscopic gallbladder and ventral hernia surgery, expert testimony is required for a plaintiff to prove a deviation from the standard of care. The issue is not whether the injury was known, recognized or accepted. Rather, the issue is whether the physician performed the procedure in accordance with the standard of care. A known, accepted or recognized complication or risk of a procedure is not a defense to a physician’s deviation in the standard of care.
To illustrate further, a patient’s death after a laparoscopic gallbladder procedure is a known, recognized complication. However, if the hair on a patient’s scalp catches fire during a laparoscopic gallbladder removal, a court may determine that a plaintiff who has third degree burns on his scalp following laparoscopic gallbladder surgery does not have to offer expert testimony to establish a prima facie case. In the first example, the fact that death is a known, recognized complication of laparoscopic gallbladder removal does not prove or disprove whether the physician at issue followed the standard of care in performing the procedure. In the second example, if scalp burns are a recognized, known complication of laparoscopic gallbladder removal, a plaintiff would be required to present expert testimony to prove that a deviation in the standard of care caused the scalp injuries.
Use of the terms known, recognized, or accepted in reference to medical risks or complications of a procedure misleads or confuses a jury in cases in which expert testimony is required to prove a deviation in the standard of care. The terms “known risk” or “recognized complication” suggest to the jury that certain outcomes are accepted by law. Adverse outcomes are only accepted when performed within the standard of care. A recognized complication or known risk of a procedure does not excuse an adverse outcome if a deviation in the standard of care caused the injury. Any mention of the terms “known risk or complication,” “accepted risk or complication” or “recognized risk or complication” confuses the jury to believe that any deviation from the standard of care is excused or permitted by law.]]>