Podiatrist Malpractice in Georgia: Your Legal Rights
Podiatrists specialize in diagnosing and treating conditions of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. When a podiatrist’s negligence causes harm, whether through a botched surgery, misdiagnosis, or improper treatment, the consequences can be severe and life-altering. Foot and ankle injuries can impair your ability to walk, work, exercise, and perform basic daily activities. At the Wetherington Law Firm, we hold negligent podiatrists accountable.
Common Forms of Podiatric Malpractice
- Surgical errors: Bunionectomy complications, improper hardware placement, wrong-site surgery, nerve damage during surgery, and failure to properly fixate fractures
- Failure to diagnose: Missing peripheral artery disease, diabetic foot ulcers that progress to gangrene, stress fractures, bone infections (osteomyelitis), and foot melanoma
- Unnecessary surgery: Performing surgery when conservative treatment was appropriate
- Post-operative infections: Inadequate sterile technique leading to surgical site infections
- Nerve damage: Cutting or damaging nerves during surgery, causing permanent numbness, pain, or loss of function
- Improper treatment of diabetic foot conditions: Failure to properly manage diabetic foot ulcers can lead to amputation
- Wrong medication or injection: Improper corticosteroid injections or medication errors
Georgia Legal Framework
Podiatrists in Georgia are licensed under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 35. Claims follow standard medical malpractice procedures: two-year statute of limitations under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71, expert affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1, and the standard of care under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-27.
The Special Risk to Diabetic Patients
Diabetic patients are particularly vulnerable to podiatric malpractice. Diabetes causes neuropathy (nerve damage) and poor circulation in the feet, making patients unable to feel injuries and slow to heal. A podiatrist who fails to properly assess, treat, and monitor diabetic foot conditions can set in motion a devastating cascade: untreated ulcer to infection to osteomyelitis to gangrene to amputation. Each step in this progression represents a potential point of malpractice.
Approximately 73,000 lower extremity amputations are performed annually in the U.S. in diabetic patients, and many of these are preventable with proper podiatric care.
Compensation Available
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-4, compensation includes corrective surgery costs, prosthetics and orthotics (a prosthetic leg costs $5,000-$50,000 and must be replaced every 3-5 years), physical therapy and rehabilitation, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of mobility and independence, and emotional distress from disfigurement or amputation.
Contact the Wetherington Law Firm
If you were harmed by podiatrist negligence in Georgia, contact us for a free consultation. We work on contingency — you pay nothing unless we win.
Call now: (404) 888-1111 | Free consultation