Tips in Hiring a Medical Malpractice Attorney
Whether it is a misdiagnosis, surgical errors or fatal negligence by a health care professional, there is a wide range of cases where you might need a medical malpractice attorney on your side. Bear in mind that the fact that a particular treatment went south doesn’t always mean that medical malpractice has occurred. Medical malpractice litigation is not written in black and white. The mere complexity of such cases makes it all the more important to have a good lawyer in your corner.
It can be difficult to prove that a professional indeed committed an error or offered sub-standard services. Most states even have laws and procedural hurdles that make it particularly hard to file malpractice litigation. This is meant to discourage people from filing frivolous claims. With all of these in mind, you must know how to find the best medical malpractice attorney around you, if you want to get the best of services. Here are some tips to help you go about hiring the right lawyer for the job.
First things first, determine if you have a case.
You will save yourself a lot of time and avoid unnecessary stress if you first take some time to establish that you have a case in the first place. Don’t just let the fact that you are furious or feel cheated push you to take action. You must take your time to investigate and get some basic facts right before you go and hire. Of course, only an attorney will be able to tell you for sure if you have a case or not. This means you will still have to get one in any case. However, taking your time to investigate will equip you with all the information you need when you approach your lawyer for guidance on whether to sue or not. Click here for some important things you should know about your medical malpractice case.
What type of lawyer do you need?
If you are familiar with the law at all, then you will know that you can’t simply hire any lawyer to represent you in a medical malpractice case. It is an overlap of the field of medicine and law and you need an attorney who has extensive knowledge of both fields. Most lawyers also have specific areas of specialization in medical malpractice. For instance, while some lawyers represent injured patients (plaintiff attorneys) others defend doctors and other healthcare providers in medical malpractice litigation. Knowing this will help you in narrowing down your options when the time comes. Similarly, you can simply check online for lawyers around you or even reach out to your state’s local bar association for recommendations.
Do some checks and research:
This is really a no brainer!!! You can’t just go and hire anyone most especially someone that will represent you in a law court based on word of mouth alone, you need evidence to back up your decision. Carry out your research including checking to see if the attorney is really into med mal. You should also check if the lawyer or firm is duly registered with relevant associations such as the ATLA. You can also check the lawyer or law firm’s website or read reviews online from genuine people who have hired them in the past. We assume you have multiple options on your list of consideration. Hopefully, the information you find out during your research will help you narrow down your options.
Make some calls and pay attention:
With your options narrowed down, making a call to get further clarifications will be easier. Alternatively, you can also send a mail or contact the attorneys through their website. During your call pay attention to details such as how much you will be required to pay, the lawyer’s caseload, success rates and so on. This read article will help you find out more about hiring a medical malpractice attorney: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-basics-29855.html
If you are hiring a firm, find out how much of your case will be handled by paralegals, assistant, clerks and so on and how much the attorney will actually do. This is a major issue most people have with hiring big firms instead of individual lawyers. You can proceed to set up a physical meeting to iron out details of the case and terms of your agreement.
Conclusion
Typically, you should be able to hire a medical malpractice attorney based on a contingency fee agreement. This helps to offset some of the cost since it means the lawyer simply gets a percentage of your court settlement and you only pay part upfront. With information like this, you should have no hard time finding a malpractice attorney around you that will help you win your case and get you the justice you deserve.