Are you about to go through a medical malpractice case with the medical malpractice lawyer? Then it is important for you to have a clear understanding about the steps associated with it. From this article, we will help you figure out the steps of medical malpractice.
- Examining and Researching Records
Every lawyer who receives a call regarding a potential medical malpractice lawsuit must first analyze the relevant medical files. In our practice, we prefer that the family ask for these documents so that the hospital or doctor is unaware of our role as attorneys. A doctor or hospital has three days to provide the family with the necessary records after receiving the request. A nursing facility is required by federal law to provide requested documents within two working days. A fair copying fee may be assessed by the hospital, physician, or nursing home.
The attorney, staff, or a third party will evaluate the documents for the attorney once you get them. The aim of the review is to confirm that all the documents are available and that they accurately represent the events as related to the family, among other things. Most legal firms will need 2-4 weeks to evaluate the documents and determine if the situation merits further investigation.
- Expert Evaluation
Following an examination of the medical records, your lawyers will ask an expert to examine the matter if they think it merits additional inquiry. An expert is essentially a doctor with a medical license who practices in the same specialty as the healthcare professional you feel committed malpractice.
Costs for experts are high! An expert would often charge $300 to $400 per hour to examine a case. For depositions and court time, they could charge more. In any malpractice lawsuit, experts will spend the most money. The family is responsible for paying the specialists. Families will be required to pay a cash retainer to the legal company in order for the firm to be able to pay the experts for their time and review since the law prohibits lawyers from transferring money to their clients.
- Certification
If the expert thinks there was malpractice, they must declare their belief in writing. All medical malpractice and wrongful death proceedings must include a documented expert opinion stating that the defendant violated the appropriate standard of care, and that the violation was the direct cause of the plaintiff’s injuries or death.
- Suit/Arbitration Filing
The next step is to file a lawsuit if your expert has certified the case. A medical malpractice action is now referred to as a COMPLAINT. Your lawyer will prepare the complaint, which will detail all the pertinent facts and negligent claims. The case will be brought before the City or County Court at the location of the negligent treatment or the patient’s residence at the time of the treatment. It will be served on the defendants when it is filed. The document will often be delivered by a sheriff, and the defendant will then have less than one month to file a response.
- Written Report
Both parties will provide what is known as written discovery once the lawsuit is filed. Both parties’ attorneys may seek records and answers to sworn inquiries via written discovery. The case will often last for several months as a result of the questions and responses that serve as its foundation.
- Depositions
Both parties have the chance to interrogate the witnesses and clients of their rivals while they are being sworn in, in addition to written discovery. Depositions of the plaintiffs, numerous defendant personnel, additional treating doctors, and experts are nearly usually required. Depositions are often conducted at a lawyer’s office, with the presence of both lawyers, a court reporter, and other witnesses.
- Settlement
If the clients agree, the medical malpractice lawyers for both parties might try to settle the matter before trial by entering into settlement talks. Even with the greatest evidence and specialists, there is still a danger that the jury would find against you in a trial, thus many clients choose to settle their cases when there is a guarantee for all parties.
- Trial
Trial, then, is not all that unlike from that film. You are ultimately trusting a jury of your peers to decide if your health care provider was negligent and, if so, what damages his/her conduct caused. It is an emotional process that may be drawn out and is sometimes quite tiring.
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