What Your Malpractice Lawyer Does Not Want You To Know About Your Claim

Lawyers, healthcare providers and other professionals have a duty to provide clients with competent advice, and not to cause them loss or harm. They normally have insurance in case they deviate from the ‘recognized industry standard of care’ expected, so as to meet any claim made against them.

Types of claims

A client may for example, have a damages claim for medical malpractice due to surgical errors, a failure to diagnose or medication errors. Legal claims are often due to a lack of knowledge of the law, late filing of documents, planning errors or even fraud.

Find a lawyer

If you find yourself in this situation, the most important first step is to find a competent malpractice lawyer and check the time limits for bringing a claim which vary from state to state. Professionals aren’t required by law to have malpractice insurance cover and if they do, it may be limited to certain types of claim. It doesn’t normally cover attorney fraud for example. If they are insured then they will normally be represented by a lawyer appointed by the insurers. It is a very specialized field and for clients the best place to start is your local state bar association or the American Association of Trial Lawyers.

Check their experience

Whether you find a lawyer through this route, or the internet or even personal recommendation, it’s important to check their biography. Lawyers usually specialize in either defending or bringing these types of claims. You need to meet with them to ask questions about their experience and success in dealing with your specific type of case, check that they are in good standing with their local bar association, obtain references from previous clients and make sure that you feel comfortable with them.

Costs

Malpractice claims, are risky, time consuming and expensive. Your lawyer will gather all the relevant records, including medical reports and will often have to pay for reports and expert witness up front. It is therefore important that the firm is in good financial standing. Lawyers in these types of cases will often represent you on a ‘contingency fee basis’ which means that you will not have to pay their fees if the case is lost. They will therefore need to be sure that you have a strong case before agreeing to represent you, and most medical negligence lawyers will turn down more cases than they take on. If you win they may take 25-40% of any damages you receive.