1. Define medical malpractice.
2. What should I do if I believe that I have a medical malpractice claim?
3. What must be shown to win a medical malpractice case?
4. Will I have to go to trial?
5. What does your firm charge for legal fees?
6. How much time do I have in which to bring a medical malpractice claim?
7. If I signed a consent form, can I still bring a claim?
1. Define medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice is term to describe an incident involving departure from accepted standards of medical care on the part of a medical provider that causes injury. Medical malpractice can include improper treatment, misdiagnosis, delay in treatment, failure to treat, and prescription errors, among other things. Usually, medical malpractice is not obvious to a lay-person and requires analysis and review by medical malpractice attorneys and their medical experts.
2. What should I do if I believe that I have a medical malpractice claim?
The first step is to contact a medical malpractice attorney immediately if you feel that you may have been injured due to medical malpractice. Not every bad result from a medical procedure is the result of malpractice. However, one should seek out an experienced medical malpractice attorney who will consult with medical professionals to determine whether or not you have been injured as the result of medical malpractice. Usually, this requires the attorney and the attorney’s medical consultants to review medical records and other information to determine whether or not you have a medical malpractice case.
3. What must be shown to win a medical malpractice case?
Usually, a person must prove the following:
• The medical provider owed a duty to the patient;
• The medical provider breached that duty;
• The patient suffered an injury; and
• The patient’s injury was a cause of the medical provider’s breach of duty.
4. Will I have to go to trial?
While some cases do go to court, most cases are settled before trial. However, most cases do result in a lawsuit having to be filed.
5. What does your firm charge for legal fees?
Our fee is a percentage of the recovery. You pay nothing unless and until we recover money for you.
6. How much time do I have in which to bring a medical malpractice claim?
The time in which to bring a claim is governed by what is called the “statute of limitations”. The statute of limitations governs the length of time one has to file a lawsuit. After the statute of limitations has run, a person is forever precluded from bringing such a claim. In some cases, the statute of limitations may only be one year. In other circumstances, it might be three years. Many factors determine the applicable period of time. For this very reason, an individual who believes that he or she has a medical malpractice case, should contact an experienced local medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible.
7. If I signed a consent form, can I still bring a claim?
Absolutely. A consent form does not give the medical provider a right to commit malpractice. While the execution of a typical consent form indicates acknowledgment of stated risks associated with a given procedure, it does not release the medical provider from meeting the professional standard of care associated with the procedure.
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