The term of “medical malpractice” is actually the negligence of a healthcare provider like a doctor or surgeon in treating their patients. Some of these cases include prescribing wrong dosage of a strong medicine resulting in negative side effects, mistakenly removing a healthy organ during operation, or a forgetting medical tool in the patient’s body. Such carelessness can leave negative effects on the patient’s health which can only be justified by making the responsible healthcare provider answerable for the same.
It’s unlikely for most patients to know about their rights and the actual meaning of medical malpractice in detail. That is why it is vital to hire a good medical malpractice attorney who not only guides you throughout the process of your clam but also helps you file a lawsuit when a healthcare professional makes a mistake that can be harmful to the patient.
Below are the five important stages where you would need assistance of a good lawyer.
Investigation the Case
Investigation will be the first thing that your lawyer will be doing before filing a case. They will contact all the healthcare providers, doctors, and other medical professional who have a direct or indirect involvement in the alleged negligence. The lawyer will also collect copies of the relevant medical record from the hospital.
Once your attorney has all the record and statements of the healthcare providers, they will conduct an extensive research to understand the medical condition you or your loved one was suffering from. They should be aware of the actual treatment to cure that particular condition. They may also seek help from an expert to obtain relevant information. For example, if the patient was suffering from stomach ulcer, the lawyer will contact the relevant physical to learn about the condition and its possible treatment.
Filing Lawsuit
Once the lawyer is done with their research and has come up with a final conclusion that there was a malpractice, they will file a lawsuit against the healthcare providers who are directly and indirectly involved in the malpractice. They will then send the defendants the copies of court notifications showing that a law case has been filed against them.
Pre-trial Findings
At this point, the attorney will need to find the people who can appear as the witness in the court. The lawyer will determine how trustworthy these people are and whether the court will accept their testification, and if they can be believed.
Furthermore, they will also ask the witnesses to tell what they know about the story. After taking the statements from all the witnesses, the lawyer will come up with a conclusion whether or not they should move to the next step.
Negotiations and Pre-court Settlement
Most medical malpractice cases can be settled before the case starts in the court. This means that there won’t be any need to go for the trial because the negotiations are done outside of the court and cases are settled as insurance companies are always ready to cover them. However, in some cases, negotiations toward outside court settlements fail and the involved parties are required to go for trials.
Trial
During court trials, the witnesses are called to testify before the jury. A capable attorney prepares exhibits, opening statements, visual aids and questions to witnesses to increase the chances of winning the lawsuit. While a medical malpractice lawyer does everything possible to help you win the case, the final decision will always be made by the judge.
If you have a case of medical negligence to file and you are looking for a medical malpractice lawyer, it’s ideal to do your research and find the best lawyer in your area.
You must be logged in to post a comment.