Medical malpractice cases are extremely complex and involve a vast amount of detailed work. The lawyers for these cases are often highly specialized and spend their careers focusing on this area of law. Attorneys for medical malpractice cases must be prepared to devote substantial time and resources to research, investigation, and trial preparation. These cases can involve lengthy and voluminous medical records, expert testimony from physicians who specialize in the field of medicine, and depositions. The attorneys for these cases must also be adept at negotiating settlements with hospitals and doctors’ insurance companies.
If you have suffered harm from a medical attorney for medical malpractice cases error or mistake, it is important to find the best medical malpractice lawyer to represent you. However, many people who are harmed by medical errors have difficulty finding an attorney to take their case. This is not because the injuries did not occur; it is generally because attorneys believe that the potential economic damages are too low to make it worthwhile for them to invest their time and resources in pursuing a claim.
In some cases, the attorney for your medical malpractice case may agree to take on the case with a flat fee payment arrangement. This is common when a lawyer undertakes a simple task that has a clear beginning and end, such as looking over a settlement offer from an insurance company. However, this type of payment arrangement is uncommon in a medical malpractice case because it is difficult to estimate the amount of time and resources a legal team will need to fully investigate and prepare a claim.
When an attorney for a medical malpractice case accepts your case, the first thing that they will do is review all of your relevant documents and medical records. This is known as the “discovery” process and is a standard part of any lawsuit. Both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s attorneys will hire expert medical witnesses to examine all of the evidence, discuss how it relates to the standard of care for the particular circumstance, and determine if there was negligence.
The plaintiff’s attorney will use the information gathered during discovery to build a strong argument that the physician failed to meet the applicable standard of care and caused harm to the patient. In order for the attorney to prevail, they must convince a jury that it is more likely than not that the physician committed medical malpractice. This is called a “preponderance of the evidence” standard, and it is less demanding than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that is required in criminal cases.
In some cases, a jury may award punitive damages in addition to the normal economic and non-economic damages for your injury. These are meant to punish the defendant for their negligent actions and send a message that such behavior will not be tolerated in our society. These types of damages are typically reserved for the most egregious cases. However, it is not uncommon for a medical malpractice jury to award punitive damages in even relatively routine claims.