Medical malpractice lawyers are of great importance as they help you in filing a case when a doctor makes a mistake that results to harm. A good attorney should help you in the following stages:
Investigation
This is the first thing that a good lawyer should do. He should contact all the doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who are directly or indirectly involved in the alleged malpractice. When the lawyer contacts the involved parties, he should ask for copies of the relevant medical records.
After getting the records he should do extensive research and understand the condition that you were suffering from. He should also understand how to treat the condition.
In addition to seeking for information online, a good attorney should also seek help from an expert. For example, if you were suffering from asthma at the time of the malpractice, the attorney should contact an asthma expert and learn as much about the condition as possible. The lawyer should also ask the expert whether you were treated the right way.
Filing suit
Once the attorney has done his research and has come up with a conclusion that there was malpractice, he should file a lawsuit. He should then serve the defendants and their attorneys with copies of papers that show that a lawsuit has been filed.
Pretrial discovery
At this stage the lawyer should find the people who will be witnesses in court. The attorney will determine what type of people they are, whether the jury will like them, and if they are believable.
He should also ask the witnesses to give their part of the story. After listening to all the witnesses, he should come up with a conclusion as to whether it’s wise to go to the next step.
Negotiations and settlement
The good thing with most medical malpractice cases is that they settle. This means that the cases don’t go to trial. The reason why the cases settle is because the insurance companies cover them.
Sometimes the negotiations towards settlement are unsuccessful and the involved parties are forced to go to trial.
Trial
At the trial stage the witnesses are asked to testify in court. To increase the chances of winning the case, the lawyer should prepare exhibits, visual aids, questions to witnesses, and opening statements. Although, an attorney should do everything possible to help you in winning the case, you should remember that the final decision lies with the judge.
