Litigation Process

Hiring an Attorney

Hiring a competent attorney is the first step for the person who has been the victim of medical malpractice.  The client and attorney will discuss the merits of the case and it is up to the client to decide whether the particular attorney is the proper person to represent them in court.  Once that determination has been made, the client and attorney will discuss the method of paying the attorney.  There are several methods of payment which can be utilized.  First, the attorney can work on a contingency basis, receiving a percentage of the total recovery.  The attorney could also be hired on a contractual or hourly payment basis.

Reviewing the Medical History

Once the attorney has been hired, the client will review the medical record of the incident and medical history of the client.  All records are important for the process of review by the attorney.  The client should provide the names of all physicians to the attorney, so that the attorney may obtain all pertinent information.   It is also important to disclose all medical conditions and symptoms, no matter how distant or seemingly irrelevant.

Expert witnesses provide testimony concerning the injury at issue, as well as any other factors which may have caused the injury.  An expert is important because an expert can contest the allegations of the defense (the physician), which will argue that the injury was not a result of the physician's actions, or failure to act.   Failure to obtain an expert can result in the failure of the case.

The expert should be qualified in the area to which he is testifying.  For example, a neuro-surgeon would not be a good witness in a medical malpractice concerning cardiology.  Besides being a physician in good standing with the state regulatory agency, the physician should have experience in the field of expertise related to the injury.  The expert's statement as to the cause of the injury will be a large factor in deciding whether or not to file suit.

Filing a suit is a technical process.   Once the suit is filed, the litigation process begins.   Litigation is expensive and time consuming.  It is also emotionally exasperating on all parties involved.  During litigation, the parties file documents with the court and present their theory of the case.  The next step of the litigation process is to research the facts surrounding the case.  Once the facts to support the competing legal theories have been discovered, the trial begins.  Once the trial begins, settlement could still occur, but the fate of the parties is then in the hand of the fact finder (jury, or judge in a non-jury trial).

Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice Resoures