Skip to main content

How to Pick a Medical Malpractice Attorney



If you feel you are a victim of medical malpractice, it is important to locate a qualified medical malpractice attorney. Be cautious of lawyers advertising on TV, and especially of advertisements interested in adding your name to a class action suit. Victims in class action suits often receive far lower compensation than individual plaintiffs, as the lawyer earns his fee as a contingency of the entire award, not just yours.

Interview a Medical Malpractice Attorney

Like anything else, it's important to interview your medical malpractice attorney. Visit several; most have free consultations in which you can offer the details of your case and allow them to determine whether or not it is in their best interest to provide legal services to you. It is important to realize that your medical malpractice attorney will probably work on contingency, which means he'll only get paid when you are awarded a settlement or judgment - so if he doesn't think he can win, he won't take it.

Pick a Medical Malpractice Attorney

Most people start with asking people they know - networking can be very useful. If a friend or family member has used the services of a medical malpractice attorney, ask if they were happy with the representation and, if so, call their lawyer and ask for a consultation. Steer away from public solicitations on TV - if a lawyer doesn't make enough money without advertising for business, there has to be a reason.

Question the Qualifications of a Medical Malpractice Attorney

Don't be afraid to ask for the type of experience and length of time the medical malpractice attorney has. Has he ever tried a case like yours, what were the results? Is he intimidated by doctors and hospitals? This might not be evident until you see him at work, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Ask how many cases have been settled out of court, and how many have gone to trial. Ask for a record of accomplishment - if he doesn't have one, look elsewhere. If he has never tried a case like yours - find someone who has.

Not All Cases End Favorably

Even with the representation of the best medical malpractice attorney, not all cases end favorably. In addition, cases are not tried and settled in a short period of time. Many last for years, and once a settlement has been awarded, it may take several more years to get any type of payment, because the decision will probably be appealed. If you are terminally ill, it is possible you won't survive the outcome of the trial-this is an important consideration.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Medical Billing Careers

Medical billing careers are among the top contenders of the recent job explosion in the healthcare industry. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that it is one of the top twenty occupations in healthcare. Medical billing careers are pivotal to the success of the medical practice. It is often referred to as the doctor's key to getting paid for the services he rendered. Medical billing careers encompass a wide scope and a broad range of responsibilities as it includes front office tasks, among others, in its list of things to do. Nature of Work Success in medical billing careers is not as easy as it is often made out to be by those ads you see in the classified section of the local newspaper or the Internet. Not everyone who enters into one end up rich. Competition is fierce and in the end, the competent ones are the only ones who survive. To achieve some measure of success in medical billing careers, you will need to know all the basic concepts related to the jo...
Read more

Medical Billing Career

People in the world today are not getting any younger. As they age, the need for working professionals in the medical and healthcare services professions will continue to increase. That is why there is no more right time to get into a medical billing career than now. The sheer number of new patients and insurance claims alone ensure that medical billing career will be in-demand for many years to come. If you pursue a medical billing career, there is no doubt that you are pursuing a career that is greatly needed. Medical billing has been frequently described as the doctor's key to getting paid. In more accurate description, medical billing refers to practice management. More often than not, processing medical and insurance claims is a very time-consuming task but unfortunately, it is something that all medical offices and clinics must take up. Coding errors and erroneous patient information are usually much higher if the person handling your medical billing and accounts pa...
Read more

Facing Confidentiality and Electronic Medical Records Concerns

With more and more hospitals employing the electronic medical record as their standard data collection, storage and retrieval system, there are those who are concerned with the risks in the confidentiality and electronic medical records system. The old way of doing things required a lot of paperwork. This meant more office space was allotted for record keeping. This usually meant a filing cabinet with a key as its main security defense against other people. The talk of confidentiality and electronic medical records keeping true to that sense is only a hype, or fluke. The concerns of confidentiality and electronic medical records falling into the wrong hands are grossly exaggerated. To put these concerns on confidentiality and electronic medical records intrusive capability, the software developers have added several security measures to insure that only those who need to know about your information get it and the information that the doctor is reading is really about you: * ...
Read more