You don’t have to be a gambler to know that casinos have the odds stacked in their favor. Whether it’s a hand in blackjack or several turns of a slot machine, casinos rake in the cash because they have the upper hand in the numbers game.
The same cannot be said for plaintiffs involved in medical malpractice lawsuits.
A study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics paints a less than a friendly picture for plaintiffs that file civil lawsuits for medical negligence. Just 27 percent of plaintiffs that file medical malpractice lawsuits win their cases. That’s around one in four plaintiffs, which is hardly the number that inspires victims of medical negligence to dive into the American justice system for financial relief.
Yes, the odds are stacked against anyone that files a medical malpractice lawsuit. Let’s see how we can boost those odds by learning how to choose the right medical malpractice attorney.
Start by Asking for Recommendations
The circle of life that we build should include one or more people that can provide you with a recommendation for a medical malpractice lawyer. You can ask friends, family members, and professional peers if they know an attorney who specializes in handling medical negligence cases. If you know any lawyers, then word-of-mouth advertising can help you find legal counsel that knows how to win a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Contact Your State Bar Association
Virtually every state has a bar association that offers an attorney referral service for potential plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases. Most of the bar associations require lawyers to list medical malpractice as a legal specialty to help prospective clients target the right type of attorney You can also contact your state bar association by phone or email to ask for a recommendation.
Conduct Online Research
The Internet offers a rich source for information concerning attorneys that have successfully worked on medical malpractice cases. From Google reviews to legal sites that rate lawyers, you should come away with a short list of qualified medical malpractice attorneys. Checking out the websites of the lawyers on your short list is another effective way to whittle your short list down to one attorney.
Experience Matters
Some lawyers that claim to be experts at litigating medical malpractice cases are actually seasoned professionals that litigate personal injury cases. There is a significant difference between working with a medical malpractice lawyer and working with a personal injury attorney. You want to work with a lawyer who has a proven record of success litigating medical negligence cases.
To ensure you find an attorney who has extensive experience litigating medical malpractice cases, ask the following questions.
How many years have you specialized in medical malpractice law?
How many cases have you settled?
How many cases have you successfully litigated?
What size settlements have you negotiated?
What percentage of your cases end up in a civil court?
What percentage of medical malpractice cases have you earned an award for a client?
An experienced medical malpractice attorney has connections with healthcare professionals that provide expert testimony, as well as has built strong professional relationships with civil court judges.
Make Sure It’s a Good Fit
Experience and legal knowledge are important qualities to have for a medical malpractice attorney, but you still have to build a rapport with your legal counsel to win a civil lawsuit. If you cannot get along with an attorney, then you should move on to the next candidate.
Lawyers come in all shapes and sizes, and personalities as well. If you are the type of person who prefers to moves things along methodically, then you probably won’t mesh well with a full charging attorney who moves at a quick pace when making decisions.
A free case evaluation not only sizes up your case, but it also gives you the opportunity to develop a professional relationship with a medical malpractice lawyer.
Legal Fees
How much does a medical negligence attorney charge in upfront fees? This is an important question because you should only consider medical malpractice lawyers that work on a contingency basis. A contingency fee arrangement means your attorney gets a slice of the money awarded to you by a civil court judge or jury. Since most medical malpractice attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, you want to work with a lawyer who takes a reasonable amount of your financial pie when you win a civil lawsuit.
Schedule a free case evaluation today with an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
