Posted on 03/30/2021

What is Facilitation in Medical Malpractice Cases?

What is Facilitation in Medical Malpractice Cases?

Medical malpractice happens when a medical professional fails to provide their patient with a legally-obligated standard of care that results in injury, damages, or even death. 

It’s not enough to say malpractice occurred. You have to be able to prove medical malpractice. This means working with a lawyer who has a comprehensive understanding and hands-on experience with medical malpractice cases. Winning your medical malpractice case will require you to prove that your injury or damages were directly caused by the medical professional’s actions or omission. But winning your malpractice claim doesn’t always necessarily mean going to trial.

Facilitation is a form of mediation and can be requested or ordered by a judge. At Grover Lewis Johnson, we’ll take a closer look at what facilitation is in medical malpractice cases. 

What is facilitation? 

Facilitation is a court-approved type of dispute resolution process that the judge can request or order to take place before your case gets to the trial stage.

While it’s pretty unusual for a medical malpractice case to be settled before you file a lawsuit, many are resolved before they reach the trial stage thanks to facilitation.

When it comes to medical malpractice cases getting both sides to fully disclose all pertinent information required can be a real challenge. This is where facilitation can play a pivotal role in resolving your case. 

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Facilitation in medical malpractice cases 

Facilitation typically uses a variety of resolution methods to improve communications and boost information available during the negotiation. This helps both parties understand each other better and positions them to reach a mutually acceptable medical malpractice case settlement. 

Because the facilitator isn’t working for a particular side, they are solely focused on reaching an acceptable resolution. Facilitators assist all medical malpractice case participants through the alternative dispute resolution process, ensuring access to necessary data and information and using problem-solving best practices to work toward an appropriate outcome before trial. Facilitators can often be a retired judge or other highly valued legal professional. The facilitation process can take anywhere from several hours to several days.  

When is facilitation used? 

Facilitation is not always a mandatory part of the medical malpractice process, however it can be very beneficial for your medical malpractice claim considering most claims reach a settlement during the facilitation stage, before a case would lead to trial. 

What happens at a facilitation hearing? 

During the facilitation hearing, your claim facilitator will dig into several issues, including injury, damages, future medical needs, lost wages, or other financial issues resulting from the medical malpractice claim. To put yourself in the best position, it’s essential to prepare for your facilitation the same way you would prepare for a medical malpractice trial. 

The facilitator will go over any medical records you have in addition to statements (depositions) from medical experts or other medical professionals. They will also review any documents you have supporting additional claim areas, including medical receipts or unpaid bills, physio or rehabilitation protocols, or records of lost wages. 

The opportunity to sit down with the other “side” of your case and tell your whole story can not only be an extremely valuable part of the healing process, but it can also be a powerful part of your medical malpractice claim. It isn’t unusual for cases to be resolved for larger settlements than a trial could provide. 

How the Grover Lewis Johnson medical malpractice experts can help you

If you or a loved one have experienced medical malpractice, it’s important that your attorney, in conjunction with a trusted medical expert, work together to get what you’re entitled to. If you have medical bills piling up or an uncertain work future, you’ll benefit from being able to focus on your recovery instead of worrying about money. That’s where medical malpractice cases can play a significant role in your recovery. 

By demonstrating to a facilitator how a comparable medical professional would have acted under similar circumstances, you can illuminate where and how the medical malpractice occurred. 

Your medical malpractice claims can often mean living with pain and suffering while going through the claim process. That’s why it’s so important to work with a medical malpractice attorney with a successful track record who understands what you’re going through. We want to help you get the best resolution to your situation, and we’ll put our reputation and 25 years of success to work to help you get it. 

We understand that no two medical malpractice claims are alike, and we are genuinely interested in your situation. Call us to schedule a free consultation. We will go over your case with you and help you decide whether it has merit. If it does, we’ll work right alongside you to not only meet your expectations but exceed them. We’ll carefully evaluate your case as it works its way through the entire medical malpractice process to help you get the compensation you deserve – whether that means reaching a settlement through facilitation or taking your case to trial. And because we work for you on a contingency basis, you won’t pay any fees until we win.

Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash