Coming to terms with medical injury or wrongdoing and deciding to file a medical malpractice lawsuit can be overwhelming. No one expects to be injured receiving treatment from a healthcare professional or during a hospital or medical facility visit.
The reality is that medical errors and negligence can happen without warning, leaving you struggling to recover from unnecessary surgery, incorrect medication dosage or prescription, premature hospital discharge, wrong-site surgery, or any other number of traumas. If this has happened to you or a family member, you may be entitled to compensation.
If you believe you have suffered injuries because of medical errors or wrongdoing, you may be considering filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. An experienced medical malpractice law firm can help you review your case and determine whether your situation meets a medical malpractice lawsuit’s requirements.
Before you decide whether to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, it may help to consider these five important points.
1.) How much evidence have you collected?
To prove medical malpractice happened, you will be required to prove that you suffered an injury because of medical negligence, error, or wrongdoing. That means if your doctor made a mistake, but you did not suffer an injury, you may not meet the medical malpractice threshold.
To successfully prove your case, you may need medical expert witnesses to testify to the severity of your injury. Medical expert witnesses can also confirm that your injury resulted from medical negligence or wrongdoing to the best of their knowledge.
You will also likely need to provide detailed medical records documenting the medical negligence, error, or wrongdoing and how it caused your injuries or suffering. Your medical malpractice lawyer can help you gather all of the necessary documents and expert witnesses you need to present your case.
2.) Who should be sued?
Deciding the correct entity to sue for your medical malpractice lawsuit is important. You may want to sue the hospital because of a doctor’s incompetence, but some hospitals are not responsible for medical malpractice that happens at their medical facility. Some doctors working at a particular hospital may not be hospital employees. In that scenario, you would need to sue the doctor privately, despite the doctor having privileges (to see and treat patients, perform surgeries, etc.) for the hospital you attended.
There can be exceptions to the general rule surrounding a hospital’s liability for an independent contractor’s malpractice. The attorney you work with must understand the rules surrounding these exceptions.
An attorney with comprehensive medical malpractice knowledge and 25 years of experience, such as the medical malpractice experts at Grover Johnson Lewis, can discover whether the hospital is potentially liable for malpractice or an individual healthcare professional.
3.) How soon should I file?
If you’re wondering whether you should file a medical malpractice lawsuit, it’s important to remember that there is a time limit to when you can file. If you are interested in discussing a medical malpractice lawsuit, speak with a malpractice attorney as soon as you are able, to ensure you can file on time.
4.) Consider the cost of legal action
Court cases involve many financial considerations. There’s no guarantee that you will win your case or whether you will be awarded compensation. Depending on the outcome, you could be required to pay damages to the other side if they get a favorable outcome instead.
Consider the potential cost associated with a medical malpractice lawsuit and the physical and emotional stress it can cause. Assess whether your actions are worth the time and effort or whether arbitration or another form of a solution might be better.
Your medical malpractice attorney can help you accurately assess your situation and help you make the best decision for you and your family.
5.) Have you researched attorneys?
No patient should ever have to pay unnecessary medical or injury-related expenses.
Winning a medical malpractice lawsuit might seem out of reach, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Careful, considered preparation, an experienced medical malpractice firm, and a little determination, can set you up for success if your case has merit.
When it comes to your medical malpractice lawsuit, it’s essential to partner with a medical malpractice firm with a comprehensive understanding and extensive malpractice experience. But with so many law firms available, how do you find the right partner who can help you get a successful outcome?
Researching attorneys in your area can give you insight into their specializations and any reviews they have. From there, you may want to prepare a summary of your situation and a list of questions to ask multiple firms to learn more about how they may be able to help you with your specific situation.
Schedule a free consultation
To get answers to your questions and find out if you have a medical malpractice lawsuit, reach out to the medical malpractice experts at Grover Lewis Johnson and schedule a free consultation today. We’ll go over all of the information, listen to your perspective, evaluate and determine what options are available to you, and give you the answers you need to make the right decision for your and your family.
We put 25 years of medical malpractice cases, experience, and expertise to work for you. We have the resources and the know-how to fully investigate and represent your case — no matter how complex.
Our contingency basis payment structure means there’s no need to think about paying our fees until you receive compensation.
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