Tuesday 21 January 2020

What Happens in a Medical Malpractice Case

The average out of court settlement for a medical malpractice lawsuit is just over $425,000, while the average jury award is now over $1 Million. So why not go to trial every time?

The fact is that medical malpractice litigation is very expensive, time consuming and not guaranteed. If an attorney passes on a settlement offer only to find that a detail in the case may jeopardize its success, then both that attorney and their client loses.

However, if the case is one that has a very good chance at winning at trial, and the defense does not offer a very handsome settlement, then trial may be necessary. In many cases the defense will wait until the last minute to offer a large settlement hoping that the plaintiff will take a smaller amount. There have been many cases where the defense will finally make a large settlement offer in the court room, right before opening remarks.

How Long Before We Go to Trial

The first thing your lawyer will do is talk to you about the medical condition and medical treatment that led to the health care provider's alleged medical negligence. Next, your lawyer will request all medical records and bills relating to the alleged malpractice, and may also request records related to any condition or care in your medical history that may impact the current case. This can take months maybe even years.

After all relevant records come in, the lawyer will review them to see if there is a valid medical malpractice case. The lawyer may determine that there is no case, and will deliver the bad news to the client very early on. Remember that an undesirable health outcome does not mean that a provider has committed malpractice. Learn more about when it's medical malpractice, and when it isn't.

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