5 Determinants You Should Use When Picking a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
When you do your research, you will come to realize that medical malpractice cases rank among the most intricate of all claims relating to personal injury. It is in our nature to trust our doctors without any doubt, and this kind of trust always makes it almost impossible to prove any form of negligence that comes from our doctors. It is because of these complexities that you need to be very judicious especially when it comes to picking your medical malpractice lawyers Toronto. Here are some key points you need to look into when searching for a malpractice lawyer.
- Experience with medical malpractice cases
You need to know that lawyers, just as doctors, have different specific areas of expertise. For this reason, you ought to be very careful the attorney you choose to represent you in a malpractice case. Most attorneys usually practice general law, and for this reason, they can be able to represent you in matters relating to wills, and divorce cases. Medical malpractice cases are, however, a different matter altogether. You need to ensure you ask the attorneys you are interviewing about their experiences in the medical malpractice field. There are also attorneys who only specialize in medical malpractice laws, but only represent physicians. For this reason, you also need to ensure that the attorney you are about to choose to represent you focuses on injured patients.
- Medical knowledge
If you want to handle a medical malpractice case successfully, you need to ensure that your attorney has had some in-depth knowledge of the medical field. You need to present your medical reports to your attorney and ensure your attorney is capable of noticing any errors in your medical report and any mistakes made by your doctor. Your attorney needs to be able to tell what your physician did wrong and the kind of treatment you should have been given instead.
- Access to medical witness
You also need to be aware that even though your attorney may be aware of your medical background and medicine altogether, the jury and the judge handling your case may not. For this reason, you find that many medical malpractice cases usually hinge on testimonies by medical witnesses. What the witness does is to clarify that the injuries you incurred were as a result of the negligence of the doctor who was treating you. There are states where you cannot file a medical malpractice lawsuit without a medical witness.
- Charges a contingency fee
Most people avoid filing medical malpractice cases considering the expenses involved in the whole process, especially when you are already dealing with staggering medical bills. Many medical malpractice attorneys charge contingency fees rather than charge by the hour. This means your attorney will also benefit from your settlement by charging from about 20% and 50%, even though most attorneys do charge a third of your total settlement. The best part about this is your attorney will not have to charge you anything if you do not win the case.
- Aggressive yet compassionate
Few malpractice cases are usually settled out-of-court, most of them go to trial, and you find that many of them go up to a jury verdict. It is thus prudent that you ensure you hire an aggressive and driven attorney to handle your case because of the intensity and even length of these types of cases. You need to do a thorough background check on the attorney you are about to hire, know his or her success rate, how many of the attorney’s cases have gone to trial and many more facts that can eventually lead toward your success in winning the case.
Medical malpractice cases usually have short limitation statutes which means you need to file your lawsuit as swiftly as possible. Look for a few attorneys who are specialized in the medical malpractice field and interview them with the standards explained above.