There are a lot of technicalities involved in making a medical malpractice claim. How well you go around these steps often dictates the outcome of the hearing. It is every aggrieved party’s desire to receive decent monetary settlement for the injuries and medical expenses incurred as a result of the health practitioner’s negligence.
It would help to understand what to do when a doctor denies you treatment or a nurse fails to monitor your health progress effectively. That way, you will have strong grounds of bringing up a case.
In this article we are going to discuss the seven procedural steps to follow when filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Identifying the Right Medical Malpractice to Claim
Medical malpractice exists in various forms, and you are required to identify the right medical malpractice that caused your injuries prior to filing a claim.
Some of the most common medical malpractices that you can be subjected to include;
- Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis is where the medical practitioner tests you inconclusively, drawing inaccurate results and treating you for the wrong disease.
- Wrongful Death
A loved one can succumb to injuries or complications that are directly related to the practitioner’s negligence. Thus, the family is allowed to sue for wrongful death.
- Surgical Complications
Surgery done on the wrong part of your body risks not only leaving the primary health problem for which you are seeking medical attention, but also causing development of additional health problems and injuries.
A medical malpractice claim is dependent on the form of medical malpractice you suffer.
Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that you talk to an expert in the medical field or an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to get guidance on the correct medical malpractice claim you ought to make.
Assembling Your Legal Team
Medical malpractice law is very methodical, and involves procedures that require the legal counsel of an experienced medical malpractice lawyer Michigan who eases the evidence-collection process.
Additionally, hiring a lawyer ensures that your interests are fairly presented during mediation and arbitration proceedings.
Your attorney will advise you on the best strategies to employ during a hearing, and also guide you on the possible outcomes of the claim. If your case has no merit, it is best that your lawyer advises you to drop the charges.
Preliminary Investigations and Gathering Evidence
Your medical malpractice lawyer gathers evidence with the aim of building an airtight case. Some of the sources of evidence your lawyer is going to explore are your medical reports and drafting statements made by expert witnesses.
Additionally, your attorney is going to convince the medical experts to testify as expert witnesses during the hearing, which allows them to support their statements in open court. Testifying makes the evidence more compelling.
Serving the ‘Defendant’
At this point, your lawyer serves the negligent medical practitioner with the formal written notice, which informs them of the nature of the claim and the settlement amount you are seeking.
Additionally, serving the medical practitioner with a notice allows both parties to seek alternative methods of settling the claim outside the court, such as arbitration and mediation.
Filing a Litigation
After failed attempts of seeking alternative resolution methods, your lawyer is obliged to make a litigation and get a hearing date before a judge or a grand jury.
Litigation is always quite costly and usually extends over a long period. As such, the court often advises the parties involved to find common ground using arbitrary methods.
Deposition and Negotiation
Once your lawyer files your claim in court, they are required by the law to share the collected evidence with the defendant’s attorney(s).
Additionally, your attorney is going to share the list of witnesses and their statements.
The defendant’s attorney is allowed to make settlement offers at this stage, with which your lawyer is lawfully required to present you.
However, you can proceed with the hearing if you are not satisfied with the settlement proposal.
Pre-trial Assessments, Hearing, and Verdict
The court assigns a special team to assess the evidence presented in order to establish grounds and present the conflicting parties with their professional opinion. The team then guide both parties on the possible outcomes of the hearing and offer settlement suggestions.
However, if an agreement is not reached upon, the case will be tried in open court, after which the verdict is delivered.
Conclusion
The steps discussed in this article are essential to ensure that you not only follow the right procedure when making a medical malpractice claim, but also increase the chances of winning and getting monetary compensation you deserve. Ensure you engage a qualified attorney in order to make this process seamless.
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