Philadelphia PA Lawyer Talks About Medical Malpractice Litigation

There are many factors that affect whether a lawyer will accept your case. First, despite what you may read in the newspapers, a medical malpractice case is not a guaranteed lottery ticket worth millions. Medical malpractice cases are among the hardest types of personal injury cases to win. The doctor prevails in most cases that go to trial.

Since most cases take a number of years to resolve, the cost of preparing and presenting the case through trial is a major factor in whether a lawyer will accept your case. Medical malpractice cases are taken on contingency fee. When the case is resolved, the lawyer is reimbursed for her expenses and paid a percentage of the award or settlement as the fee.

These cases are very expensive to pursue because they require the lawyer to gather the medical records, hire medical professionals to review the records, write reports and testify as expert witnesses. The lawyer must also pay the costs of pretrial preparation and trial. It simply does not make sense to pursue a case that has a potential value of $50,000, if the cost of pursuing and presenting the case is $20,000 or more. Consequently, many smaller cases are not pursued, even if the negligence is clear.

If the case is particularly difficult, the attorney may ask the client to put up at least some of the costs of the suit. This not only makes the case more economically viable for the lawyer, it causes the client to feel more invested in the process. If the case is quite strong, the attorney may be willing to front the costs himself.

You should not expect that the case will settle quickly. It will not. Most of these cases must be tried before a jury before compensation can be obtained. This is primarily because, in many states, the doctor’s insurance company cannot settle the case without the express consent of the physician. Since it is not the doctor who actually pays any judgment in the case, the doctor has little risk if the case actually goes to trial. The doctor may want to preserve his or her reputation for providing quality care, rather than accept a settlement that implies malpractice.