How Do You Choose a Good Medical Malpractice Attorney?

Here Are Some Questions to Ask: a blog about how to choose a good medical malpractice attorney.

If you’ve experienced some form of personal injury due to medical negligence or malpractice, you may wonder how to choose the best medical malpractice lawyer for your case. If you are in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. area, we encourage you to contact us for a free consultation. If you are not in the area, this guide may be helpful as there are many ways to find the best representation in medical malpractice.

Were you injured as a result of medical malpractice or negligence during a procedure or treatment?

First of all, if you are the victim hurt during a medical procedure or while receiving medical treatment, you should consult with an attorney to find out if you have a viable medical malpractice claim. If it appears that you do, an attorney can represent you in filing a malpractice suit to help pay for medical bills, lost wages, as well as pain and suffering.

What makes a good medical malpractice attorney?

There are many medical malpractice attorneys on the market, but finding the right one is important. The following factors represent some key areas to evaluate when looking for a medical malpractice attorney:

Experience in Medical Malpractice Claims

When evaluating medical malpractice attorneys, you will want to ensure that the law firm you may hire has attorneys who are experienced in suits against medical professionals. Lawyers with experience in medical malpractice law are a much better choice to represent victims of medical malpractice as they will understand both the nuanced liability and damages issues that a victim might face in proving their case. Ask the attorney you are interviewing about their past experience and the law firm’s experience in similar cases. Ask about how they will retain medical experts with the right experience and qualifications to review your case. Learn about their success in similar cases. Does the firm have experience with different types of medical malpractice claims? What is the rate of cases they settle vs. take to court?

What Your Case Looks Like to Them

For an attorney you are thinking about hiring, you should see what they think about your case after you discuss what happened and share some initial medical records with them. Does it look likely that a medical mistake was made that indicates a low standard of care? Could serious injuries such as brain damage, birth injuries or defects, misdiagnosis, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, and even the wrongful death of a loved one have been avoided? While it can be hard to understand what a case may look like without all of the facts available, having a good read on the initial circumstances of a case is important.

What Do Past Clients Have to Say?

The best lawyers will not only have multiple years of experience but will also have client testimonials and reviews to back up their work. These can be on their website, but other places to look include Google Reviews, SuperLaywers.com, and Avvo.com. You can find information about how clients review their attorneys and more.

Check into Billing Practices

When interviewing attorneys and law firms, you find out how they bill for medical malpractice cases. First of all, can you get a free consultation? Most firms should offer that. Do they work on contingency? If so, it means you may not have to pay anything at all if your case is not won or settled (often, you will need to cover some hard costs such as filing fees, mailing/postage costs, copying costs, etc.).

What to Watch Out For

There are some important things to watch out for when evaluating an attorney for medical malpractice claims. Some important items include:

• Be wary of attorneys who can promise results and make guarantees – especially before they fully understand your case. Having an attorney explain the strengths and weaknesses of your case is a good thing – having one say they guarantee you will walk away from a case with a certain amount is not!
• Make sure that your attorney is able to explain the terms of your contingency agreement clearly and answers any questions you have about what you need to pay.
• If there are few or no reviews online, make sure you understand why.
• Make sure that you look at testimonials and reviews not only on their website but also from outside pages and services (like the ones mentioned above.)

If you’ve done your due diligence on attorneys by reviewing their history, checking out testimonials and reviews, and getting a sense of what they think about your case, then it is time to take a decision. Make sure you are comfortable with the attorney or law firm you are choosing, that you feel comfortable working with them and that they have the experience, know-how, and resources to get the job done!