Personal Injury Law

Deciding to Pursue a Medical Malpractice Suit

By Flaxman & Lopez

Deciding to pursue a medical malpractice suit is often a very difficult decision. In these situations, there is often a strong sense of betrayal because we all trust medical professionals to make us better and when we sustain injuries or harm at the hands of a doctor or health care professional, there is usually a host of conflicting feelings involved. As well, the physical pain and suffering caused by a medical mistake or malpractice can often make it difficult to focus on legal matters.

When deciding whether to pursue a medical malpractice suit, it is a good idea to consider liability, damages, and payment. Liability refers to whether someone is legally responsible for your injury and whether their negligence caused your injury or current condition. To determine liability, you need to determine what the standard of care is in cases such as yours and whether that standard was followed. If that standard was not followed, you need to show that that omission lead to your injury.

If you can prove that negligence caused your injury and that someone is liable, you will need to determine what damages you are entitled to. You may seek damages to cover lost income, pain and suffering, and medical costs. How much in damages you can seek will depend on how much your injury affects your quality of life and your job. You also need to determine who will pay the damages and whether they can pay. Usually, an insurance company for a doctor or hospital will take care of damages.

When deciding on a medical malpractice case, it is important to keep in mind that these cases are often much more difficult than other personal injury cases. Physicians have excellent insurance providers who will fight very hard to deny blame. These cases tend to be longer and more difficult to prove than many other personal injury cases. If, for example, you have sustained a brain injury due to a mistake made in the operating room, you will need to prove that the mistake was negligence and might have been prevented with due care. This can be very difficult and expensive to prove ? often, attorneys need to hire expert witnesses.

About 90% of all medical malpractice cases are settled out of court, often for less than the victim was originally seeking in damages. As a result, attorneys are often reluctant to take on such cases unless a great deal of damages can be claimed. You will need to decide ahead of time whether you have a strong suit. If you are in doubt, contact a Florida personal injury attorney. He or she can tell you whether you have a strong case.

Full post as published by Florida Injury Lawyer Blog on February 11, 2010 (boomark / email).