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Elements Of Initial Consultation Appointments With A Medical Malpractice Attorney

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After suffering injuries or health problems from a medical procedure, you may feel that you deserve compensation from the doctor or healthcare clinic.If so, you should schedule an appointment with a law firm that specializes in medical malpractice cases. An initial consultation appointment offers a way for you to meet the lawyer to see if you want to hire him or her, and it offers a chance to hear the opinions and advice from a legal expert. During this appointment, you will also learn whether or not you have a case and if the lawyer is willing to accept it. Here are three key elements your lawyer will discuss with you at your initial consultation appointment.

Discuss The Facts

As soon as you meet the attorney and sit down in his or her office, you can begin discussing the case. The attorney will primarily want to know:

  • What type of medical procedure did you have?
  • What went wrong during the procedure?
  • What injuries do you have from it?
  • What evidence do you have that the doctor was negligent?

Negligence is one of the most important elements of any type of personal injury case, and it refers to a person deviating from normal standard procedures and care. In medical malpractice, this can occur if a doctor does not detect a health problem that he or she should have found. It can also occur if the doctor does not perform the right procedure or if he or she makes a mistake during a procedure.

From these questions, the attorney will grasp a good understanding of the case, which will help him or her know whether or not to accept it. The attorney may ask you for documentation of the evidence you have, so you should make sure you bring any documents with that you that prove your case, such as doctor's reports and medical bills, as well as the names of any witnesses.

Determine If The Lawyer Will Accept The Case

Most personal injury lawyers do not charge fees upfront for handling cases. Instead, they charge contingency fees. A contingency fee is a percentage of a settlement amount, and attorneys that charge these fees typically do not earn any money unless a case wins. Because of this, an attorney is likely to turn down a case if there is not enough evidence he or she will win. Attorneys spend a lot of time on cases and they have expenses. This is why they will want to hear all the evidence before agreeing to accept a case.

If the lawyer feels you have a strong case and a sufficient amount of evidence to prove it, he or she may agree to take the case. To win the case, your lawyer will have to prove to the court the doctor was negligent during the medical procedure.

Explanation Of How Lawsuits Work

If the attorney agrees to accept your case, this does not mean you are obligated to use this attorney. You may want to ask questions about the case before you agree to let him or her handle the case. One of these questions might be the rate for the contingency fees. Most personal injury lawyers charge roughly 33%, which means you will have to pay around one-third of the total settlement you receive if you win.

In addition, you may want to ask the attorney if the case can be settled outside of court or if it will end up in court. This is a question the attorney may not be able to answer with 100% certainty, but he or she can give you a good guess.

Before you go to an initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer, you should gather up the evidence you have, and you should make a list of questions to ask. If you would like to learn more or schedule a consultation appointment, contact a law firm that specializes in medical malpractice cases. For additional information or to find a lawyer, check out more online resources like this post.


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