This is referred to as “informed consent”. In some cases, the patient may be unconscious and his relatives cannot be reached due to emergency. It is, very expensive to arrange a sustainable expert medical testimony and the trial costs usually exceed the expected returns. The insurance companies, being aware of this problem, do not settle the claims in this area and prefer to take the trial to the court.
Nobody knows it better than the medical malpractice lawyers who understand this dilemma and do not usually take up such cases, not because of any malafide intention or greed, but because they do not want their clients to be harassed in unproductive, complicated, risky, expensive and long drawn law suits where the victory may prove a financial defeat. Medical malpractices law is a very specialized field and there are not many truly skilled medical malpractices lawyers. Moreover such lawyers either take up the cases of injured patients or defend against the medical malpractice lawsuits. They do not take up both the cases.
This is all the more reason to hire an expert and dedicated plaintiff’s lawyer to help you. But you must be sure that you are a victim of medical malpractice, and that your injury is truly serious with long term consequences such as injury during birth, heart attack or permanent disability. The lawsuit must also be filed within a statutory time limit prescribed under the law for medical malpractice claim for damages.
Most of the medical malpractice lawyers accept medical malpractice cases on contingency fee basis, which means that you do not have to pay the lawyer unless the case in decided in your favor. Nonetheless you do have to pay the expenses incurred in connection with your case regardless of your victory or defeat. This means that the lawyer will be paid on a percentage basis, generally 25 to 40 percent of what may be collected by you in the case of a settlement, or on a judgment your case happens to go to trial.
The best way to find a medical malpractice lawyer is to seek the recommendation of your friend or relative who has personal experience about such cases. If you know some lawyer, ask for his reference or recommendation for some good medical malpractice lawyer.
Alternatively search the web and prepare a list of medical malpractice lawyers. Check out the website of each and find out their biographical information and also whether they specialize in medical malpractice cases, and if so, who they primarily represent --the plaintiffs or the defendants. If you cannot decide from the website information, ask the lawyer himself.
You may enquire from the lawyer’s office the names and telephone numbers of their present or past clients in medical malpractice law suits. Contact them and find out their views on the skills and trustworthiness of the lawyer.
Also find pages from the lawyer’s website containing the FAQ, articles and other legal resources covering the issues of medical malpractices and compensation claims. The information will provide you a fair idea of the lawyer’s capabilities.
Lawyers with specialized areas of practice form their own associations at local or state level. Check out the website of such association and find out whether your medical malpractice lawyer is a member of the association and if so whether he is an active member or holds some responsible position in the association.
Check the track record of the lawyer and find out his success rate in dealing with medical malpractices cases.
A medical malpractices lawyer should be well versed with medical knowledge to cross question the witnesses and understand their replies without fumbling with medical terms.