Things to consider when hiring a medical malpractice attorney

Updated on March 10, 2020

Alarmingly, in many countries, medical malpractice is a leading cause of death. In the USA, only heart disease and cancer kill more people. According to John Hopkins patience safety experts, around 250,000 people die as a result of mistakes made during treatment.

If this has happened to you, or a family member, you will likely need to get a medical malpractice attorney. Fighting for compensation without one will be extremely difficult. To win you will need to gather a huge amount of evidence. As well as understand the law and how it is applied. Most medical malpractice cases are extremely complex. Plus, you will likely still be feeling unwell so you may not have the time or energy needed to do everything that is necessary to win your case.

But, you should not simply hire the first attorney you come across. If you do that there is a possibility that you will lose your case. This short guide will help you to hire the person you need.

Ask for personal recommendations

If you have friends, family or colleagues who have hired this type of attorney before, speak to them about their experience. Users of support groups and patient forums may also be able to make suggestions. However, it is important to carry out further research. 

At the very least, you need to make sure they are qualified to practice law. It is also worth doing a quick internet search using their name and other search terms. This can uncover news stories, articles and other information you can use to check out their reputation.

Take a look at a few review websites 

In some countries, you will also be able to use review websites to help you with this research. However, again, you need to be careful when reading this information. Unfortunately, some firms try to boost their reputation using fake reviews, which they pay to have posted. This article will help you to spot those firms that are using this tactic so that you can avoid using them. 

Be prepared to speak to several legal firms

Once you have a few candidates in mind, ring or email some of them. Or, if they have a chat facility on their website use that.

Before you do, draw up a list of preliminary questions and make a few notes. Having facts like key dates, what happened to you and the drugs and tests you had, close at hand. Along with the symptoms you are suffering from, will all help you to quickly share information with the person you are speaking to.

The idea is that you will ask each firm more or less the same questions and share similar information with them. Doing this will make it easier for you to compare them side-by-side.

At this stage, you are primarily trying to identify which firms have the experience that is relevant to your case. Speaking to them also gives you a chance to work out who you feel the most comfortable with.

Making your final choice

At this stage, you will likely have narrowed your options down to two or three possibilities. Now, you can dig a little deeper to make your final choice via face-to-face interviews. During which you can ask more questions and find out about their fees. 

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