Guide for Individual Defendants of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice law is full of complexity and the even medical professionals are often ignorant to all the details surrounding negligence claims. While being the victim of a medical malpractice is a horrible experience, being the defendant in a malpractice case can be equally taxing.

The complexity of medical malpractice law demands lawyers who can properly represent each party with knowledge and expertise. In fact, most of the personal injury cases cannot be handled by a civil lawyer because they simply will not understand all the compenents of the case. Only a law firm that is dedicated to handling these types of cases will have the experience and requirements to represent you. This mean choosing a medical malpractice defense team is a critical first step for doctors, medical professionals and medical facilities.

How Does the Law Define Malpractice?

Medical malpractice refers to professional negligence by a health care provider or professional where the treatment provided caused harm or damage, or even death to the patient. It may be as a result of failure to provide appropriate treatment, omitting certain important medical procedures or offering substandard treatment to the patient. 

The United States has an extensive medical care and high standard hospitals with the best-trained doctors who offer different skills and treatments. They treat different types of ailments ranging from flu, cold, fractures to cancer, diabetes and many other diseases. But with all the medical technology, infrastructure, and skills that the US has rolled out in the medical sector, medical malpractices are still reported in most parts. 

Most Common Medical Malpractice Injuries

There are a variety of medical malpractices that are reported daily which stretch across a broad range of areas. Ranging from diagnosing the wrong drug for the wrong disease, slipping and falling at the hospitals, failure to diagnose or treat an illness and many more. Medical malpractice may lead to severe injuries which include infections, deformity, nerve damage, stroke, brain damage or worse, may lead to death of the patient. Professional negligence can cause life-threatening or life-altering injuries for the victim and may affect even their families or friends.

Medical malpractice can result from an individual doctor, healthcare provider, nurse, a hospital or healthcare facility or even failure of the healthcare sector to provide essential and enough medical equipments to health facilities.

Is it Possible You Could be Accused of Medical Malpractice?

There have been changes to rules and laws that govern medical malpractices. The procedures and parameters of how to handle and determine a medical malpractice lawsuit is a complex and difficult area of law where in most instances, the burden of proof will rest on the victim or their family members.

Most healthcare facilities and hospitals have their own attorneys and legal professionals who work round the clock to prove professionalism was accorded to every patient and disapprove any medical negligence. They are well versed and always come up with well elaborated medical explanations to the victim and their families that may force you to believe nothing extraordinary happened. As an independent provider you may need to hire your own counsel for representation.

The best course of action is to seek services of an experienced medical malpractice attorney with a proven track record in solving the most complex medical negligence. The laws are sometimes complicated and needs a legal professional with intense skills and expertise in the medical field to hold those responsible for the negligence liable and bring them to justice.

In most cases, proving evidence of negligence by physicians, doctors or healthcare providers may be a nut to crack. It will require services of experienced and qualified personal injury attorney who has the expertise and the required resources to conduct a systematic evaluation of medical records and evidence to prove that a medical blunder occurred that caused harm or injury to the patient.

Starting the Search for Competent Legal Counsel

This specialized sector of law will require attorneys who are well versed in your industry. Tney need to know about the complex medical terms as well as the complex medical laws and will often have doctors or nurses on staff.

Also, almost every state has loopholes in the laws to stop fraud claims - be sure your attorney broaches these possibilities first.

The best place to start looking for lawyer recommendations is colleagues or a list of recommended firms supplied by your professional organizations. 

Hastings Law Firm
5100 Westheimer Rd. Suite 200
Houston, TX 77056
713-543-8063
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Houston [No Win No Fee] Hastings Law Firm Houston Texas

Shortlisting Potential Law Firm

After listing a number of potential law firms to handleyour case, the actual interview process starts. The person should make a short list of the lawyers in the local area. Then perform a thorough audit of client reviews acoss the internet. You're looking for attorneys will solid track records of defending malpractice cases. Also, experience should be taken as an important factor - focus on attorneys who are board certified in trial law and have handled (and won) major cases in the past two years.

Questions to Ask Your Prospects

After the shortlistin you should have narrows your selection to just a handful of legal practices to work with. You'll now want to visit with lawyers from each of these firms one on one to feel them out. 

You'll want to ask about retainers, hourly rates, billing practices and transparency as well as their views of your case. Although it's very early in your case, ask them about their appeal process and whether they are willing to handle and appeal if necessary.

Insurance Concerns for Defendants

Monetary damages advanced by the responsible parties to the victim or their families as compensation, or settlements, serves as a strong motivator and warning to relevant systems to be cautious and prevent similar tragedies occurring in future. 

Those that lose cases of medical malpractice can expect their insurance premiums to increase for minimum of 5 years. This increase becomes exponential if more than one case is lost within that same time frame.