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It is often the case that people suffer at the hands of a medical professional, yet do not do anything about it because ‘hey people make mistakes!’ However where is the line crossed from a mistake into professional negligence? It can be a difficult distinguish to make and can only normally be made by a specialist medical negligence lawyer.

Your solicitor will go through some basic points with you in a first consultation and advise you whether your case is worth taking further and making a compensation claim. Remember that most cases are not strong enough to be taken successfully to Court and it is not a good idea to jump in without advice and preparation. Therefore what you actually might be dicussing with your solicitor when you think that it is medical negligence?

1. Causes: Usually when something does happen it is not down to medical negligence. The way a person reacts to illness is not always textbook, different bodies will react in different ways. Unexpected things may arise that were impossible to predict despite the doctor’s best intentions. Was this your case?

2. Reactions: Things have gone wrong and it is hard to accept that it can be due to simple human error. So, what should your reaction be? To begin with, decide what you need to get from this situation. Many people just need an explanation and an apology. Unfortunately medical teams often react defensively and close ranks, resulting in you going through the slow legal process when an apology was really all you needed. Are you in this situation?

3. Litigation: Unfortunately cases of these sorts are often extremely slow to move, it can take years to even reach a hearing in the courts, the consequences of this are elevated costs and efforts. As well as this they are challenging cases to win as the Courts like to protect the integrity of the members of the health profession. Is your case worth taking to Court?

The first step when medical negligence is suspected is for you to talk to the medical team that dealt with your case: GP, surgeons, nurses, dentists and try to solve things in an amicable way. The early step is a difficult one, however if things are just not quite right then you should take advice from a solicitor. Many hospitals have services that help patients in these situations and they can advise you and refer you to a competent, suitable solicitor that will make the process clear, easy and correct.

Lastly, if you do proceed to take on a solicitor then you should ensure that use someone whom is experienced in reasonably compact cases. If there is not a medical negligence solicitor locally to where you live, it will be worth travelling or instructing one online. The types of panel qualifications you should be keeping an eye out for are the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel and the Action Against Medical Accidents Panel.

Originally published here.

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Tim Bishop

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This digital document is an article from Trial, published by Association of Trial Lawyers of America on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 3092 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: No more Dr. Nice Guy: the outcome of a medical negligence lawsuit often depends on the doctor’s likability. Get jurors to see beyond it to the merits of the case.
Author: Lynn R. Laufenberg
Publication: Trial (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Volume: 41 Issue: 5 Page: 22(5)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

No more Dr. Nice Guy: the outcome of a medical negligence lawsuit often depends on the doctor’s likability. Get jurors to see beyond it to the merits of the case.: An article from: Trial