If you feel you may have a medical malpractice case, you should, firstly, find a medical practice lawyer after conducting your own research for obtaining legal advice on the case. Fortunately, finding a qualified lawyer with whom you can discuss your case details without paying anything is not that difficult. Before meeting any Miami medical malpractice lawyer for the first time, here are some things you should consider.
The Lawyer Must Know About Exactly What Happened
Your attorney will need you to reveal everything, so, be prepared to talk a lot. You should try to remember the details rightly and quote only the facts. Because medical malpractice cases usually include complicated medical procedures and terms, having a specialist lawyer is imperative. You should be prepared beforehand so that the lawyer is provided with all the facts before deciding if they will take your case. The following are some of the things you should consider.
- Compile a list of every health care provider: The victims of medical malpractice cases usually have seen several health care providers from hospitals to doctors to various kinds of diagnostic test centers to therapists. The lawyer will ultimately require to request from all the health care providers that the victim saw for their condition. So, you can make a list of every health care provider to help the lawyer.
- Gather relevant documents: The documents that you need to collect and take to the lawyer’s office are:
- Medical bills
- Pictures of your condition (only if relevant)
- Any letters or medical records from doctors that you may have
- The name, policy number, and contact information of your health insurer
- Proof of your tax records like pay stubs or tax records
- Any correspondence that you might have had with insurers involved in your claim
This will help the lawyer and they would not need to start from scratch while conducting their investigation.
- Summarize the medical treatment in written form: You are not required to write twenty pages on this. You should, however, summarize the main points of the medical treatment in a few pages. You may want to discuss then your condition first arose, what happened, who you saw for the condition, what did the doctor do wrong according to you, and who you went to for the treatment. This will help you in answering the questions easily.
- Make a list of the questions to ask the lawyer: You will be wanting to know a lot of things from the lawyer. Write them down before visiting so that you make sure to ask all of them. Things you may want to know from your prospective medical malpractice lawyer may include:
- The number of cases the lawyer has had
- Lawyer’s specialization in medical malpractice
- Lawyer’s experience in handling medical malpractice cases in years
- The number of relevant trials the lawyer had
- The number of medical malpractice trials the lawyer has won
- Chances of settling your case
- Strengths and weaknesses of your case
- If the lawyer will be prepared for filing a lawsuit if they cannot obtain a reasonable settlement offer
- Decide what you are seeking in a lawyer: Lastly, you should know what kind of lawyer do you want- whether you need a lawyer who tells you about each step of the case or someone who just tells you the end result.
Keep the above-mentioned points in mind so that you do not miss on anything important and you have a productive meeting with all your questions answered and all your doubts cleared.