If you’ve experienced injury or illness due to a medical error or malpractice, you should find an attorney specializing in medical negligence cases to take your case. You can find several attorneys and firms online or in your local area, or you may ask friends or family members who have used a medical malpractice lawyer in the past for recommendations. Before hiring a legal team, you should request a free case evaluation or consultation, either in-person or over the phone. This will help you gauge whether or not the firm is a good fit for your needs and goals.
Typically, a Experienced Santa Cruz Medical Negligence Lawyers involves allegations of a doctor or other health care professional deviating from the accepted standard of practice and this deviation directly led to an injury or death. Injured patients are often awarded monetary compensation as a result of such claims, including payment for past and future economic losses (such as lost income and cost of medical care), as well as noneconomic losses (such as pain and suffering).
When choosing a medical negligence lawyer, it’s important to look at an attorney’s track record in handling malpractice or negligence cases. It’s also helpful to choose a law firm that works on a contingency fee basis, which means that you don’t pay a dime for the services of the lawyers unless they win your case.
It’s also a good idea to find out how many medical negligence or malpractice cases the attorney has handled in the past and the percentage of those cases that made it to trial. This can give you a better idea of the likelihood that your case will be successful, although it’s important to keep in mind that no attorney can guarantee a specific outcome to any case.
One thing to keep in mind when selecting a medical malpractice lawyer is the statute of limitations. There are strict deadlines for filing a lawsuit or medical negligence claim, which vary from state to state. For example, in New York, you only have one year to file a malpractice claim from the time you discover that a medical professional’s negligence caused you injury. There are some exceptions to this rule, such as when a foreign object is inadvertently left inside your body, for which the “clock” doesn’t start until you realize it’s there.
A key to winning a medical malpractice case is having expert witness testimony to support your allegations. For example, if you were injured by a surgical mistake, an expert surgeon should be retained to review the details of the case and determine if the doctor or hospital deviated from the standard of care.
Other types of damages include special and punitive damages. In rare cases, punitive damages are awarded to punish defendants whose conduct is especially malicious or egregious. To get an accurate picture of the potential monetary compensation you might be entitled to, talk with a medical malpractice attorney about your situation and schedule a free consultation.