How Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Proceed When You Call Our Law Firm
If you call our attorneys to discuss a Maryland medical malpractice case, the process involves a series of steps:
Step 1: When you call our law office, you will be directed to our medical malpractice intake specialist. The intake specialist's job is to get (1) your general information and (2) the details of your malpractice case. The medical malpractice intake specialist makes an initial evaluation as to whether you may have a medical malpractice case. Many people call to report either (1) rude or insensitive behavior from a medical doctor, or (2) a negligent act from the doctor that could have but did not cause the caller any injury. Both of these complaints are unfortunate occurrences but they are not medical malpractice cases in Maryland.
Step 2: If you may have a medical malpractice case, you are transferred to speak to a Maryland medical malpractice lawyer. The lawyer will discuss your malpractice case with you. We will answer any questions that you may have about your case and how these cases proceed. During this conversation we will mutually decide whether our law firm should further investigate your medical malpractice case.
Step 3: If our law firm does agree to investigate your Maryland medical malpractice case, our attorneys will enter into an agreement with you that sets forth the work our malpractice lawyers will do for you and the method of attorney compensation. Our medical malpractice lawyers agrees to advance all costs, only to be repaid costs in the event of recovery, and to work on a contingent fee basis. In other words, our attorneys receive a percentage of the gross recovery. You lose nothing in the event there is not a recovery.
Step 4: From here, our medical malpractice lawyers will get a more detailed medical history from you, including the physicians and hospitals who have provided medical treatment to you. Our lawyers then obtain all of your relevant medical records. In almost every case, these medical records - what they show and do not show - are the evidence that gives our lawyers the ability to determine whether you may have a viable medical malpractice claim.
Step 5: If our medical malpractice lawyers believe you have a case after receiving from you your medical history and reviewing the medical records, our attorneys consult with a medical doctor. In every medical malpractice case in Maryland (except those involving informed consent), medical experts are required to establish the standard of care in the medical community for treating a patient who presented in a similar fashion as the medical malpractice plaintiff. The doctor must also testify in a medical malpractice claim in Maryland that there is a greater than 50% likelihood that your injuries would not have happened if your doctor had not committed medical malpractice. Accordingly, before our medical malpractice attorneys bring a lawsuit against the doctor(s), our attorneys consult with medical doctors who are willing to offer their opinions as to whether he or she believes that medical malpractice has occurred. Because many Maryland doctors will not give medical malpractice opinions for attorneys in Maryland cases because they are regularly working with the medical doctors who are suspected of malpractice, our lawyers are often required to go outside of Maryland to find fair and impartial doctors who are willing to work with medical malpractice attorneys by offering opinions on the treatment provided to you.
Step 6: Our lawyers seek first to settle your case. In medical malpractice cases in Maryland, attorneys are rarely able to settle a malpractice case before filing a lawsuit.
Step 7: Our lawyers file a lawsuit. For more on that process, click here.
See Medical Malpractice in Maryland
See Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog
See Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse in Maryland
See Medical Malpractice Frequently Asked Questions
See Sample Attorney Deposition of Medical Malpractice Doctor
See Sample Attorney Deposition of Defendant Doctor's Medical Expert
See Informed Consent in Maryland
See Requirements for Certificate of Merit in Maryland Malpractice Cases
See Sample Medical Malpractice Complaint