There are about 250,000 deaths because of medical errors in the United States on a yearly basis. This puts medical malpractice and negligence at the third spot in the list of leading causes of death in the country, only behind heart disease and cancer. Unfortunately, however, for victims who are able to survive, only a minority of flies for claims, as attested by lawyers for malpractice.
If you are a victim of medical error, it’s important to protect your rights and demand for compensation — after all medical bills can be quite high. And this comes on top of other out-of-pocket expenses and the emotional pain you’ve experienced.
Choosing The Right Lawyer
In your journey of claiming compensation for a medical error, you’d need to have a legal expert by your side. Lawyers for malpractice specialize in helping clients the tricky waters of this legal process.
When hiring an attorney, you have to look into his or her credibility and experience. Has he or she handled a case similar to yours? How are the results?
You also need to choose a lawyer who knows how to empathize — someone who will be able to defend your rights and someone who will be comfortable communicating your issues and predicaments with.
Things You Need To Prepare
For lawyers for malpractice to fully defend and fight for your rights, you have to do your part. This includes preparing and gathering important documents that can prove that you’ve indeed suffered from a medical error. Here are some of them:
A summary of your case. There are tons of information to process regarding a single medical malpractice case. Hence, it will be of great help if you can summarize yours in an organized way. State the timeline of events as well as the things you want to highlight in each one.
A list of your healthcare providers. It’s highly likely that you have been to different institutions to help you with your medical concern. To better trace which physician really caused your current condition, it’s vital to have a list of healthcare providers you’ve been to as well as their respective contact information.
Medical records and bills. Based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, you as a patient are entitled to access and have a copy of your medical records. Prepare copies of your records beforehand, along with the hospital bills you’ve paid. The latter — along with other records bearing your out-of-pocket expenses and loss of wages — will help in the computation of the compensation you will demand from the other party.
Photos of injuries. It’s also advisable to document and take a photo of the injuries caused by medical error. This will aid in demonstrating the extent of the other party’s substandard medical care.
A list of your questions. Going through the process of asking for medical compensation is overwhelming. It’s important to establish trust with your lawyer. And to do this one, you have to be honest during your initial consultation and ask whatever queries you have in mind — from the projected timeline to the strength of your case.
Montross Miller has a team of expert lawyers for malpractice. With decades of combined experience, we’re ready to help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
