Picking A Lawyer For Medical Malpractice Case

First you want to select a lawyer that has competence and experience handling medical negligence lawsuits.  Medical malpractice lawsuits are won and lost based on your lawyer having knowledge of medicine, being able to understand and evaluate medical records and hiring the best medical experts.  This is especially true when the case involves cerebral palsy, failure to diagnosis cancer, failure to diagnosis heart attacks or surgical errors. Therefore you want to make sure your lawyer regularly handles medical negligence lawsuits.  Also there are special legal rules that have to be followed in a medical negligence lawsuit so you want a lawyer who is familiar with those rules. Because these cases are very dependant on experts and because experts are so expensive you want to make sure the lawyer you select has the finanical ability to pay for the best experts.

Second you want to select an attorney who you believe you will feel comfortable sharing what will be a very trying and difficult journey.  Lawsuits in general whether a truck accident case, products liability case or medical negligence case are very difficult and sometimes emotional matters.  The lawsuits can take up to two to three years to resolve.  You will have to share with your lawyer many personal and intimate detail of your life.  Obviously, you want to hire a lawyer that you feel you will be comfortable with.

Third you want to select a lawyer who has been successful in obtaining jury verdicts.  Although many cases settle, sometimes a case has go to a jury trial.  The statistics show that in medical malpractice cases hospitals and doctors win 85% of the cases that go to a jury verdict.  You want to make sure that your lawyer has taken cases to a jury verdict and has been successful.  Even if your case is going to ultimately settle, the defendants are not going to pay the same in settlement if they know the lawyer will not take the case to trial, of if they know the lawyer does not have a good record when the lawyer has taken a case to trial.

What can you do make sure you get the right lawyer?  First you can look at various websites that have independant information about attorneys.  One of these sites is www.martindale.com.  This site is created by lawyers rating their collegues on competency and ethics.  The highest rating on this site is “AV” so you should want your lawyer or lawfirm to be rated “AV”   Another site is www.bestlawyers.com.  This is another ranking of lawyers that is created by lawyers rating fellow lawyers.  However, unlike Martindale these rankings are broken down into specific practice areas and geographical area. Therefore you can do a search for the Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Pittsburgh to see if the lawyer you are considering is on the list of the Best Lawyers in Pittsburgh for Medical Malpractice.

Second you should arrange a meeting with a couple of the competent and experienced medical negligence lawyers and sit down face to fact with them.  This is the best way to know if you are going to feel comfortable sharing the personal details of your life and entrusting this most important matter with a particular lawyer.

Third ask any lawyer you are considering how many medical malpractice cases they have tried before a jury and obtained a verdict.  Ask them if they have any current or former clients who would be willing to speak to you.

I think if do these things you will find a lawyer who you will be satified with and will competantly represent you in your medical malpractice matter.

If you are looking for a lawyer to represent you in a medical malpractice case please call us directly at 412-471-4300 or click here.