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Five Medical Malpractice Questions To Ask Your Pennsylvania Lawyer
Medical malpractice claims thousands of lives every year. If you believe a healthcare provider’s preventable mistake harmed you or your loved one, call an experienced lawyer handling medical negligence cases.
When you talk to an attorney, ask the following five essential medical malpractice questions. Your lawyer’s answers will help you understand whether you have a claim and how your case may work out.
1. Do I Have a Case?
There’s often a lot of ambiguity in medical malpractice cases. You may feel like you received substandard treatment, but how can you be sure that your medical practitioner violated the standard of care?
An attorney well versed in Pennsylvania’s medical malpractice laws will usually be able to tell you pretty quickly whether you have a case. For example, if a doctor neglected to inform you of the material risks of surgery, they probably violated the principle of informed consent.
2. Who Is Responsible?
Not every bad outcome means the healthcare provider breached their duty of care. The practitioner in charge of your care may have followed hospital policies in making their decisions. Depending on the situation, several parties may share liability for your or your family member’s injury.
Your lawyer will go over your medical records to confirm a direct link between the medical negligence and your injury or the worsening of your condition. They may also enlist medical experts to determine whether they can prove causation in your case.
3. What Compensation May I Expect?
“How much is my case worth?” is also among the medical malpractice questions you should ask your lawyer. However, providing an exact answer can be tricky, especially soon after an injury. Your lawyer may only be able to calculate your losses when you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) — in other words, the point after which you’re unlikely to recover further.
Your settlement should cover economic damages (like medical bills, loss of employability, and the cost of accommodating your home for disabilities) and non-economic losses (i.e., pain and suffering). Medical malpractice injuries with a lifelong impact may end in multimillion-dollar settlements.
4. What Outcomes Have You Achieved in Medical Malpractice Cases?
Before you hire a lawyer, look at the settlements they negotiated or awards they won in similar cases. A reputable lawyer will let you know how comparable cases have worked out and be ready to answer all your medical malpractice questions.
You should also check the lawyer’s general reputation. What do their former clients write in Google reviews? Do they mention that this lawyer is professional, attentive, dedicated, and communicative?
5. What If the Healthcare Provider Refuses To Settle My Claim?
A medical malpractice claim usually begins with negotiations between your lawyer and the responsible party’s insurer. Your lawyer will present a detailed demand letter and try to broker a reasonable settlement on your behalf.
However, the healthcare provider may deny responsibility, or their insurer may argue that the damage you suffered isn’t as serious as you claim. In this situation, going to court may be your only option.
Make sure you choose an assertive medical malpractice lawyer with strong courtroom skills. The other side is more likely to come up with a better offer if they know your attorney is ready to proceed to trial.
Do You Have More Medical Malpractice Questions? Call Scartelli Olszewski, P.C.
If you have medical malpractice questions beyond those mentioned above, contact the legal team at Scartelli Olszewski, P.C. Our lawyers have over two decades of experience fighting for the rights of medical negligence victims in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Call 570-230-6420 or contact us online for a free consultation with a medical malpractice attorney.
