6 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you’ve suffered the consequences of medical malpractice and are interested in making a claim, then your first call should be to an experienced lawyer.

Medical malpractice law is a highly specialized area of law, given that the legal issues involved are often very complex.

When attempting to find a medical malpractice lawyer to act on your behalf, use the following six questions to determine whether or not they’ll be able to understand the intricacies of your case and bring it to trial.

1. What experience do you have with medical malpractice, specifically, going to trial?

While on some occasions it may be acceptable to be assisted by someone still learning the ropes, pursuing a medical malpractice claim is not one of them. For the best results possible, you will want a lawyer who has significant experience.

The lawyer representing you must have extensive knowledge of, and practical application in, medical malpractice litigation with a record of taking medical malpractice cases to trial.

Medical malpractice cases go to court more than any other area of personal injury law. You’ll have a greater chance at a successful trial with a lawyer that is an experienced medical malpractice litigator.

In addition, expert evidence is a major requirement for most medical malpractice claims. As a result, the best medical malpractice lawyers know how to build a strong foundation for your case by retaining highly qualified and recognized medical experts to testify on your behalf.

2. How do I know if my case is valid, and what do I need to demonstrate this in court?

In order to prove the validity of your case, you must show that your doctor or health care provider breached the standard of care, directly resulting in injury or damages. Doing this requires you to show that the care and treatment provided were below the generally accepted standards of a similarly qualified professional giving the same treatment.

In addition, you must prove that if you received the proper level of care, then the injuries or damages incurred would have been avoided or not suffered at all.

This is the point in a medical malpractice case where experts play a significant role. During the trial, experienced experts set out the standard of care for each profession and provide evidence about whether those standards were met.

The best medical malpractice lawyers understand the importance experts play in making your claim and have access to an extensive network of knowledgeable professionals who can speak on your behalf during the trial.

3. How much does retaining a medical malpractice lawyer cost?

As anyone who has filed a personal injury claim or needed to retain a lawyer for any reason can tell you, lawyer fees can be extremely expensive. However, unlike many other medical malpractice firms, Sommers Roth & Elmaleh operates on a strict contingency fee basis.

The costs associated with pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit can be very high, and resolutions are rarely reached quickly.

By acting in the best interest of our clients, we handle these upfront costs until the completion of the trial. As leading medical malpractice lawyers, our team at Sommers Roth & Elmaleh has been helping clients affected by medical errors and sub-par medical services for more than 40 years.

Due to our expertise and experience, we’re so confident in our ability that you will only need to pay us if your case is successful.

4. What personal information do I need to provide?

In medical malpractice cases, the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff. This means it is our responsibility to effectively demonstrate that the standard of care did not meet medical expectations and, as a direct result, caused your injury or damages.

In order to do this, records regarding your health history and well-being will be relevant during the trial, and you may have to share your most recent medical records. In addition, you should be prepared to answer a significant number of personal questions from both your lawyer and the defence lawyer.

For example, if you allege a loss of income, your tax records, your tax returns, and other financial documentation may be examined. .

5. What timeline should you expect for the trial?

The length of each medical malpractice lawsuit varies depending on the facts of the case and extent of the claim you’ve made. Some of the steps involved in a medical malpractice lawsuit include collecting relevant medical records and investigating the merits of the case, issuing the Statement of Claim, receiving the Statement of Defence, and attending examinations for discovery, mediation, and trial.

The best medical malpractice lawyers have extensive experience taking claims to trial and understand the extent of each motion throughout the process. As a result, they can provide you with an approximate timeline of the different milestones in your case, and how they expect you to participate.

Our lawyers at Sommers Roth & Elmaleh are well equipped to handle any medical malpractice claim and have unique experience in the following areas:

• Obstetric malpractice
• Cerebral palsy
• Shoulder dystocia
• Spina bifida
• Pediatric malpractice
• Birth injury

When your legal rights are infringed upon by someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to a monetary award. Depending on the extent of your injuries and a range of other factors, you could be entitled to a very substantial monetary award.

6. Are you recognized by national organizations for your expertise?

Professional recognition speaks to a lawyer’s professional experience and success in their field. Some of the best medical malpractice lawyers have received awards for their contributions to the industry, success on various high-profile cases, published articles, and often teach others about these types of claims.

At Sommers Roth & Elmaleh, our peers have recognized us as among the best medical malpractice lawyers in Toronto and as top medical malpractice lawyers throughout Ontario and Canada.

Many of our clients are referred to us by former clients, lawyers, judges, doctors, and Canadian medical-legal experts.

We challenge the medical profession to uphold its standards and quality of care to the public. In addition, we are regularly consulted by influential members of the legal profession on difficult malpractice cases in Canada and internationally.

If you feel you have been the victim of medical malpractice, contact Sommers Roth & Elmaleh at 1-844-777-7372 or reach out to us online.