What to ask before hiring a medical malpractice attorney

If you have been injured or sickened by a doctor or mistreated by hospital staff, your recovery should be your highest priority. However, negligent physicians and hospitals should be held accountable for the actions (or inaction) and a medical malpractice lawsuit may be necessary to achieve this.

Nevertheless, most people do not have any experience in hiring an attorney, and often seek referrals because of the confusion that open solicitations may present. But to pick the right law firm for your needs, it is important to ask questions. This post will highlight a few important ones that can help in determining which law firm is right for you.

How did you start handling malpractice cases? – Just as a potential jury will be interested in hearing your story, you should be interested in your attorney’s story as well. When asking about how he or she started handling malpractice cases, the attorney should be able to discuss his or her background and experience, and make you feel that he or she is experienced and capable.

What percentage of your practice is geared towards malpractice cases? – Again, in describing their experience and background, the attorney should be able to describe how much time he or she devotes to medical malpractice cases. This is also important in measuring their capability against someone who primarily handles construction accident cases, for example.

What are some of the weaknesses in my case and can they be overcome? – One of the principal questions clients want to know is how “good” their case is. An experienced attorney will not sugarcoat their opinion of the matter, since a great deal of money may be spent on developing the case. So knowing the weaknesses of the case is vital.