The American Bar Association had a total of 1,338,678 licensed lawyers in the year 2018.
These figures represent a 0.2% increase from the number of registered lawyers recorded in the year 2017. These lawyers further branch into specific specialty fields such as medical malpractice legal representation.
Do you have a medical malpractice lawsuit you intend to file against a healthcare provider or professional?
You aren’t alone. Americans suffer in silence due to the lack of knowledge of what to do when faced with a medical malpractice concern.
What you need is a malpractice attorney who understands the process of litigation.
However, singling out the best medical malpractice attorneys is not always easy. This guide looks to clear the air on how to find the right malpractice attorney.
Who Is a Medical Malpractice Attorney?
Lawyers have the option of specializing in specific fields within their legal practice. Medical malpractice lawyers focus more on health care laws.
A medical malpractice attorney performs routine civil litigator roles specific to medical malpractice. This is done by representing the plaintiff in cases related to medical misconduct.
Medical malpractice, on the other hand, refers to a scenario where a doctor, nurse, or any other healthcare provider, through an act of inadvertence, causes harm to a patient.
Such negligence may be a result of errors in judgment, misdiagnosis, or poor aftercare handling of patients. If you suspect or are convinced that there were apparent acts of negligence by your healthcare provider, then you deserve a fair hearing in court.
So then, how do you single out the best medical malpractice attorney?
1. Contact Your State or Local Bar Association
State and local bar associations would be the best place to start your search.
Almost all States have localized bar associations, which play a vital role in the regulation of legal officers. Among the services that bar associations offer are referral services.
Within these bars, there are thresholds that lawyers must demonstrate before being enlisted into medical specialties.
Seeking the referral services from malpractice lawyers guarantees you that at best, you’ll find the most qualified medical malpractice attorney. Most of these bar associations have a responsive online presence, which you can rely on for fast and useful information.
2. Conduct an Online Search
We live in the age of technology where information is a click away.
You only need to search for the keywords “medical malpractice attorney” in your specific area. The best thing about the internet is the fact that you’ll always get honest reviews from happy or distraught clients.
You can gather as much information online about medical malpractice lawyers near you.
Always go a step further with such online searches and conduct adequate due diligence. You don’t want to end up dealing with online fraudsters purporting to be lawyers.
A genuine law firm or individual specializing in medical malpractice will have a fully operational website.
Such webpages have biographical information, area of specialization, and referrals or reviews from previous interactions. If the available information provides a level of comfort on the extent of reliability of the lawyer, then it’s time to engage.
3. Check If They Belong to the Association of Trial Lawyers
You can never be too sure.
Considering that you’ll have to trust an attorney with high stakes personal information, you must focus as much as possible on indisputability when it comes to reputation. Being a member of a personal injury lawyer trial lawyers’ association is the best way to test such an individual’s authenticity.
While it’s not a requirement that all lawyers should be part of the association, it does improve the level of credibility.
If the medical malpractice attorney has active participation in the American Association of Trial Lawyers, then they are worth the trouble.
4. Check out the Yellow Pages
Let your fingers do the walking.
Well, you may assume that the Yellow Pages are no longer as useful in the modern age of social media, but these pages can be your saving grace. The Yellow Pages contain information about a wide range of services and information that are unmatched even in the digital era.
The best thing about dealing with published information is that there’s always a level of authenticity.
You’ll rarely deal with imposters and fraudsters when you contact the yellow pages for information on medical malpractice attorneys.
5. Contact Your Insurance Provider
Seeking advice from an insurance provider on the best medical malpractice attorney is critical.
Most service providers know each other, considering the many interactions on and off their professional engagements. As such, it’s easy for your insurer to give you candid information on the most reliable malpractice lawyers.
Such advice may hold ground considering that insurance companies have working relationships with lawyers at varying levels. This means that it’s easy for an insurer to direct you to the best attorney in your area.
6. Seek Referrals From Friends and Relatives
Word of mouth beats all other forms of reviews. A happy client is always eager to offer unsolicited advice on the best service provider. You only need to ask around, and you won’t be disappointed.
Your networks will always have that one person who knows something or someone. Capitalize on such circles to find a reliable medical malpractice attorney. But even with such information, you still have a duty to consider due diligence before committing.
7. Consider Experience and Strategy
You want to win the litigation against the defendant. So having a seasoned attorney is not in question.
You need to focus on the medical malpractice attorney’s experience and strategy that assures them of successful litigation outcomes.
There are specific things you can look out for to determine experience and success rate in an attorney.
For instance, does a medical malpractice attorney consider medical malpractice case review? If yes, then such lawyers are seasoned in their quest for justice.
Working with credible physician medical review consultants gives the attorney leverage when making their legal presentation.
Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied
Don’t suffer in silence when you are confident that you have been a victim of medical negligence.
Have you had misgivings about engaging a medical malpractice attorney? This guide provides essential information that will help you settle for the most qualified lawyer.
You must ensure that your medical malpractice attorney has the right support from a medical and legal consulting firm as an added advantage.
To read other interesting articles, go through our other posts.