Medical malpractice cases are highly complex, so you need a skilled lawyer with the right qualities to work on your case. They should be excellent at their job and at dealing with their clients, and they should understand that surgical errors and other forms of malpractice can lead to heightened emotions. Below, you’ll learn some of the qualities you should consider when hiring a surgical error lawyer.
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8 Qualities to Look for in a Surgical Error Lawyer
1. Medical Knowledge
Surgical error cases are packed full of medical terminology that you and most people who don’t work in the medical field won’t understand. However, a lawyer experienced in surgical error and other medical malpractice cases should understand these terms. Any surgical error lawyer in Baltimore who’s worth hiring will.
When you’re interviewing attorneys, you should ask about their expertise regarding the specific error you experienced, too. Ask them if they understand certain terms so you can determine whether or not this attorney will be a good fit for your case.
2. Surgical Error Experience
Having knowledge in the medical field is a plus, but ideally, your attorney will also be well practiced in working on medical malpractice cases. However, there are numerous types of medical malpractice, and surgical errors are just one of them. So, you need to get a little more specific and determine whether or not your attorney has experience defending surgical error cases.
Furthermore, you should look for an attorney with experience defending cases as similar to yours as possible. Somebody who frequently works on wrong site surgical error cases won’t have the same experience and expertise as somebody who usually defends patients who have had a wrong diagnosis.
3. Medical Witness Access
Your attorney may be familiar with medicine, but that doesn’t mean the jury and judge are. Therefore, they’ll need a medical witness to back up everything your attorney is saying. This witness should be somebody who understands the standards of care in medicine and can attest to the fact that your doctor was negligent in the lead-up to your surgical error.
In many cases, you will require a medical witness before you can even wage a lawsuit regarding malpractice. So, therefore, your attorney needs to have a working relationship with somebody who can testify during your case accordingly.
4. Good Listening Skills
Due to the complexity of malpractice cases, you will need an attorney who can listen to every word you say and take it in. They need to be patient and receptive to everything you’re telling them about your situation.
An attorney who doesn’t listen is an attorney who shouldn’t be working closely with clients at all. Your attorney is there to defend you and dive deep into your case, and they can’t do that if they don’t listen.
5. Compassion
Compassionate attorneys are golden. For some lawyers, this is just a job, and they don’t really care about their clients. However, you can be assured that all of the best lawyers care about you as much as they care about the job and justice. They’ll be ready to support you and be incredibly understanding of any emotional trauma you’re going through due to the error you’ve been through.
Compassionate lawyers are also ones who, instead of charging upfront, typically charge on a contingency fee basis. They’ll defend you and won’t get a cent if they don’t win your case. If they do, then their pay is taken out of your settlement. Charging a contingency fee is a sign that your attorney cares about your well-being as much as or more than they care about getting paid for their services.
6. Aggressiveness
It may sound counterintuitive to say you want an aggressive lawyer who’s also compassionate, but they need to be aggressive in the right areas. Instead of being aggressive as a person, the attorney must be aggressive in their pursuit of justice and an appropriate settlement for your case. An aggressive attorney won’t back down in the face of difficulties and will continue to investigate and dig up evidence to prove your claims.
7. Good Professional Standing
Your attorney should be someone their colleagues think highly of. Their former clients should also think highly of them. Ask if you can have client testimonies and examine them to see if the people who worked with your attorney previously feel they had a good experience.
You should also look into your attorney’s past cases to ensure they had more wins than losses. This is essential if you want to win a good settlement for your case.
8. Courtroom Skills
Many malpractice cases can be settled by negotiating with insurance companies outside the courtroom. However, some need to go to trial. Make sure your attorney has courtroom experience and can handle themselves and your case well in front of a judge and jury.
It’s easy to find an attorney with the right qualities if you know what those qualities are. Never settle for working with someone who doesn’t make you feel comfortable and confident in their abilities to win your case.