3 Ways Fee Contingent Medical Malpractice Litigators Can Limit Their Exposure
In a struggling economy, injury attorneys working on contingency can lower their risk with potential cases in multiple ways; medical chronologies and an initial opinion of case merit are key components in lowering the upfront risk in a medical malpractice case. Mednick Associates, a 20 year veteran of the industry, outlines tactics that can be employed with almost any case.
Managing and litigating complex medical malpractice cases, on a contingency fee basis, creates a set of initial risks for a plaintiff attorney. Those risks are increased when they are placed against a less than stellar economy. The current state of the market suggests that attorneys need to utilize any means they can to protect their downside risk. Choosing the right cases, presents a good place to start. Litigators can and do employ their personal experience and legal savvy to choose cases that represent a high probability of a favorable outcome. However there are additional measures that any medical malpractice attorney can take advantage of to lower the risk that they are accepting a case with medical facts that favor the defense.
The current economic effects of running a law firm are increased when working on a contingent basis. Overhead, employee costs and marketing expenses do not slow down when your case load does. Below are three tactics to use when determining the chances a case will have a favorable outcome.
- Medical Chronologies: Obtaining medical records is always time consuming, but the real bottleneck is in how they arrive. Complex cases with multiple hospital stays, long treatment periods and numerous operations present medical records from varied institutions and with mounds of information to dissect. Having a chronology done for complex cases, saves the attorney, and their staff, time and allows a medical professional to produce a product that can be used throughout the litigation process. Critical facts, if organized, may change ones outlook on a case at the outset, after a summary of the facts are reviewed.
- Screening a case through a LNC: Legal nurse consultants (LNCs), in addition to producing chronologies, can be used as a resource to screen cases and get preliminary thoughts, which may drive the decisions on how to proceed with a case. Limiting risk means knowing as much as possible about the crux of the case, before time and money are invested. Mednick Associates’ LNCs routinely review cases informally and provide guidance to clients on what their best course of action is from a medical standpoint.
- Preliminary Expert Witness Opinion: If a case is organized via a chronology and then screened through a LNC, the next step is to generate an expert witness opinion. Screening a case through a medical expert witness and gaining informal and preliminary guidance can save valuable time and money as the case progresses, or in some cases, does not progress. Passing on a case, at an early stage, because the facts don’t present themselves in a favorable light is as important as pursuing a favorable case. Mednick Associates utilizes informal expert case screenings to reduce upfront costs for clients.
These three upfront tactics are key to ensuring the attorney is working on cases that warrant the time and attention complex medical cases demand.
To learn more about Mednick Associates, their legal nurse consulting and expert witness services and additional products, please call 203.966.3000 or view their website at https://mednickassociates.com.