What Medical Malpractice Lawyers Will Need From You

Be prepared for your case in order to give yourself the best chance at a successful outcome.

If you’re going to go ahead and press a lawsuit for medical malpractice, you’ll need to make sure that your attorney can count on you. This may include doing everything the attorney asks, which will increase your chances of actually winning the claim. There are some other things they’ll need you to do for them, as well.

Full Disclosure

You can trust your attorney to keep any information regarding the case confidential. This is called client/attorney privilege and you can always be sure that your attorney, if they’re ethical, will adhere to the principal that governs it. In fact, you’re just as safe sharing your medical information with your attorney as you are sharing it with your doctor, so you shouldn’t worry about this at all.
You have to tell your attorney all of the facts relevant to your case and be sure that you’re comfortable answering all their questions. In order for your attorney to help you, you have to be open with them at all times.

Information Control

You’re attorney will speak for you whenever the defendants are involved. You should say nothing to them and have no contact with them without your attorney being informed and, preferably, present. Your attorney will most certainly ask you to avoid making any contact with them, and you have to adhere to this request. If the defendant calls you to offer a settlement behind your attorney’s back, you need to inform your attorney right away. This is not to protect the attorney’s legal fees; it’s to prevent you from getting ripped off by being tempted with a settlement that seems much larger than it is.

Being Ready for Court

In some cases, a medical malpractice lawyer can get the defendant to offer a suitable settlement without going to court, but not always. If you have to go to court, your attorney will prepare you to testify. This is where you have to trust your attorney’s ability to argue your case.
The attorney will do everything they can to make sure that the case turns out favorably for you, but there is never a way to guarantee that you’ll win. That is up to a jury. You may receive all, some or none of the award you’re seeking in court. Under a contingency agreement, you do not have to pay the lawyer if you do not win your claim.