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How Much Does It Cost to Sue Someone for Medical Malpractice?

On Behalf of | Jan 15, 2022 | 3M Bair Hugger Lawsuits

Have you experienced medical malpractice in Baltimore? It’s important to get a qualified lawyer on your side. When you work with a medical malpractice law firm, here’s what you can expect in terms of the cost of your claim.

Ask a Medical Malpractice Law Firm: How Much Does It Cost to Sue Someone for Medical Malpractice in Baltimore?

When you go to a doctor or medical professional, you are trusting that they are going to take care of you. If they don’t provide you with the care you need, this can not only worsen your condition or cause new medical issues, but it can also deeply traumatize you.

Anyone who has experienced medical malpractice should be compensated for the damages and injuries. Working with a qualified lawyer will help to ensure that you get a fair settlement for what you’ve experienced. The cost of suing for medical malpractice will depend on several factors, including the specifics of your case. It can cost between $100 to $500 to file your lawsuit, and you’ll likely need to pay for certain medical records to help provide your case. There are also some fees you should expect for your case.

Lawyer Fees

When it comes to a medical malpractice case, it’s very important to work with a lawyer. Your lawyer will work hard to ensure that you get the legal representation that you deserve. You’ll need to pay your lawyer for their services.

The amount that you need to pay your lawyer will depend on the lawyer you work with. Most lawyers use a contingency fee agreement, meaning that a percentage of the settlement you receive will go towards paying your lawyer. Most commonly, lawyers will have a fee of about 40% of your settlement, but this can change depending on the full amount you receive.

Case Expenses

There are several expenses that you’ll need to pay for your case, and some of them may come as a bit of a surprise. Medical malpractice cases are often expensive to pursue, but your lawyer will help you get a fair settlement to help you cover these expenses.

As you already know, it costs money to file a claim with the courts and to gather certain pieces of necessary evidence like medical records. You may also need to hire an expert witness to testify for you. Expert witnesses are an extremely effective way of proving to the courts that you experienced medical malpractice. But the reality is that they can also be expensive to hire, and may even cost you thousands of dollars depending on your case.

What Counts As Medical Malpractice and Do You Have a Case?

Medical malpractice cases are often some of the most expensive, but there are many situations where suing is a viable and even preferable option.

Before you decide to sue, it’s important to sit down with a lawyer to determine if it’s worthwhile to pursue a medical malpractice claim. Understanding what exactly counts and medical malpractice will help you determine whether or not you have a case.

You Were a Patient of the Doctor

This might seem obvious, but it’s still an important factor to consider when determining if you’ve experienced medical malpractice. You will need to be able to prove that you you were a patient of the care provider you are suing. In short, it means that you hired that doctor to treat you and the doctor agreed to be hired for that purpose.

It’s important to distinguish this from simple advice. You wouldn’t be able to sue a doctor for giving you improper medical advice at a casual gathering. The doctor needs to have been treating you directly for there to be a possible case.

The Doctor Was Negligent

The next thing that you’re going to need to prove for your case is that the doctor was negligent. There is a difference between a doctor that didn’t treat you in a way that you were happy with and a doctor that was negligent. For a medical malpractice case to go forward, the doctor needs to have been negligent in some way.

You’ll also need to prove that the doctor’s negligence was connected to your diagnosis or your treatment. Essentially, you need to show that what your doctor did was not what a competent doctor would have done under the same circumstances.

The Doctor’s Negligence Caused Your Injury

Along with proving that your doctor was negligent in relation to your treatment or diagnosis, you also need to prove that this negligence is what resulted in your injury. This is where things can begin to get even more complicated since malpractice cases usually involve patients that were already injured or sick in some capacity.

That means that it can be challenging to prove that what the doctor did is actually what caused your injury, and not your pre-existing condition. When you bring your case to court, you’ll need to prove that your injuries were more likely than not caused by the negligence of the doctor and not the medical issue you were already dealing with.

Your Injury Led to Certain Damages

Finally, you’ll need to prove to the courts that the injury you received from the medical malpractice you experienced resulted in specific damages. It may be obvious that the doctor you are suing performed below the standards of their field, but if have not suffered any damages, you will not be able to sue.

There are a few types of damages and harm that you’ll be able to sue for. If you have experienced or are experiencing physical pain, issues with mental health, lost wages due to an inability to work, or additional medical bills due to your injury, you could have a viable case on your hands.

The Types of Medical Malpractice

It’s a good idea to understand the different types of medical malpractice when you are pursuing a medical malpractice claim. These are a few of the most common types.

Failure to Diagnose Properly

If your doctor did not diagnose you properly and a competent doctor would have, and this would have made a difference in your treatment and recovery, then you might have a medical malpractice claim.

Failure to Inform You of Known Risks

Many treatments for medical conditions involve certain risks. It’s part of your doctor’s job to inform you of what these potential risks are to help you make the most informed decision possible. If a patient would not have agreed to a treatment performed on them had they known the risks, this counts as medical malpractice.

Failure to Provide Proper Treatment

If your doctor selects treatment for you that another, competent doctor would not have chosen, then this could count as medical malpractice. It might also be considered medical malpractice if your doctor chose an appropriate treatment for your condition but it was not administered correctly.

If you have experienced medical malpractice, you should get in touch with a lawyer as soon as possible. Your lawyer will help you determine if you have a viable malpractice case, and they’ll be able to give you a rough estimate of how long your claim will take. To work with us, give us a call today at Peter Angelos Law.