Posted on 07/26/2005 6:38:49 PM PDT by mfreddy
Every medical procedure has an associated risk. Unless the doctor(s) committed gross negligence such as dropping the kid on the floor, you either accept those risks or 'do-it-yourself'!
My direct and 'brutal' reply was based on the image the questioner projected of himself as a greedy opportunist trolling a public forum for rates from ambulance chasing attorneys. No sympathy here!
How do you think that evidence is gotten?
In a case like this, there is no question of there being injury to mfreddy's son. It's a question of liability.
It's safe to assume that the attorney reviewing the case has obtained all of the medical records to establish if there is liabiilty on the part of the hospital or doctors or other staff. Just because there is damage doesn't establish liabiilty.
A good lawyer won't sue without having established from the records that there is liability. That is not to say that there aren't lawyers who, not finding liability, will sue anyway and try to shake down the hospital and/or doctors.
The idea of medical expert witnesses is to have someone credentialed look at the records and come up with an opinion of what happened and to see if the hospital and doctors performed within the professional 'standards of care.' Doctors do screw up frequently enough, but they're also not really gods, and sometimes "stuff" happens. The medical expert witness in a law suit is not typically a treating physician who's rendered a second opinion.
And, I grant, there are plenty of doctors who will qualify as "expert witnesses" and say absolutely anything the paying lawyer wants him or her to say. That doctor would be countered by an equally credentialed expert from the other side. Then, if it goes to court, it's for a jury to decide.
Maybe I work for the one in a million lawyer, but he's turned down cases that at first blush appeared to be potentially large medical malpractice cases. After having an independent medical consultant review every last page of the medical records, repeatedly if need be, he's had to tell the grieving parents that they didn't have a cause of action. (the 'stuff happens' syndrome). There are doctors and lawyers who DO care about the truth and are not in it exclusively for the fees or for winning at all costs.
You're very emotional, aren't you?
Hysterical even.
Have you ever before met such a sanctimonious twit? LOL
I heard violins too.
Nearly everything one does has a risk attached. That doesn't forgive not handling a firearm properly or skydiving without a chute.
Doctors screw up and it is not usually they that are hurt or die. It is the patient that trusts them to not leave a sponge in their body during surgery.
Either one has a case or one doesn't. It appears that you have been sued and lost. Did it dawn on you that maybe you did screw up?
The lawyer ultimately can't do squat without your continued permission. You can put the halt on it, or ask any questions you jolly well please any time during the process and if you don't get answers that make sense you can call a stop to any aspect of it that you please. I did this myself once, when a lawyer suggested in a car accident case that I make a claim for back injuries that I knew I already had and did not reappear till over a year after the accident. I said nix, I didn't see a connection myself, and that I was not going to sign my John Hancock to that -- but otherwise let the proceeding go forward. (There were other injuries and permanent damage that WERE tied to the accident.)
Just make sure to ask enough questions to understand what's going on, and if something that looks obviously wrong seems to be taking place, you can tell the lawyers to stop. It's your conscience and your right.
I would think that first you have to have a reason to gather the evidence, a reason to believe there was willful neglect or malpractice.
The key questions that need to be answered immediately are, what symptom leads you to believe there is something to investigate? Has any free internet research been conducted that suggests malpractice? Has another doctor been consulted?
There may in fact been some serious malpractice, but the question, as presented, showed no curiosity about what happened. I will give the benefit of the doubt to someone who is in the middle of a personal tragedy and may not express himself to his best advantage.
"willful neglect or malpractice"
The standard of proof for negligence is not "wilfull"
No one commits willful negligence. That is called either recklesness or intentional, which could be a crime.
Negligence often involves deviating from an accepted standard of care by similar professionals in the same circumstance.
Believe it or not, med mal cases are very hard to prove.
Don't have to prove anything. Just convince a jury someone is entitled to something
Nice to see that some good came out of this thread. Good luck in your Family Practice.
I believe it. Which is why I was curious why a lawyer was going to be consulted prior to a second or third medical opinion.
If I missed something, I apologise. I have tried to avoid rudeness, but some questions have to be asked.
But you don't have to prove it, just get 12 idiots on a jury (and claim to channel the spirit of a dead child or two).
For what it's worth, I think that is an excellent suggestion. If you are just paying the contract lawyer for his/her time without regard to the advice, you can feel more confident that the advice isn't influenced by potential payment, since the hours spent are the same regardless of the advice rendered. The only other caveat I'd say is don't hesitate to see more than one attorney. While no doubt it will be very difficult for you to go over the story more than once, you probably will learn something from each and after seeing more than one attorney, will have a much better basis from which to select counsel.
I'm going to disappoint you in that I haven't been sued. On the contrary, during my lifetime I've had many opportunities to sue but found it repugnant to take advantage of someone's unintentional misfortune. I don't have trouble sleeping nights and I can hold my head high knowing I've done what is decent.
Actually, those were not violins you were hearing, it was an ambulance siren. You better get running before another one of your selfless lawyers beats you to that cash cow!
You have proved thru your personal attacks and poorly reasoned arguments an old legal saying : If you have the facts, argue the facts. If you have the law, argue the law. If you have neither, bang the table. You two attorneys have done a wonderful job of banging the table. No facts, no law, just noise.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.