If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence or because of substandard medical care you may be eligible for compensation by way of a personal injury medical malpractice claim. There are a number of elements that need to be proven in order to establish that a claimant has a valid medical malpractice claim. However, there are a number of procedural and practical complaints that are associated with medical malpractice cases. This article will discuss the length of time associated with successfully finding a medical malpractice claim up to the point of settlement or jury award.

In order for an individual to make a successful medical malpractice claim, it basically means they must show the following elements:

1.That the doctor and possibly the hospital provided substandard medical care
2.The extent of the resulting injuries, lost income, pain and suffering and other losses were incurred

Most personal injury claims can be resolved at any point between the filing of the claim and the moment a judge or jury awards a verdict, at the conclusion of a trial; however, when it comes to resolving a medical malpractice claim it basically takes longer as a result of the following factors:

Settlement before a lawsuit is filed - It should be noted that many medical malpractice claims can be resolved without ever filing a lawsuit. This is referred to as ‘early settlement’, whereby all parties fundamentally agree about what happened with regards to what the health care provider did wrong and the resulting harm with regards to the extent and seriousness of the patient’s injuries. In most cases, when there is early settlement, it means that the patient’s injuries are either minor or at least not susceptible to worsening over time and the negligent doctor is covered by insurance at the time of the malpractice. A Crowson Law Group attorney stated that, “it is important to note that this kind of ‘clear liability’ is relatively uncommon in medical malpractice cases and even when the fault is clear, it is necessary to have the support of proper evidence.” In fact, a number of factors make early settlement of medical malpractice claims difficult including:

the medical and legal complexity of issues
the reluctance of medical malpractice insurance companies to settle
insured doctors often have the right to disapprove settlement because public reports of malpractice settlements affect their professional reputation

Discovery and motions - If there are no arbitration agreements that exist and a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, then it is necessary for the parties to follow specific timelines in order to gather information that lead to evidence at trial. Such information would include documents, sworn testimony of parties and witnesses, interrogatories and their answers. This is covered basically in the discovery phase. It is during this phase that parties get a clearer picture of how the injuries happened and the nature and extent of other losses caused by the malpractice. It must be noted that the discovery phase can last up to 12 months following the lawsuits filing. In addition, the defendant may look to dismiss the case by filing various motions to the court.

Arbitration and mediation - These are ‘alternative dispute resolution’ actions. The arbitration process works very much like court proceedings including a discovery phase, presenting of witnesses and evidence at the hearing. The entire arbitration process is designed to resolve the case within 18 months while mediation may last between a few hours and a couple of days.

Trial - It must be noted that parties to a trial can wait as long as 2 years or more before their medical malpractice case gets to trial.
For legal advice and representation contact Anchorage attorney handling medical malpractice cases.

About the company:
Crowson Law Group is a law firm of renowned professionals who focus on personal injury matters including medical malpractice. For a personal injury lawyer medical malpractice contact Crowson Law Group, today.