Do I need to hire a lawyer for my medical malpractice case?

 

A: Jeffrey Meldon Tip:    If you have a serious injury that has resulted from medical malpractice, do not go it alone.  Hiring an experienced Florida medical malpractice attorney ASAP is your best way to get justice for the wrong medical care that caused injury or death, and to help you pay for your past, present and future expenses.

Occasionally a hospital will offer an individual a quick settlement when there is a fairly obvious mistake that caused and injury.  They may even tell the patient to not get a lawyer because they will only take the money away from them.  If that happens to you, ask yourself, “why they are recommending you do not hire an attorney?”. 
 
Here are a few things to consider:

  1. The hospital is very experienced in analyzing and handling malpractice claims and settlement negotiations.  Their representative knows what your claim is really worth, but you do not.  It is their job to know these things; it probably is not your job.   So you are on unequal grounds.
  2. The responsibility of the hospital’s claims adjuster is to not pay fair value, but to pay the least amount they can get away with.
  3. As in most medical malpractice cases in Florida, there are complicated liens against your settlement by entities like Medicare, HMO’s, or any other private health insurance companies that may have paid for your medical care, and any settlement needs to take these into consideration.
  4. Failure to pay back these liens can be a crime.
  5. The doctor or hospital will hire a team of top notch lawyers who specialize in defending medical malpractice claims and know all possible technicalities, and other strategies that can get your case thrown out.