If you were injured while under the care of a medical professional, you may feel as though you have no legal recourse. However, when a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or other medical professional is negligent in their care, an injured patient may have grounds to file a claim for compensation.
Instead of trying to pursue a claim alone, however, consider hiring a St. Petersburg medical malpractice attorney for help. A skilled lawyer could work tirelessly to explain your rights, gather pertinent evidence, and file a thorough claim to request recovery for your losses.
Why is Seeking Legal Counsel Important During Malpractice Cases?
Because Florida makes it extremely difficult—if not impossible—for a person to file a claim alone, hiring an attorney is often vital. Unlike other claims for compensation, in which victims of wrongful civil conduct might be able to file a lawsuit on their own, the medical malpractice rules are difficult, complicated, and hard to comply with.
One of the primary obstacles that non-attorneys face, for example, is that a person is required to get a sufficient set of medical records. If there is medical imagining, these lab tests should be shared with a similar practitioner to the defendant in question. Simply put, if an orthopedic surgeon was involved in malpractice, the claimant would need to get another orthopedic surgeon—or someone in a similar field—involved.
However, to sign off on an affidavit, which is a sworn document that the professional reviewed the records that the potential practitioner in question did, in fact, commit professional negligence—in this case, malpractice—is hard. In fact, it is unlikely that a local physical would be interested or willing to sign an affidavit against another local physical, for example. Because of this, a claimant would have to go outside of the immediate area, or even out of state, to find a professional willing to do so.
Furthermore, this process often costs a lot of money. Because victims of malpractice are often paying extensive medical bills due to their injuries, they are likely to not have sufficient funds to pay an expert for a review. Due to this and other elements of any malpractice case, any person seeking compensation for their injuries against a medical professional should consider contacting a competent law firm.
What to Expect From an Initial Consultation
During an initial consultation with their St. Petersburg attorney, someone should expect to be asked about what happened when the suffered an injury as a result of a doctor’s mistake or error. To prepare for a consultation, a person should bring any relevant medical records they have, so an attorney could begin to obtain all of the pertinent information about a case as fast as possible.
This way, a knowledgable legal professional could make a determination about whether the elements of a case are actionable and warrant a malpractice claim. Certain clients prefer to schedule an initial consultation over the phone. While some attorneys are willing to do this, it is often best to have a consultation done in person.
However, additional information often needs to be obtained. If so, an attorney would likely ask their client or offer to obtain that information. Once it has been comprehensively reviewed—either at the first meeting or, typically, within 30 days—the law firm would make a decision with the client about whether or not there is a case to be made.
The Benefits of Hiring a St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you were injured due to the negligent actions of a medical professional, you have legal options. If you have questions or would like to meet with a lawyer, please do not hesitate to call or contact Emerson Straw’s office or website to schedule a consultation.
An initial meeting may only take an hour, although more complicated or complex cases might take longer. No matter the circumstances, however, these consultations are always free of charge, and the attorneys will make the meeting as comfortable as possible. To begin building your claim, call a legal professional today.
