What Makes A Good Medical Malpractice Case In Phoenix

What Makes A Good Medical Malpractice Case In Arizona

A Short List To Determine Whether You Have A Case – Ask Yourself the Following Questions:

• Have I or a member or a member of my family suffered a severe or permanent injury while under the care of a doctor, hospital or other health care provider?
• If so, was this injury more severe or devastating than would be expected from the original diagnosis or trauma?
• Has it come to my attention, perhaps through another doctor or health care provider that the treatment received was inappropriate, or that the outcome was unusual?
• Do I have strong doubts about the competency of a doctor or other medical provider and the propriety of the care received?
• Have I been kept in the dark about a medical situation?
• Has my insurance company questioned the appropriateness of specific procedures, tests or diagnoses?
• Do I have concerns that a medical device may have seriously affected my health?
• Were you injured because of improperly functioning medical equipment?
• Did your doctor fail to send you to a specialist when required?
• Were you injured by a prescription drug or the failure of your doctor to properly prescribe and administer your medications?
• Are there other compelling reasons which cause me to believe that medical malpractice is present? 

In a more comprehensive evaluation of whether a prospective client has a good medical malpractice case in Arizona, a good medical malpractice attorney applies the following criteria —

10 Ways To Determine if you have a Medical Malpractice Case:

(1) The attorney looks first at the credibility and character of the injured person who is the claimant or is the representative of a decedent if wrongful death is involved.

(2) The attorney looks at the nature and extent of the injuries and damages which have occurred from the claimed malpractice. These injuries and damages in most cases must be substantial and permanent.  In most instances even legitimate, but small damage medical malpractice claims may not be economically feasible to pursue.  Court costs, expert witness fees and attorney’s fees all add up and unless a jury will consider awarding a significant amount, the pursuit will not be justified.

(3) The attorney looks for what is sometimes called the “WOW factor”. This means if a jury were to consider the best evidence from the plaintiff in the malpractice case, would they be totally impressed with the negligence and damages (Would they say “WOW, that doctor really made a serious mistake and badly injured that trusting patient.  Would they say I wouldn’t want that to happen to me or my family and there are really no acceptable reasons to excuse that error or those errors?  In the alternative, are there reasonable explanations which the defense may assert to justify the medical providers’ conduct or misconduct?  Both these points are important because it is generally expected that if the jury is confronted with what they believe is a ‘close call’, they will give the benefit of the doubt to the medical provider.

(4) The attorney looks for cases where experts will not be too difficult to locate and will not charge excessive or unreasonable fees. There are some specialties in medicine that are so expensive to line up expert witnesses for, they render the claim economically impractical and cost prohibitive from the start.

(5) The attorney recognizes that there are certain types of malpractice cases in which it is more difficult to get significant verdicts. For example, plastic surgery cases are often not that desirable because even with a bad result, there is often further surgical repair which may be offered to cure the problems from the first surgery.  Other types of cases which are more challenging in terms of getting good results are cases involving the feet (podiatry and orthopedic foot surgery), bowel or urological errors and cases involving dental malpractice.  This does not mean there are not successes in these areas, but they are more challenging.

(6) The attorney looks for cases where there is significant ongoing permanent injury or death on the part of the malpractice victim. These can be cases where the patient suffered permanent brain damage, paralysis, loss of a limb, loss of vision or some other devastating loss, particularly at a young age.  This does not mean he or she is not sympathetic to smaller losses, but the potential recovery must be large enough for both the injured party and the attorney in order to justify the pursuit.

(7) The attorney looks for cases where the claimant has suffered and will suffer significant wage loss or loss of future earning capacity as a result of the permanent impairment which he or she sustained from the malpractice.

(8) The attorney looks for cases where the malpractice victim did not have a complicated prior medical history, particularly with significant pre-existing conditions which will make it difficult to distinguish the injuries from the malpractice versus conditions pre-dating the malpractice.

(9) The attorney looks for other indicators, such as has another doctor or health care provider raised questions regarding the quality of treatment or indicated the outcome is unusual, has the patient been kept in the dark about his or her medical situation, has his or her insurance company questioned the appropriateness of specific procedures, tests or diagnoses, was there an injury from improperly functioning medical equipment, did the doctor fail to refer the patient to a specialist or was there a failure to properly prescribe or administer medications?

(10) The attorney looks for a client or clients who will be cooperative and good to work with and will cooperate and participate with the proper prosecution of the malpractice claim. Malpractice lawsuits, even in their most basic forms, are complicated, hard-fought and demanding proceedings.

Contact Us For More Information

If your answers to these questions lead you to believe you are the victim of malpractice and have suffered significant injuries and damages as a result thereof, please contact the Law Offices of William D. Black. If we agree, we will review your medical records. Our telephone number is 602-265-2600, 844-224-0054 or contact us online. A qualified representative from the firm will then determine whether there is a basis for a medical malpractice claim and, if so, whether it is economically feasible for you to pursue your claim.