Collecting Evidence for Toledo Medical Malpractice Litigation

Collecting evidence for Toledo medical malpractice litigation can be an arduous process because of all the information that must be sifted through to determine a case’s validity. These cases often call for the opinion of an external medical professional to show a doctor’s negligence and how their actions contributed to someone’s injuries.

For this reason, retaining an experienced injury attorney who specialized in this field can be a significant factor in a case’s outcome. Read on to learn more about what goes into collecting evidence for Toledo medical malpractice litigation, as well as the ways a dedicated lawyer could fight for your deserved compensation today.

Initiating a Claim

The initial process of collecting evidence for Toledo medical malpractice litigation would include a detailed meeting with the plaintiff in which the attorney would go over their entire medical history, including any sort of medical issues, doctors, and surgeries before the potential medical malpractice case. Then, the attorney would thoroughly investigate the entire history of the treatment with the doctor and the specific medical issue that is under investigation for potential medical malpractice. The attorney would have the patient sign medical authorizations and would obtain certified copies of all their medical records.

Establishing Negligence

To prove the doctor’s negligence, a skilled injury lawyer would have a legal assistant or a nurse paralegal review all the medical records and specifically point out the substantial issues directly related or relevant to the potential medical malpractice claim. Specifically, they would look for what the standard of care is for a similar board-certified physician for the medical issue or medical procedure in question, and then seek situations where the doctor did not meet that required standard.

Departing from the Duty of Care

After finishing the process of collecting evidence for Toledo medical malpractice litigation and reviewing the potential departures from the standard of care, an attorney will obtain the services of a board-certified physician in that area of expertise. The lawyer will provide that doctor with the medical records and summary of their findings, and then they will have a discussion where the medical professional will give a candid opinion about the severity of the defendant’s departure from the standard of care.

Ultimately, attorneys are going to look at a situation in which not only was there a departure from the standard of care but, as a result, the patient had suffered some permanent injuries or death.

Expert Witnesses

After an attorney has an understanding of the plaintiff’s medical history and the medical standard of care as it relates to the case, they will determine how many expert witnesses they need. Many times, the plaintiff’s lawyer may need two or three medical witnesses. One expert witness may focus on the standard of care and another expert may focus on the likelihood that the individual would have had a better result with a different medical professional.

Case Timeframe

Collecting evidence for Toledo medical malpractice litigation is a long, detailed process. It may take attorneys 90 days to get all of the certified records, and another 30 days to analyze those records and communicate that information to the external medical professional. An additional factor includes trying to find the best possible medical professional to review the case. Because of these events, it may be a four-month process until the attorneys can evaluate the strength of the case. Then the lawyers have discussions with the patient to go over all of their findings and determine if this is a proper case to pursue as a medical malpractice claim.

If you require professional assistance in collecting evidence for Toledo medical malpractice litigation, retain the help of a skilled injury attorney today who can fight for your compensation.