MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

We Overcome the Many Challenges of Medical Malpractice Cases

To say that there are many daunting challenges in the filing and prosecution of a medical malpractice case would be an understatement. To begin with, unlike almost any other area of law, this type of case is one which only rarely settles until the commencement of trial. Most lawyers working in this area of law do not wish to tell their Clients of this fact from the outset since (especially in the Cook County Court system) it often takes years of work to undergo what is called “discovery” and thereafter prepare a case for trial. Even when the medical malpractice seems evidently clear from the outset, Clients must be willing and prepared to be patient for (generally) years before seeing validation of their contention that a medical provider committed malpractice. We Overcome this first challenge by being totally transparent with you; explaining the many necessary Court procedures, so you understand; are prepared to assist and are committed to being patient through this lengthy process and the many twists and turns of your case.

During this long period of time, the attorneys working the case for you will not be receiving any payment for their many hours of work, but instead, will be advancing many thousands of dollars necessary to: (a) file the case; (b) get service on all the medical providers; (c) pay doctors for medical reports; (d) pay doctors to get their depositions taken; (e) pay for Court Reporters; (f) etc., etc. The law firm accepting a medical malpractice case must be willing to risk significant time and money (that they may never get back!) to initiate and prosecute each medical malpractice case it accepts, because there is always the possibility that the jury can find the defendant doctors “not guilty” at the conclusion of any trial, because the doctor’s insurance company has a far greater pool of doctors to draw from than any law firm does; and they can get far more doctors to testify on behalf of the doctor being sued than any firm can get doctors to testify against the doctor(s) who allegedly committed medical malpractice while treating you.

One of our greatest challenges in a medical malpractice case is finding a doctor who is willing to testify AGAINST the doctor who treated you. In order to file your case, your attorney has to first pay (on average, approximately $3,500, often significantly more if a specialist is needed) for a Report which supports the filing of your medical malpractice case. There are obstacles to getting such a Report. The first challenge (finding a reputable doctor willing to testify on your behalf) is one of the greatest challenges in your case and, in many lawyers’ opinions, there appears to be a “conspiracy of silence" among doctors to predisposing them to avoid getting involved in supporting litigation against “one of their own”. One reason for this is that for the most part, doctors enjoy a collegial relationship and often network with many other doctors. Another reason is that a great majority of doctors in Illinois are insured by an insurance company called “ISMIE”. ISMIE is considered by many to be affiliated with a very strong political/doctors’ lobby in Springfield and is very conservative in its approach to defense of medical malpractice claims. Since a majority of Illinois doctors are insured by ISMIE and annual costs of malpractice insurance are quite steep, it is highly probable many doctors will likely refuse to take part in supporting a patient’s medical malpractice claim against another doctor because it could end up with insurance premiums increasing if ISMIE’s costs to defend cases increases disproportionately in any given year from prior years.

Because of the foregoing, it is a very daunting challenge to find qualified doctors, willing to put into writing that another doctor committed malpractice. As a result, we often have to search throughout all the United States for a medical expert having the proper qualifications and experience in the specific field of medicine at the core of your medical malpractice claim. In this manner, we overcome this difficult challenge!

There are many other challenges involved in the handling of your medical malpractice case, but since it would take a book to give a full account of them all, suffice it to say that once we accept the responsibility of handling your medical malpractice case, we commit ourselves to OVERCOMING ALL CHALLENGES we meet in the process of obtaining a settlement or trial verdict to compensate you for the serious injuries sustained by you as a result of the malpractice. McDermott & McDermott, Ltd. has thirty-eight (38) years’ experience; this legal field, medical malpractice one of our concentrations.

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