What Is the First Step in Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim?
Pursuing a medical malpractice claim in Rhode Island is a complex process requiring legal knowledge and medical expertise. As a patient who suffered at the hands of a medical professional or a family member of an injured loved one, you can—and should—rely on experienced professionals to help you recover the financial compensation you deserve.
Most people do not understand the legal process or what steps to take first when pursuing a medical malpractice claim. This is where the experienced lawyers at Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell come in. With close to 50 years of experience helping victims of medical malpractice obtain fair and full compensation, we know how to investigate claims of negligence, build strong cases, and fight for the justice you deserve.
Contact Us for a FREE and Confidential Consultation
To schedule a FREE consultation with one of the medical malpractice attorneys at Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, call us at 401-273-8330 today. Located in Providence, our firm fights for the rights of people injured by healthcare professionals throughout Rhode Island and nearby areas of Massachusetts.
The First Step in Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim is Contacting a Qualified Lawyer
If you have questions about pursuing a medical malpractice claim, the first step is to schedule a FREE case review with a qualified medical negligence lawyer. Your lawyer will work to protect you from the often predatory tactics used by insurance companies to silence medical malpractice victims while also making sure your claim is prepared and pursued appropriately.
Your medical malpractice lawyer will:
- Conduct a preliminary assessment of your legal rights based on the information you have available.
- Engage medical experts to evaluate your claim in light of the prevailing standard of care.
- Work with experts to establish your claim for medical malpractice.
- Calculate the current and future financial costs of your doctor’s mistake.
- Calculate compensation for the current and future non-financial losses you will endure.
- File your medical malpractice claim and deal with your doctor’s insurance company.
Doctors and hospitals are well-protected. Individually and institutionally, these interests have powerful legal teams and insurance companies on their side, all fighting to make sure your claim is unsuccessful. Having a dedicated attorney who understands how to fight back and win is essential for a successful claim.
At Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, our decades of success in these cases come from our refusal to back down and our absolute commitment to helping victims of medical malpractice seek justice.
If you need help, reach out for a complimentary case review to learn more.
Your Role in Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim
While you don’t need to do anything before you meet with an attorney, there are some ways you can prepare to get the most out of your free case review. Once you schedule your initial consultation, it can help to:
1. Gather Your Records
Your medical records will be key evidence in support of your medical malpractice claim. If you have any of these records in your possession (or if you can access them online), it is a good idea to place them in a single file. Just be sure to back that file up.
Records that can be useful include:
- Medical records and imaging
- Prescription lists and pharmacy printouts
- Hospital bills, EOBs, and out-of-pocket receipts
- Emails or patient-portal messages
- Photos of surgical sites, medications, or equipment involved
A symptom diary with dates, pain levels, and daily limitations can also be useful. While this won’t detail economic losses, it can assist in calculating non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Our Providence medical malpractice lawyers take time to understand the financial, physical, and emotional costs of your injury. Our goal is to ensure you are awarded compensation that is in line with your expenses, experience, and future needs.
2. Be Prepared to Discuss Your Situation
It’s helpful to prepare to discuss your situation before your free case review. If you need to look up any dates or other details, doing so before your initial consultation can help streamline the process of pursuing your medical malpractice claim.
Types of information you may want to discuss include:
- The date (or dates) on which you visited your medical provider.
- The diagnosis you received (if any).
- The treatment recommendations your doctor provided.
- When and why you started to suspect medical malpractice.
- Information about any communications you have had with your provider about your concerns.
By preparing to discuss your situation before meeting with a medical malpractice attorney, you help ensure your lawyer has sufficient information to move forward.
We understand how difficult it can be to remember every detail of your experience. After all, you weren’t expecting to be injured through medical malpractice, and you may not have been paying attention to every little thing. Much of the information we need can be obtained from your records, but your memory of events gives us a more complete picture of what’s been done to you. Writing things down as you work to remember them can help to ensure nothing is overlooked.
3. Consider the Questions You Want to Ask Your Attorney
Along with preparing what you want to discuss, it can also be helpful to prepare a list of questions you want to ask your attorney. These could be questions about your legal rights, the process of pursuing a medical malpractice claim, or the attorney’s experience representing patients and their families.
Questions to ask a medical malpractice lawyer:
- How long do I have to file a medical malpractice claim?
- What kinds of experts might be used for my case?
- What types of damages am I entitled to pursue?
- What is the medical malpractice claims process?
- How long do medical malpractice claims take to resolve?
- Will I work directly with you, or will I be assigned to a paralegal?
- What is your track record with medical malpractice cases?
- Do most of your cases settle or go to trial?
- Can you provide me with reviews and testimony from previous clients?
It’s also a good idea to ask about fee structures. Nearly all medical malpractice lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means that they only get paid after they have won your case. However, these fee structures can vary widely, with some firms charging interest or adding costs that you may not be fully aware of.
Before you agree to work with a specific firm, make sure you understand their fee structure to ensure you are not unpleasantly surprised at the end of your case.
Is Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim Worth the Effort?
When you sustain an injury from a preventable medical mistake, physician oversight, or another type of medical negligence, pursuing a medical malpractice claim is absolutely worth it. Filing a suit helps you recover, in every way, what your healthcare provider’s negligence has taken away from you, and helps ensure you have the resources you need to move forward and heal.
Damages you may be entitled to seek include:
- Full Medical Costs. This includes everything from ER bills, additional procedures, therapy, and any remaining medical costs, past, present, and future.
- Lost Income and Earning Capacity. This includes paychecks you’ve lost during recovery, along with those you may lose in the future due to new limitations.
- Pain, Suffering, and Loss of Enjoyment. This includes physical and emotional pain, forced changes to your lifestyle, and interference with your future plans.
Some of these damages can be calculated from existing bills and projected needs. Some have no fixed cost, instead relying on the facts of your case to determine their worth.
When you are pursuing a medical malpractice claim with us, we take time to accurately calculate all of your damages, so we can fight for every penny you are owed.
Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim? Choose Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell
Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell has been pursuing medical malpractice claims against negligent providers and their institutions for nearly five decades. During that time, we’ve secured numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts for individuals and families dealing with issues including birth injury, misdiagnosis, emergency room negligence, surgical error, and more. Working with specialists from various medical fields, we work to uncover all signs of negligence and hold each party accountable as we seek the full compensation your injury demands.
While many medical malpractice claims settle before they head to trial, our experienced attorneys prepare every case for the possibility of a courtroom battle. Distinguished as one of the Best Law Firms in America, we provide our clients with individualized attention and customized representation. You matter. Your experiences matter. What happened to you matters. We’re here to make sure your story is heard, your rights are protected, and those responsible for your injury are held to account.
Take the First Step in Pursuing Your Medical Malpractice Claim: Contact Us for FREE
To learn more about pursuing a medical malpractice claim with Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, contact us online to schedule your FREE case review today. Based in Providence, we help people injured through malpractice throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
