Why Attorneys Decline Medical Malpractice Cases

Unfortunately, sometimes we review potential claims and are unable to take on the medical malpractice cases. Learn more about these circumstances.

At The Law Offices of Cardaro & Peek, we are committed to helping people and their families secure compensation for medical malpractice claims. Unfortunately, sometimes we review a potential claim and are unable to take on the malpractice case. As a law firm that specializes in medical claims , we realize those that seek our help are potentially undergoing physical, emotional, and financial difficulties following their suspicions that they have fallen victim to medical malpractice. As difficult as it can be not to offer our assistance during this time, there are a few common reasons a firm will decline to take on malpractice cases.

Multiple limitations dictate who can bring a medical malpractice case (i.e., on behalf of a family member) and when the case must be brought. Reviewing and preparing a potential case takes a lot of time. Before you can formally file an action, your lawyers need to obtain all the relevant medical records to examine the claim, get experts to review the information to confirm their theory of causation. If you first meet with lawyers at a time close to when the statute of limitations expires, firms may not have sufficient time to obtain necessary medical documents and evaluate your claim.

Additionally, your claim may present significant difficulties in proving grounds for a medical malpractice case. Establishing causation is often the most difficult part of a medical malpractice case. In all medical malpractice cases, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove not just that  medical malpractice occurred, but that it actually caused the injury. 

For example, in the case of a delayed cancer diagnosis, the doctor did not “cause” the cancer. To prove causation in such a case, the patient must show that the patient’s prognosis, treatment or ultimate outcome are worse because of the delay. Almost all cancers require intense, long term medical treatment and also carry a significant mortality rate even if they’re properly treated from Day 1. As such, it is often difficult to establish that a patient would not have suffered the same result even if the cancer was diagnosed earlier. 

Put another way, if you have stage IV cancer in October, but your doctor misses it and diagnosis is delayed until November, that is almost certainly a breach of the standard of care. But, because stage IV cancer is so severe, the 1 month delay likely did not change the ultimate outcome, and thus you cannot prove causation.

Cardaro & Peek, like many other firms, only get paid when we win or settle your malpractice case. Our fees are contingent on a percentage of what our clients recover from verdicts or settlements, along with the amount to reimburse the cost of bringing the case in the first place (retrieving medical documents, getting medical experts to review, etc.). Coupled with the fact that taking on each case is a significant time commitment, it’s simply not cost-effective for a firm to take on every claim or case brought to them, especially if the damages are low. 

Ultimately, some patients’ claims are simply not legitimate reasons to support a medical malpractice case. This can be difficult to hear, and no attorney likes to have this conversation.  But, it’s an unfortunate reality of medicine that even when the doctors do everything right, the patient suffers a tragic outcome. The result could be one of the accepted risks of the treatment or procedure, or the patient’s own actions may have played a role in their injuries.

Filing a lawsuit against a health care provider is a serious undertaking and one that almost always takes a serious emotional toll on the health care provider.  To uphold the sanctity of  the law and the excellent reputation of Cardaro & Peek, we cannot pursue a case where its merit appears to be a “close call.” That is not to say that we do not take on challenging cases, but we must believe in the merits of the case in order to take on the risks associated with medical malpractice.

As noted above, Cardaro & Peek takes responsibility for advancing the expenses on behalf of our clients, and investigating a case is time-consuming and expensive. If we go forward with the case, proceeding with the claim is also a time-consuming and expensive job. As such, we can only take cases that we believe are strong. 

Do you believe that you or your loved one has suffered as a result of medical malpractice or medical neglect? You need to talk to an experienced team of local lawyers today.

The lawyers at Cardaro & Peek, LLC have the experience and resources necessary to investigate and litigate all types of medical claims throughout Maryland and Washington D.C. Cardaro & Peek, LLC has medical personnel on staff and has access to nationally recognized, board-certified physicians and other experts, to assist in the investigation, analysis, and prosecution of all types of medical malpractice claims. If you or a loved one have experienced malpractice, give us a call at 410-752-6166. Please visit our website www.cardarolaw.com and follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and LinkedIn for more information.

The post Why Attorneys Decline Medical Malpractice Cases appeared first on .