Medical malpractice attorneys bring claims against doctors, nurses, hospitals and clinics where treatment fell below the accepted standard of care and the patient was harmed as a result: surgical errors, misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis, medication and anaesthesia mistakes, birth injuries and failures to obtain informed consent.
These are the most expensive cases in civil litigation. They require expert physicians in the same specialty, extensive record review, and in many states a certificate of merit filed with the complaint. Firms are selective for that reason — a strong claim with modest damages is often not economically viable.
Before you hire
- Request your complete medical records now. They are yours by law, and cases are built on them.
- Ask how many malpractice cases the firm has taken to trial and whether they fund expert costs themselves.
- Deadlines are shorter than in ordinary injury cases in many states, and some run from the date the harm was discovered rather than the date of treatment. Several states also cap non-economic damages.
- A bad outcome is not automatically malpractice. The question is whether the care itself was substandard.
Nursing home abuse and products liability cover related harms and have their own listings.