Do I Have a Case?
If you believe that you or one of your loved ones has been a victim of medical malpractice, catastrophic injury, or wrongful death — you may have the basis for a medical malpractice suit. Please call us for a free initial consultation.
To help determine whether or not there is a case, it may be necessary for our medical malpractice lawyers to obtain and review copies of the injured individual's medical records.
A review of what is in the records — and sometimes more importantly what is not in the records – helps to determine whether there may be a valid medical malpractice case. Our office uses a multistep process to investigate each medical malpractice case. First, one of our medical malpractice attorneys meets with the client to get a detailed history. Then the client's medical records are obtained, and our firm's in-house nurse consultant organizes and reviews each client's medical records. An experienced medical malpractice attorney then reviews the client's medical records. If at that point, it appears that the case may have merit, we send the records to various medical experts who review the case and assess whether they are willing to testify that a health care provider was negligent and caused injury.
If our firm's in-house analysis and the review by our medical experts reveal that you have a case, we will aggressively pursue the case for you to conclusion, either by way of a pre-suit settlement or a verdict in court. If the case has to be filed in court, we will handle all aspects of the litigation for you so that you will not have to spend much time or emotional energy on the case.
Almost all health care providers carry at least $1 million liability insurance. Once a medical malpractice case is filed, the health care provider's insurance company hires a lawyer to represent the health care provider in the case. Between the time the case is filed and the time of trial (usually about one year), we and the defendant health care provider's attorney prepare for trial. This process is called “discovery.” During the discovery phase of the case, each side learns about the other side's case, such as who the witnesses will be, what the witnesses will say, etc. This may be done through questions that must be answered under oath (called interrogatories), requests for the production of documents (such as medical records and bills), and depositions (interviews under oath).
Because we are experienced at determining which medical malpractice lawsuits are worthy of being pursued, and because of our experience and reputation with the insurance companies, the large majority of our cases settle prior to trial. Nevertheless, we prepare each and every case as if it will go to trial.
The extensive and exhaustive review and litigation process that we go through for each case obviously is time-consuming and expensive. Because most of our clients have been seriously injured and do not have the financial means to pay us to review or pursue a case, the malpractice law firm of Snyder Weltchek & Snyder always works on a contingency fee basis. That means that you do not pay us anything (not a fee nor expense) unless we are successful in obtaining compensation for you. This way, there is absolutely no financial risk to you in having us review or pursue a medical malpractice suit for you.
Contact us at our Washington DC or Maryland office for a free consultation to discuss your concerns
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