Personal Injury Attorney For A Class Action Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

There is strength in numbers, which is why if you’ve been harmed in a malpractice case, you may want to consider a class action lawsuit. If there seems to be enough interest and strong connections between you and several other patients of the same doctor or hospital, consider bringing up the option to your personal injury attorney.

Your Case

Before even considering filing a class action lawsuit, you have to have an individual case yourself. First gather evidence of your pain and suffering, such as photos of any physical harm, medical records, bills, documents, and consultations with other doctors. During this period, you will likely use the Internet as a tool to gather information about the case, your doctor, and other important facts. While doing so, it is very common for people to uncover other victims or people suffering from similar problems who are interested in seeking a settlement. While you still want to be cautious about posting anything in a public forum, you may wish to reach out to other patients from the same doctor. Comparing notes with them can help reveal more insight into your own case.

Bring your research to a personal injury attorney. During this process, your personal injury attorney may decide to contact the patients you’ve reached. It may be as little as one other, or can be several. Your personal injury attorney may even do further research to gather more clients in order to strengthen the case or to gather additional evidence. The process can take a while, due to conflicting schedule, and difficulties making initial contacts, so you’ll need more patience than if you were going through the case alone.

Establishing a Class Action Lawsuit

In order to file a class action lawsuit, you’ll need to meet a few standards. The first thing is that you must have enough people involved, which will vary depending on the exact specifics of the case and your state. If there are enough people participating (remember that although someone may have a complaint against a doctor, they may not wish to be involved in the legal battle) all defendants will have to have commonalty. Each case doesn’t have to be identical, but the personal injury attorney will have to find a common thread that connects to the same error in judgment or practice by the doctor. The legal professional will also have to use the same argument to prove each case that is being presented. In addition to having total cohesion of details, the lawyer must defend all participants with equality. No one claim or client shall carry more weight than another.

Benefits and Disadvantages

The benefits to filing a class action malpractice lawsuit rather than an individual case are far-reaching. A very significant case can permanently change medical procedures for the better, can help those without means to pursue a case receive justice, and can bring attention to a deserving cause. The biggest disadvantage; however, is that individuals may not benefit as much as if they chose to prosecute individually.