Where to begin with legal action?????
-
henriksmommy
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:07 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: My son was born on August 13th 2010. He weighed 10 pounds 2 ounces and just plain refused to come out!! As a result of this he was born with Erb's Palsy and had no movement from his right arm and it was rotated inward. When he was 4 months old they performed an EMG and myelogram. The results were wonderful and they put the nerve graft surgery off another month since we live 30 minutes from the Mayo Clinic. The very next morning Henrik lifted his right arm to hold his bottle!! We were completely blown away! He is now going in for a check up to see if he will need the shoulder surgery since his rotation is still a little off. We were so devastated when this first happened, since my husband is a golf pro and basketball coach, but now we just feel blessed to have our little peanut be so healthy. He'll have to work a lot harder than the other kids to keep up but we expect that from our kids anyway. He's a tough little bugger and he'll be just fine!
- Location: Hayfield, Minnesota
Where to begin with legal action?????
Has anyone received financial help with their medical bills from the institution responsible for the injury??
Re: Where to begin with legal action?????
You need to contact a Medical Malpractice attorney. And not one of the ones you see on tv, either.
Call your local bar association and ask for some references. Ask around, find out if anyone you know has had to sue a doctor. Start there.
You need to ask questions of the attorney when you meet him or her:
-have you ever had a bpi case before?
-did you win/lose/settle?
-what is the percentage win/loss of bpi cases in your jurisdiction (every area is different--some are awful for medmal cases and some are better. your attorney should know this)
-does the lawfirm have it's own medical staff? (each case has to evaluated by a medical professional before it can move forward)
-who will you be dealing with? the lawyer? a paralegal?
they should NEVER ask you for money or pressure you to sign paperwork. they should explain how they make money (a percentage of the amount won) and how they deal with their expenses (which later become yours). all of it will be in the contract you sign, but they should explain it.
just so you know going in.... only about 40% of bpi cases are won . people win, but it is a hard sell. you HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO DOES BPI TRY YOUR CASE. it is just like having a bpi doc vs a regular doc... the minutiae is too important.
good luck,
claudia
Call your local bar association and ask for some references. Ask around, find out if anyone you know has had to sue a doctor. Start there.
You need to ask questions of the attorney when you meet him or her:
-have you ever had a bpi case before?
-did you win/lose/settle?
-what is the percentage win/loss of bpi cases in your jurisdiction (every area is different--some are awful for medmal cases and some are better. your attorney should know this)
-does the lawfirm have it's own medical staff? (each case has to evaluated by a medical professional before it can move forward)
-who will you be dealing with? the lawyer? a paralegal?
they should NEVER ask you for money or pressure you to sign paperwork. they should explain how they make money (a percentage of the amount won) and how they deal with their expenses (which later become yours). all of it will be in the contract you sign, but they should explain it.
just so you know going in.... only about 40% of bpi cases are won . people win, but it is a hard sell. you HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO DOES BPI TRY YOUR CASE. it is just like having a bpi doc vs a regular doc... the minutiae is too important.
good luck,
claudia
-
Ken. Levine
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:12 pm
Re: Where to begin with legal action?????
Henriksmommy,
Claudia has given you excellent advice, It is very important that the lawyer have experience with brachial plexus cases. The medicine in this area changes on a regular basis. In order for the case to be able to win the lawyer must have a full and complete knowledge of the medicine and experience dealing with the defenses used by the doctors.
If you contact me directly I would be pleased to review the case or help you find an experienced lawyer in your area.
Ken Levine
617-566-2700
Klevine@Klevinelaw.com
www.Klevinelaw.com
Claudia has given you excellent advice, It is very important that the lawyer have experience with brachial plexus cases. The medicine in this area changes on a regular basis. In order for the case to be able to win the lawyer must have a full and complete knowledge of the medicine and experience dealing with the defenses used by the doctors.
If you contact me directly I would be pleased to review the case or help you find an experienced lawyer in your area.
Ken Levine
617-566-2700
Klevine@Klevinelaw.com
www.Klevinelaw.com