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Duties of a Medical Malpractice Attorney:
Have you or a loved one become injured either in an accident or by way of the willful negligence of others? At times incidents can be dealt with by personal insurance or through a small claims case. If it is very minor it’s probably a good idea to walk it off and get on with your life because it may cause you more headache than it is worth .
But sometimes you need someone to get your back. Someone that will really gun for your cause. Someone who will really fight for your side. Sometimes you really must have a Santa Cruz County personal injury attorney that will fight for your rights, both in regards to money and personally, so you can get back as close as possible to your life prior to when the incident occurred.
Being injured by a crime, accident, or willful negligence is not ever a good time. It’s a very trying time, and seeing things objectively is nearly impossible. However, staying cool and collected can make the difference between receiving the appropriate compensation that you deserve or quitting the case with your tail between your legs.
An experienced Santa Cruz County personal injury professional can act as a buffer between you and the challenging situation, making it easier to work with the ins and outs of our intense legal system. If you are like most people, you may not even realize the full breadth of the situation until sitting down with a legal professional. An attorney can help you realize all of this objectively, determine the potential of a claim and if they can be of service, and help you move ahead with any potential claim or case.
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What is a Santa Cruz County Medical Malpractice Attorney?
To start, personal injury lawyers (PILs) fall within the bigger spectrum of civil lawyers, which are also known as litigation lawyers. Civil lawyers are generally retained to recover cash or other assets from a person or legal entity on behalf of another person or legal entity.
This means that when someone brings a civil action suit against another person, a civil lawyer is usually hired to begin the lawsuit and a different civil lawyer is hired by the person or entity being accused to defend it. In the case of bodily injury, the injured party may hire a personal injury lawyer when said claim involves reimbursement or payment of expenses caused by the injury such as health costs, mental health issues arising from the injury, and more.
After the attorney has been hired, they will gather everything for the case that they are legally able to get. They will speak with all witnesses that can be found, gather any and all documents related to your claim, and use all possible resources to verify all of their is accurate.
Then they will first attempt to negotiate a settlement in the case. If that negotiation fails, the lawyer will consider filing a lawsuit in response. But what cases could a personal injury lawyer accept?
A PIL usually tackles a large number of cases that can be divided into two primary fields. The first field includes negligence and accident cases such as medical malpractice, legal malpractice, auto accidents, child negligence, and wrongful death cases. In most of these cases, someone is injured (or worse) due to the carelessness or incompetence of someone else.
The second primary study of a PIL is the purposefully perpetrated injustice case. A purposeful tort happens when one person intentionally hurts another person. This includes violent crime, assault and battery cases, slander, theft, and other similar situations. As you can see the potential causes for a personal injury case is nearly endless.
In addition, and completely different from nearly all other fields of the legal world, personal injury lawyers usually work on a contingency fee basis. This means that they are not paid unless the person or entity that they are representing has won the case. It means that there is no upfront payment, for consultation or any other service. Their fee is based only upon a percentage of the financial compensation received by their client.
What Could Happen in a Personal Injury Case?
Of course, sometimes even the final steps of the process aren’t so simple. The injured party can send back a counteroffer if they feel they are not getting in their eyes a fair compensation. It is when these offers do not get agreed upon or an offer is just flat-out refused that a case could potentially end up in front of a judge.
But it is rare for a personal injury case to get to the trial phase. And this is for many reasons:
First, a settlement initiates a situation where the defendant can control risks and avoid unnecessary legal fees. If the party that is liable is completely aware that they are at fault for the incident that led to the claim, they probably do not want the case to get in front of a sympathetic jury that could provide much larger damages.
Secondly, a settlement can help keep the case out of the news and the public eye. This is especially important for high profile people or large high profile companies. A lengthy trial brings big publicity. And even a small trial can provoke unwanted attention. A settlement allows everyone involved to negotiate terms, including those terms regarding privacy.
Thirdly, a settlement can hasten the process. Extended court cases can take an eternity, lasting for many months or longer. In addition, if there are any appeals, the outcome can remain in the system for even longer. The plaintiff may want financial compensation as soon as possible rather than having to wait for additional weeks, months, or even years down the road while the process drags on for what seems like forever. Or they may just not want to complete the ridiculously long process of putting on a case, presenting evidence, and doing anything else that is necessary to beat the claim.
And lastly, settlement allows the plaintiff a guaranteed win. A trial is more of a ‘the higher the risk the more the reward’ type of situation, which is not always in the best interest of either party. The accusing party may in many cases rather settle for a little less in a guaranteed win. This, versus holding out for maximum dollar amount but also risking either losing the claim completely or having a judge or jury give a much lesser amount due to unknown circumstances pretrial.
What are the PIL Tasks?
First they will take care of gathering evidence and finding the responsible party, whether it be an insurance company, individual, or other legal entity.
Once the legal professional has built a case, they draft and send an official letter of demand to the opposing party. This letter includes a detail of what occurred, of injuries incurred, and the amount of financial compensation required.
Next, the lawyer attempts to negotiate the settlement, and depending on the outcome of the negotiation, chooses whether or not to bring the case to trial. This is determined by how much the defendant agrees to the terms of the settlement. If the other party agrees completely to everything proposed, then there would be absolutely no reason to go to trial. If the other party agrees to some of the terms but not others or is in partial agreement to terms, the ball is then put back in the plaintiff’s court to determine if they will push for further negotiations, agree to the new terms, or file a claim in court.
Choose the Successful Medical Malpractice Attorney in Santa Cruz County
Here at DeLozier Law, we have over 4 decades of experience in successful personal injury law. Our clients are extremely pleased with us because we helped them get the settlement they deserved. We offer a free consultation so you can see if we can help you with your claim, too. Give us a call today at 602-989-1759!