Going to Trial For a Medical Malpractice Case

Answer:

We were on a consultation the other day with a potential client who had suffered at the hands of a doctor, and she was wondering if her case was going to have to go to trial. Medical malpractice cases in Orlando, Florida, are very aggressively litigated. The statutes tend to favor the defense of the doctors, so they usually take these cases to trial. We certainly will more than likely have to file a lawsuit. We’ve only seen one case in our office that we didn’t have to file a lawsuit on.

We do have to file a lawsuit, we do have to go through a lot of discovery, and that does take time. Even then, at the end of the day, usually you will get some type of an offer before trial. Even though they are aggressively litigated, most cases – and what we mean by trial is having a trial in front of a jury – there’s an opportunity to settle before reaching trial. You have to remember; trial is risky for both sides. There’s a risk for the defense that the jury is going to sympathize with you, and there’s also the chance for the defense that they won’t sympathize with you and you won’t make any recovery, but it’s still a risky proposition.

Usually we’ll get some type of an offer and these cases will also settle, but they don’t settle like a regular motor vehicle accident case or a slip and fall case in Orlando. It usually takes a lot longer and a lot more preparation. You really need an attorney for medical malpractice that’s experienced and understands how to prepare the case and what needs to be done to get it to a posture where it can possibly settle.

For this or any other questions, feel free to give us a call for a free consultation.