Utahns have discovered – the hard way – that searching online for terms like “medical lawyer near me” can work to their disadvantage. Most legal firms exploit local SEO tactics to rank higher up in local searches – and that’s not all – their marketing firms bump up their profile by engineering favorable reviews. Relying on local search without interviewing the medical lawyer, or hiring the first lawyer that impresses you online, again without interviewing him, can be a huge mistake.
Utah Code 78B-3-4, which governs medical malpractice claims, is a complex piece of legislation that can be navigated only by a skilled lawyer experienced in medical lawsuits. A skilled lawyer who is experienced in medical malpractice cases has the network, medical knowledge, legal skills, and experience to win a case.
Therefore, after searching for “medical lawyer near me,” browsing through Utah’s local search results, and short-listing a few firms, we urge you to take advantage of the free initial consultation offered by many lawyers, to figure out the following:
The Utah Law Firm’s Experience and Niche
You need an attorney who has the skills and years of experience in the medical malpractice niche – and has extensive medical knowledge. Hiring a rookie medical lawyer near you, or a lawyer handling general routine cases will do your case no good. Instead of helping, he can botch up the negotiations and ruin your case. If the firm fits the bill, ensure that the attorney assigned to your case is experienced (and not just a fresher). Also, the firm should assign you a point of contact who is available on call.
Client Profile
If the legal firm represents more defendants than victims (plaintiffs) then look elsewhere, for obvious reasons. If the Utah-based “medical attorney near me” that you have discovered has many years of experience in helping hundreds of victims successfully fight against deep-pocketed medical professionals and institutions, you can consider short-listing him so long he fulfills the other metrics described in this post.
Track Record
Ensure that the legal firm’s win to loss ratio is high. The firm should have helped hundreds of clients get millions of dollars as compensation to get into your shortlist. Know that the average payout per medical malpractice case in Utah works out to about $353,000. Some cases are settled for millions, while the minor ones are settled in thousands. Check if the lawyer has what it takes to resolve all types of cases and that he has handled many cases that are similar to yours.
Legal Costs
Work with an experienced lawyer who is willing to work on a contingency fee basis – that is, you don’t pay if you don’t win. Typically, about 33% of the compensation claim represents the legal fees (the fees are added to the rightful claim that is due to you). In most cases, legal firms make paralegals do the preliminary casework before the main attorney takes over. Enquire about what portion of the case will be handled by junior staff and negotiate a bit on the contingency fee percentage.
Out-of-Court Settlement
Most medical malpractice cases are settled out of court. If the case goes to trial, the jury comes into play and the outcome becomes unpredictable and the case can drag on for a long time. That is why most medical professionals and institutions, as also insurance companies, settle cases before they land up in court. Check if your lawyer is a skilled negotiator and has helped victims settle cases out of court.
Resources
The legal firm must have adequate resources to play the waiting game in case the defendant plays hardball. He must not pressure the plaintiff to settle if the compensation offered is unreasonable.
Those were the boxes to check after searching for “medical lawyer near me.” If the legal firm checks all the boxes, include it in a super shortlist that contains no more than 2 or 3 firms. Then it is time to choose the best one among these.
Before you choose a legal firm, how about taking us up on our free meeting offer?
FREE INITIAL DISCUSSION
You will be happy to know that we check all the boxes above – and some more. So, why not take advantage of our offer and set up a free initial discussion?
You can grill us as much as you like and our Utah team of malpractice lawyers will answer all your questions and clear all doubts.
Also, during the meeting we will inform you about:
- The approximate compensation claim you can expect to receive
- Your chances of winning the case
- Our legal fees (which are paid only if you win)
- The strengths and weaknesses of your case
- … and much more …
