Are you calling for a loved one regarding medical malpractice? If so, this article, and supporting video is for you. I am writing this to help clear up some of the confusion which can linger around this subject.
One point to keep in mind is who is the client in these situations and what is needed to move forward. Please remember, I am assuming that the caller has no legal authority to make decisions for the medical malpractice victim.
HOW THE SITUATION IS USUALLY PRESENTED…
The best way to explain this is to give an example. We recently had a spouse call us looking for help regarding a possible medical malpractice claim regarding their significant other. From the talk, it was reported that the significant other was onboard, as the couple had been doing their research and exploring all the options.
During the call we made it clear that we would have to speak with the other spouse to be able to determine other factual issues surrounding the case. One of the reasons this was needed was because of the procedure that was performed. In addition, this spouse was not privy to all of the communications between the other spouse and the doctor.
When it was time to speak with the spouse who had the medical procedure done we could never get a date and time scheduled to talk. What we eventually learned is that the other spouse did not want to proceed with a medical malpractice claim. The spouse who called us was very enthusiastic about bringing the claim, but the problem was the significant other was not enthusiastic about moving forward. As a result, there was nothing we could do.
CALLING FOR A LOVED ONE FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
In general, a medical malpractice claim will lie with the victim of the medical malpractice. This is not to say children, and/or wrongful death cases will not have others involved. For the context of this article we are focusing on cases in which the medical malpractice is done on an adult and there are no other claims. With cases like these, the victim of the medical malpractice is who drives the case. If they do not want to move forward, there is no case to move forward.
Even though this may sound straight forward, sometimes people can become confused on the issue. The client in this context is the person injured by the medical malpractice and it is their case to move forward on or decline to move forward. No matter how enthusiastic you are calling for a loved one regarding medical malpractice, it is not “your call.”
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
