Professional Malpractice
Experience Matters
Choosing the right lawyer for your professional malpractice claim is important. We have significant experience in helping clients receive fair compensation when they have suffered damages as a result of actions by professionals. We help people
- evaluate their case and the likelihood of achieving a positive result
- deal with settlement, arbitration and mediation proceedings, especially if results can be achieved without the time and expense of trial
- offset the power of large insurance companies seeking to minimize our clients’ claims
- conduct investigations and preserve evidence to protect our client’s rights
- find experts to establish the cause and extent of damages
- be expertly represented at pre-trial, trials and appeals if necessary to achieve a just result for our client
- structure recoveries to maximize our clients’ benefits
We know how to hold negligent professionals accountable. We will file a law suit only when we’re confident that the evidence establishes that malpractice has occurred, that it has resulted in damages that justify the cost of the case, and that our client is likely to prevail.
Overview
Professional people (doctors, lawyers, accountants, psychologists, nurses, architects, engineers, etc.) are often called upon to handle and solve important problems. Because of their specialized education, such people charge significant fees for their services. When they do their jobs correctly, professionals are worth every penny. However, when they make mistakes, the consequences to their clients can be serious or even devastating.
Everyone makes mistakes, including professionals, and the law rightly holds professionals accountable for their mistakes. However, people seeking compensation for damages they have suffered at the hands of professionals face some significant challenges:
- Most injured people lack experience in dealing with the courts, arbitration or mediation, while the professionals and certainly their insurers have significant experience in this area.
- Sometimes professionals are not completely forthcoming in admitting their mistakes and in some instances even try to conceal them.
- It is often difficult to obtain physical documents, electronically-stored information, and other evidence to prove that a mistake was made.
- Also, even if the mistake is uncovered, professionals and their insurance companies often try to deny that the client’s harm was the result of a mistake, or they try to minimize the harm that occurred.
- Professionals and insurance companies often resort to litigation to try to test the resolve and financial resources of their opposition.
- Professionals and their insurers often seek to use arbitration and other processes to reduce their liability or delay payments.
- So, choosing the right lawyer is important.
Professionals usually buy malpractice insurance, which creates a fund for recovery of money by injured consumers. This often means that the insurance company, not the professional, controls the purse strings on a malpractice claim. The insurance company’s lawyers hire expert witnesses from a pool of well-paid consultants who are known to provide opinions favorable to the insurance company. It is complicated and expensive for an injured consumer to take on an insurance company to obtain justice and hold a negligent professional accountable. Professional malpractice insurance companies rarely pay anything in settlement without a fight.
Usually, professional malpractice cases are handled by lawyers on a contingent fee (percentage fee) basis. In other words, your attorney isn’t paid unless he or she recovers money for you. And your lawyer has the greatest incentive to make sure that you are fully compensated for your losses. Of course, we are willing to represent you on an hourly fee basis, if you prefer.
Contact Attorneys Relles, Milliken & Scheffer, LLP for a free consultation regarding concerns you may have about professional negligence.