Southern Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyers

We are experienced Illinois attorneys who will help you find the best medical malpractice lawyer in Illinois for your case. If you would like a free case review, please contact us at 800-517-1614 any time.

Medical malpractice is when a doctor, nurse or other health care professional is negligent in a way that causes harm. If that happens, it is possible that you will have a lawsuit. Despite myths about these cases, winning a medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois can be difficult. These cases take a lot of time and effort and you have to convince 12 jurors you are in the right. As a result, insurance companies fight these cases hard. So it takes a lawyer with years of experience and a track record of success to give you the best chance to win your case.

The truth is that there are not a lot of great medical malpractice lawyers in southern Illinois. That is in part because these cases are expensive and can cost over $100,000 to bring to trial. Juries in southern Illinois tend to be more conservative, so a lot of lawyers do not want to risk their money by taking on these cases. There are some great ones though as well as firms from Chicago who will go throughout the state for the right case. The bottom line is that if you have a big injury and negligence, we can help you find a firm that will fight for you.

What It Takes To Win A Medical Malpractice Lawsuit In Illinois

While every case is different, these are the things you need to get a lawyer to take on and win a medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois:

• Negligence – This does not just mean something bad happened. It has to be considered something that is not an acceptable risk. An example would be going to the ER with chest pain and being told it is just heartburn and getting sent home and then suffering a massive heart attack or stroke hours later.
• Damages – Doctors, nurses, and others make mistakes all of the time. A lot of smart patients take charge of their lives and get help from someone else before something bad happens. For example, if one ER says your chest pain is just heart burn, but you go to a different ER and they realize it might be a heart attack, if they intervene in time to save you, that will likely prevent there from being a case. You generally can not sue because something bad could have happened. We sue for actual harm. On the other hand, if there is a death, brain damage, paralysis, cancer that greatly progresses, etc., those are the cases typically worth pursuing.
• You listened to the doctor – If you are given instructions by your doctor and ignore them and then suffer a harm, that will likely prevent you from having a case. On the other hand, if you follow what they say to do and get injured, that is likely a case.
• You can show the bad result would not have happened anyway – In one case we were involved with, a person went to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism that the doctor missed. They died a couple of days later. An autopsy was performed which revealed this person had stage four pancreatic cancer that had spread to multiple organs and had weeks to live. They did not know about the cancer, but the reality is that even if a pulmonary embolism was caught, the death was about to happen. It sucks, but doctors can get away with being negligent in cases like this.
• There are not obvious defenses to the case – Because these cases take hundreds of hours to win and cost a lot of money, if you have a lot of other significant health issues, or are a heavy drug user or there is some other fact that will work against you, that will make getting a lawyer much harder.
• A doctor agrees that malpractice took place – This is one way the best lawyers win cases. Before a lawsuit can be filed, your lawyer will need to get an affidavit from a doctor stating that malpractice occurred. The best lawyers know the best doctors to review these cases and offer opinions.
• Time ­– In most Illinois cases, you have to file a lawsuit within two years of when you knew or should have known that malpractice occurred. It is longer for minors and up to four years if discovery is delayed. If you only have a month to file a lawsuit, it will be hard to find an attorney. That is because it can take six months or more to properly investigate a case. So if you think you might have a case, do not delay.

How Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Work

Once you find the right lawyer, these are the typical steps of a case:

1. They meet with you and review your facts.
2. They receive your medical records and review them internally. Many of the Illinois medical malpractice firms we recommend have doctors and nurses on staff.
3. Assuming there appears to be negligence, the records are forwarded to outside experts who practice medicine in a similar field to the medical provider you want to sue. Often this requires more than one expert.
4. If that expert agrees that malpractice occurred, your lawyer will draft a lawsuit and the court case will begin.
5. A Judge will get assigned and discovery will take place. This is a time when you and the people being sued will answer written questions under oath. After that, all relevant parties will give depositions. This process usually takes two or more years.
6. Mediation and settlement discussions may take place at any time. The facts of the case determine how this will go. The bigger the potential damages, the more likely it is that the insurance company will be willing to negotiate.
7. If no settlement is reached, a trial will happen. Most Illinois medical malpractice trials take two to four weeks.
8. While a settlement can happen even during the trial, at the end of a trial the jury will give a verdict. If all of the jurors agree with you, then you will be awarded compensation.

Every case is different of course, but this is typical of how most cases go.

Qualities Of A Great Southern Illinois Medical Malpractice Attorney

There are many things that we as lawyers look for in recommending a malpractice attorney. We would only recommend to you a firm that we would suggest to a family member or friend. Some of these qualities include:

• Experience – We do not recommend any malpractice lawyers who have been licensed less than 15 years and during that time they must have taken many cases to trial.
• A track record of success – While won/loss records are not a real thing, we recommend firms who have double digit multi million dollar victories and settlements.
• They are not a one person firm – Malpractice cases are labor intensive and require the support of other experienced attorneys and staff.
• They have the funds to pursue a case – You should not pay the expenses on a malpractice lawsuit. Your lawyer needs to be able to advance all of the costs of a case.
• They provide great customer service – If you call or email them, they will respond. They will treat you and your family with compassion and keep you up to date on important developments.
• They will fight for you – Nobody can guarantee a result in a case, but they should do whatever they can to get you the best outcome possible.

We believe in every attorney we recommend and will do whatever we can to help you and your family. Please reach out any time for a free case review.