What to Expect When You Call Birth Justice
As a person who sought a lawyer to help her disabled mother, Birth Justice attorney Emily Thomas knows how daunting and intimidating it can be to call lawyer and ask for help. When you call Birth Justice, we want you to be aware of what to expect.
Your First Call
Call us anytime. Our friendly receptionist will ask questions about your child, you, and your birth and prenatal care. This information is passed along to Birth Justice attorney Emily Thomas.
Since every mother and child is unique, there may be follow-up questions from our receptionist, or attorney Emily Thomas. After gathering more information, if Birth Justice cannot help, we will let you know why. If we may be able to help, the next step is requesting a copy of all of mother's and child's medical records, but first a retainer agreement is needed.
Signing the Retainer Agreement
The retainer agreement is simply a contract document. This document is the agreement between your Birth Justice attorney and you. This document lays out the responsibilities of each side. Please feel free to ask questions that you may have with this document or anything else, as you will surely have questions about your case and how the process works.
You will not be responsible for our expenses to work on the case, nor our law firm’s expenses for our staff and attorneys. The expenses and the cost of our attorney and staff is paid from a successful recovery.
Requesting Medical Records
Every case is individually reviewed in painstaking detail. Obtaining medical records begins the start of the next stage of the investigation. Requesting and receiving the records takes time, but there is no cost to you unless we recover. Be aware that it can take months to receive the records, as some hospitals and doctors offices are more organized and responsive than others. Along the way, feel free to reach out to Birth Justice for a status update.
Medical Records Review
Once all the records are in, the records are reviewed. There can be thousands of pages of records. As the case moves forward, the staff at Birth Justice are busy analyzing every bit of information. The goal is to understand in minute detail how the hospital and its doctors reported the birth and care of your child. Birth Justice is experienced with medical records written by doctors after an injury to your child occurred, which were written to cover up malpractice.
Once the records are reviewed by Birth Justice, at the next stage, medical experts review the history and medical records. This expert review is important because medical experts such as doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, just to name a few, must swear under oath that from their experience, there was a breach of the standard of care. The standard of care is a legal term for what is negligent care versus acceptable care in hospitals and doctors' offices. If you have questions about this, attorney Emily Thomas will be happy to explain in more detail how it relates to your case.
As you can see, much work will take place. But, there is no cost to you, unless there is a recovery. These medical experts can be costly, as they are top rated medical providers often located outside of Michigan, requiring travel time by the attorneys of Birth Justice to meet with the experts. The sad truth is that even in the worst cases, local doctors protect other local doctors. We often find our medical experts from outside of the state, because they are willing to speak the truth to the medical malpractice of other doctors.
The Discovery Process
Once the lawsuit is filed, the discovery process begins. The discovery process is another lengthy process that can take months to a year. This discovery process is exactly that, we discover information that is being held by the opposing side (the hospital and doctors). In turn, the defendant hospital and doctors then discover information about our case.
Discovery takes the form of requesting documents including medical records and telephone records. Eventually depositions will be scheduled. Depositions are where lawyers for the parties ask questions under oath in a conference room setting. A court reporter is present to record the questions and answers, which is just like giving testimony in a courtroom.
Settlement Discussions
At a certain point during or after discovery, settlement discussions may begin. The settlement discussions between plaintiff and defendants are facilitated by a mutually agreed-upon facilitator. The facilitator is usually someone who is a former judge or attorney, who is well-versed in these highly complex medical-legal cases.
These facilitations have their own rhythm to them, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Your attorney from Birth Justice will be present, along with you. If an offer is made by the defendant hospital/doctors, you as the plaintiff will have the option of accepting or rejecting it.
Trial
If the sides cannot reach a settlement, a trial will occur. Trials can be stressful for all that are involved. But, preparation is key and your attorneys at Birth Justice will thoroughly prepare for your case.
After Settlement or a Trial
Upon settlement or reaching a successful verdict in plaintiff's favor, a special needs trust is set up for an injured child. These special needs trusts are discussed more in greater detail here. Simply put, a special needs trust allows for the child to continue to receive government benefits and holds the proceeds from the lawsuit for the child.
These special needs trusts are often administered by a professional trustee, someone who will manage the checkbook and invested dollars. Record-keeping is important, imagine a checkbook just for your child's medical needs that has to comply with certain government regulations. The goal of this professional trustee is also to ensure that the proceeds from the lawsuit are invested wisely in order to grow over time to generate more dollars for your child's care. Birth Justice will introduce you to trustees and will be present with you when you meet to select a trustee.
These are just an overview of the many steps. Know that your consultation with Birth Justice is free. Only upon a successful settlement or verdict in your favor, will Birth Justice be paid for its time invested in the case.
