The first questions you’ll be asked by a medical negligence lawyer

Posted on 23 April, 2024

Medical negligence can be one of the most delicate areas of law.

Too often, the consequences are devastating – physically, emotionally, psychologically – and can have immediate and long-lasting impacts.

So what does approaching a lawyer about bringing a medical negligence claim entail?

With more than two decades of experience in medical negligence and medical litigation including workers’ compensation, Special Counsel at Maliganis Edwards Johnson (MEJ) Heather Ross has seen the devastating effects of medical negligence. We asked her to walk us through the process.

“First, we’ll ask for background history – about how your life was before the injury, what the injury was and how it occurred,” says Heather.

“We’ll then ask you to describe how it has affected you, how it has affected your ability to work, how has it affected your ability to enjoy recreational pursuits and how has it affected your ability to care for yourself.”

These questions need to have as detailed an answer as possible, so your lawyer can see the full picture of the before, during and after of your situation.

Documentation is also an important part of this first meeting. Heather encourages prospective clients to keep any and all documentation – such as medical bills, prescriptions, emails and paperwork – and bring them along.

“Receipts of any out-of-pocket expenses that have incurred for treatment including doctors consults, medication or physical aids such as hiring of a wheelchair, any hospital discharge summaries – what happened in hospital, what treatment you received – and medical certificates are helpful.”

At the end of the day, Heather says this is the most important question to answer:

“What could you do before your injury that you can’t do now because of your injury?”