Thank you for the opportunity to evaluate your medical malpractice claim.

There are three steps involved in evaluating your claim.

Step #1:  Getting the Medical Records

First, we must get your medical records. To get the records, we will ask you to sign a Power of Attorney form that authorizes us to get your medical records. The Power of Attorney form must be signed by you in front of a notary public.  You can usually find a notary public at a bank or law firm, or if you can’t find a one, we will send a notary public to your home.  Please let us know if you need our help finding a notary public.

If you already possess the medical records, you can send them to our paralegal, Nicole Tippa, via email (ntippa@fishermalpracticelaw.com) or the file-sharing website, DropBox.com or you can fax them to us at 845-802-0052.

Please provide us with names and dates of treatment for each of the medical facilities. 

If you have a specific complaint against the hospital or doctor, please send an email to Nicole Tippa (ntippa@fishermalpracticelaw.com), with the specific nature of your complaints. This focus our evaluation on your specific complaint.

Once we possess the Power of Attorney, we will mail a request for an electronic copy of your medical records to the hospital or doctors’ office. It typically takes 2-4 weeks to get the medical records. Frequently, medical facilities will need 2-3 reminders to send the medical records.  Once we receive the medical records, we review them to make sure the medical facility provided the records that we requested.

If you would like a copy of your medical records, please let us know and we will be happy to give them to you.

Step #2:  Reviewing of the Medical Records

Once we have the medical records, we will review them in order to make a preliminary evaluation of the merit of your claim.  Specifically, we will be checking the medical records to confirm that the information that you provided.

In some cases,  we will write a memo summarizing the facts and potential theories of liability.  If we believe the claim has potential merit, we send the medical records to our medical expert/surgeon for his review.

Step #3:  Meeting wtih the Expert/Surgeon

Every 1-2 months, we meet with our expert, a board certified surgeon, at his residence to review the medical records. At this meeting, the expert will provide his opinions about potential deviations from the standard of care and whether the deviations caused harm or injury. This is a thorough, in-depth discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of your claim.  Upon request, we can provide you with a detailed evaluation of our expert’s opinions.

Following our face-to-face meeting with our medical expert, we’re ready to take the next step. We will either:

• Decline your claim, or
• If we believe your claim has merit, we will retain a medical expert for the purpose of a second opinion.

The second expert is not simply a consultant, but a highly qualified physician who can testify in court if he/she believes your claim has merit. If we receive a second opinion that your case has merit, we will then meet with you to sign a retainer agreement and discuss the procedures of a lawsuit and what you can expect.

What To Do If You Have Questions

We hope this answers your questions, but if it doesn’t, please call us at 845-802-0047.  You can call our world-class paralegal, Nicole Tippa, to check on the status of our case evaluation at any time, of if you’d like to speak with John Fisher, please call us to schedule an appointment.  John accepts phone calls (when he’s not in trial or deposition) between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST.

If you have more questions about medical malpractice, you can download our free eBook, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of our website, www.ProtectingPatientRights.com. This book was written to answer all of your questions.

Don’t hesitate to call if you have questions or just want to chat.  We appreciate the opportunity to serve you!

The New York Injury & Malpractice Law Firm, P.C., 278 Wall Street, Kingston, New York 12401