1. What is medical malpractice?
2. Is medical malpractice that common?
3. How can I tell if my serious injury is the result of medical malpractice?
4. Why should I contact your firm about my concerns?
5. How does Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC investigate a
malpractice claim?
6. What will it cost to hire a lawyer?
7. Is there a deadline for pursuing a malpractice claim?
8. Will my case settle?

1. What is medical malpractice?

Medical malpractice (also known as medical negligence) means that a doctor or other health care provider failed to act within the applicable standard of care and thereby caused the patient injury.
Although each jurisdiction may define the term "standard of care" a little differently, generally the term is understood to mean what a reasonable, competent, similarly trained physician would have done under the same or similar circumstances.

Thus, generally speaking, when a doctor or other health care provider fails to act reasonably under the circumstances, and the unreasonable conduct causes injury, medical malpractice has occurred.

2. Is medical malpractice that common?

Unfortunately, yes. A study by the Institute of Medicine ("IOM"), of the National Academies of Science, published a landmark study in 2000 entitled, "To Err is Human." In that study, the IOM reported that as many as 98,000 people die in American hospitals each year due to medical mistakes. (You may obtain a copy of this study by contacting the National Academy Press in Washington, D.C.)

In other words, medical mistakes are the 8th leading cause of death in America.

3. How can I tell if my serious injury is the result of medical malpractice?

Not all medical mistakes are malpractice. Therefore, in order to determine whether the serious injury or death you are concerned with was the result of medical malpractice, you will need to consult attorneys who are experienced with investigating and evaluating medical malpractice claims. ( Click here to read about some of the results our attorneys have obtained for clients.)

Very substantial amounts of money can be at stake. Take the case of a child born with Cerebral Palsy (CP) . It can cost $ 5 Million, and more , to care for such a child over a lifetime. Likewise, the unexpected death of a mother, father or child can be emotionally and financially devastating.

You owe it to yourself and your family to consult experienced medical malpractice attorneys whenever an unexpected serious injury or death occurs.

4. Why should I contact your firm about my concerns?

The law firm of Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC, includes doctor/lawyers and a registered nurse/lawyer ( Click here to read why you benefit when your lawyer is also a doctor or nurse) who are experienced, successful and dedicated to aggressively representing the victims of malpractice. ( Click here to read about some of the verdicts and settlements our attorneys have obtained for clients.)

5. How does Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC investigate a malpractice claim?

It all begins with a toll free telephone call 1-866-4LAWDOC (1-866-452-9362) or you may contact us via the web. When you contact us, one of our experienced medical malpractice attorneys will interview you by telephone to find out from you about the nature of the injury, the place of the injury, the date the injury occurred, the names of the health care providers involved, and any other information you already know about situation prompting you to contact our firm. At this point our doctor/lawyers make an initial determination as to whether we can be of help to you.

If we believe our services may be of benefit, the next step is for the injured person (or his legal representative, such as the mother or father of a minor child) to retain our firm. Unless prohibited by law in a particular state, the firm of Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC works only on a contingency fee basis and advances all the costs of investigating and litigating the matter. In other words, if we do not win for you, you owe us no fees, no expenses -- nothing.

Once you have hired our firm, we obtain the relevant medical records for our doctor/ lawyers and nurse/lawyer to evaluate for malpractice. If our health care provider/lawyers conclude that you have a valid malpractice claim, then we work to retain highly credentialed and experienced medical experts in the relevant fields of medicine to review the records, with the assistance of our doctor/lawyers and nurse/lawyer, and opine whether malpractice occurred and whether malpractice caused your injuries.

When the outside experts complete their review, we contact our client to discuss the opinions of the experts and how to proceed.

6. What will it cost to hire a lawyer?

If you hire Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC, the cost is NOTHING UNLESS WE WIN FOR YOU.
There are two issues to consider when answering this question: What will the attorney charge for his services and who will pay for the expenses of investigating the matter.

(A) Attorneys Fees:
The "contingency fee" agreement is the key to the courthouse for ordinary people. Under such an agreement, the law firm is paid a percentage of a recovery; therefore, if there is no recovery for the client, the lawyer does not get paid. The contingency fee agreement makes sure that the client's interests and the lawyer's interests are one-in-the-same - to obtain the maximum recovery allowed by law.

Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC strongly believes in contingency fee agreements, and thus if you hire us you will OWE THE FIRM NOTHING unless we win for you. Moreover, when we represent clients outside of Maryland and the District of Columbia, we associate with skilled local counsel (and if suit is filed, obtain permission of the applicable court). This association is at no additional legal fees to you - the client.

(B) Case Expenses:
Pursuing a medical malpractice case can be very, very expensive. For example, in order to maximize the chances for a successful and very substantial recovery in a birth injury case the firm of Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC typically retains experts in obstetrics, neonatology, pediatric neurology, pediatric neuroradiology, pediatrics, placental pathology, obstetrical nursing, vocational rehabilitation, life care planning, and economics. This can cost upwards to $150,000 per case.

The firm of Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC, knows our clients cannot afford these expenses. Therefore, we advance all the costs of investigating and prosecuting your claim because we have confidence in the abilities of our doctor/lawyers and nurse/lawyer.

Unless precluded by law in the relevant state, you will not have to reimburse our firm for these litigations expenses unless we win for you.

7. Is there a deadline for pursuing a malpractice claim?

YES. Each state, and the United States, has its own deadline for bringing a legal claim. These deadlines are referred to as "statutes of limitations." Moreover, if the negligent health care provider is employed by the government, or is a government hospital, even shorter deadlines may apply.

The applicable deadlines vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and can be affected by who is bringing the action. For example, in many states a minor child will have a longer period of time to bring a lawsuit than an adult. Nevertheless, some substantial rights may be lost if suit is not filed within the parent's deadline.

If you suspect medical malpractice, DO NOT WAIT TO CONSULT EXPERIENCED MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEYS . Nothing is more discouraging than to hear these words from an attorney, "I think you had a valid claim but I can't help you now because you simply waited too long to contact me."

8. Will my case settle?

In fact, most medical malpractice cases do settle but settlement must never be the attorney's objective. Only when the defendants' insurance company is convinced that your attorneys have put together a strong case, supported by well-credentialed and credible medical experts, and that your attorneys have the skill, experience and nerve to put your case successfully before the jury, will your attorneys be in the position to negotiate the best possible settlement of your claim.

The attorneys of Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC, have the experience and reputation necessary to maximize the settlement potential of your case. More importantly, should the matter not settle, our attorneys have the proven track record of obtaining record jury verdicts. ( Click here to see some of our featured verdicts and settlements.)*

* Past results are not guarantees of future results. Each case must be evaluated on its own facts, circumstances and merits.

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