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Archive for February, 2012

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Five Questions for Your Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

1.  How long have you been handling workers’ compensation cases?

If they say a year or two, it might be a reason for concern. Not that they’re a bad lawyer, but just a little too new at it. If they have only handled a handful of cases and maybe never been to trial on a case, we wouldn’t recommend them. If you want the best outcome possible, experience is key. Not every seasoned attorney is a great attorney, but it’s one of the main factors to consider. You want someone who knows the arbitrators, knows other attorneys in the field and has established a good reputation in the legal community. In our opinion, it’s your best bet.

2.  Do you have any experience handling claims similar to mine?

This is similar to the first question, but goes a bit deeper. If your attorney has experience with your particular injury or circumstance, it can be an advantage. If benefits are disputed, or your claim or treatment is denied, your attorney will have experience to draw on. They should know what usually happens in a case involving a fall in the parking lot, or a car accident while on the job, or they should understand the best way to prove that back surgery is necessary.

3.  How should we keep in touch?

Communication with clients is important. Not only can it hurt your case if your attorney doesn’t stay in touch and up-to-date on your recovery, but it can strain your relationship and decrease your confidence in them. Ask how often you should be hearing from them, and how best to get in touch if you have a question or concern (phone, e-mail, office visit). Your attorney should be responsive, returning calls and emails promptly.

4.  What can I do to help my case?

Your attorney should have some specific suggestions on how to help build your case. For example, you should always listen to and follow your doctor’s orders. If your doctor says not to lift heavy objects, don’t do it. The insurance company might be following you, trying to find something to use against you so they can deny benefits. Also, your attorney might suggest ways in which you can work together, such as getting medical records, documenting your injury and recovery, etc. They might have other suggestions, as well. Make sure to ask.

5.  How do your fees work?

This is definitely something you should ask about in your first meeting with a workers’ compensation attorney. Good communication about how your attorney will be paid, and who will pay costs along the way, can avoid disputes and frustrations later on. In Illinois, attorneys can’t take more than 20% of your settlement. Your attorney should not be paid unless you win. Don’t let them try to take 20% of your benefits payments just because they made a few phone calls and helped you file your claim. Most attorneys only take a fee if they have to fight for you. Also, you should not pay anything upfront. Your attorney should cover all court costs and expert witness fees.

2/29/12

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Illinois Medical Malpractice Can Bring Great Change

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

About 18 months ago, a nice woman came to us looking for help in finding a Chicago medical malpractice attorney.  Her father had died after going through dialysis.  He had a catheter in place that was removed by two inexperienced nurses.  They did it wrong and as a result an air embolism went straight to his brain.  He suffered immediately and died a couple of weeks later when life support was removed.  He wasn’t the healthiest man in the world, but experts estimated that he had at least 10 good years of life left.

This is known as a “can’t happen” type of event.  It was clear cut negligence with awful damages in that he died.  After some discovery and a long mediation, the case was settled for $1.75 million.  The money won’t bring him back, but it will help a woman whose father died after living with her for almost a decade.

But the financial result isn’t the change I’m talking about.  As a result of this incident, the hospital changed its policy about who can remove catheters and how it can be done.  Because of this change, it is likely impossible that this tragic event will ever happen again to another family.  Before this incident, unfortunately there was no policy in place.  A greater good was achieved for future dialysis patients.  This change would likely never have happened without tragedy and a lawsuit.

Sadly, if there were damage caps in Illinois, the total value of this case would be $250,000.00.  That would have made it impossible to bring a lawsuit and also means that the policy change wouldn’t have happened.  Lawyers are in it for the money first and foremost, but they can also bring out justice and change.  Fortunately that was able to happen in this case.  The people that live instead of die because of this lawsuit will never know it.

2/28/12

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Recent Great Results

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Clients ask us all the time, “What is the won/loss record of the attorney you are recommending.”  It’s really a question that can’t be answered because most cases don’t go to trial.  In other words, if you are charged with four felonies with a max penalty of 40 years in jail, but end up pleading guilty to one misdemeanor that results in no jail time in a small fine, technically that is a loss.  But if you were the defendant, unless you were 100% innocent, wouldn’t you feel great about the result?  So technically it’s a loss, but to us it’s really a win.  To others it might be neither.  Point is that you can’t have a won/loss record.

All that said, we’ve had some great results on the cases we’ve referred out lately.  It’s a result of our policy to only recommend experienced attorneys that handle a ton of work at the court where the case is going to be heard and also have a narrow practice focus.  So to toot our own horn and the lawyers we recommend, here are some great cases of late:

-Skokie driving while revoked charge dismissed after threat of 180 days in jail.

-Class x drug case with prosecutors telling public defender the best offer would be 12 years in jail, the private lawyer we recommended got them to go to two years.

-All charges dismissed on armed robbery.

-Multiple not guilty results on both bench and jury trials on misdemeanors and felonies.

-Dismissal of Scott’s law arrest where prosecutors were asking for license suspension.

-DUI charges dismissed after initial hearing.

-Solicitation arrest thrown out after motion to suppress evidence.

These are some examples of recent success.  The point is that the clients won because they hired the right lawyer for their case.  Not necessarily the cheapest or the most expensive, but rather the best attorney for their unique problem.  And that is how you achieve success.

2/27/12

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10 Myths About Legal Malpractice

Friday, February 24th, 2012

1.  MYTH:  Another lawyer said that your case should have been handled differently, and you could have won.  This is legal malpractice.

Not all lawyers make the same judgment calls when it comes to handling a case; and not all lawsuits or legal matters come out the way you hope they would.  This does not necessarily mean that the lawyer committed legal malpractice in handling your case.  If that was true, then all clients who end up with an unfavorable result would have a second case against their attorney.  In fact, attorneys are allowed the leeway to make an error if they pursued the case in good faith, and with the best of their legal knowledge.  If a mistake in judgment cost you your case, that mistake may be allowed, if it was an honest, good faith, judgment that was intended to represent your best interests.  If, on the other hand, the judgment call was not reasonable under the circumstances, than there may be some liability for that error.

2.  MYTH:  The lawyer completely blew the case.  This is legal malpractice.

If your attorney is unethical, or commits fatal errors in handling your case, he or she has violated a duty that was owed to you.  But in order to have a successful claim for legal malpractice, you also have to show that the attorney’s conduct cost you winning your case.  You will have to hire a second lawyer, who will basically try to prove that the original case was a good one, and could have been won if the first lawyer had not blown it.  For example, if your lawyer missed the deadline in filing a lawsuit for you, and because of this your claim was lost forever, you will need to show it was a lawsuit that you could have won if it had been able to proceed.

3.  MYTH:  The legal malpractice case will discipline the lawyer, and keep the lawyer from practicing law in the future.

In bringing a lawsuit for legal malpractice, you are pursuing a personal claim for money damages.  Through the lawsuit, you attempt to recover what you actually lost as a result of the attorney’s bad conduct.  But it does not have an effect on the attorney’s law license, or ability to practice law.  The case is neither criminal in nature, nor is it disciplinary.  If a disciplinary action against an attorney is warranted, then the agency to contact is the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC).   This is the agency responsible for regulating lawyers in Illinois, and can investigate and take action against attorneys that are engaging in misconduct.

4.  MYTH:  You should not be meddling in what your attorney is doing in handling your case.

Any good attorney will care about your case, but no one will care about it the way you will.  Attorneys have many cases and many deadlines, and may make mistakes even with the best of intentions.  By keeping involved with your case and with your attorney, you have the best chance of helping to prevent legal malpractice, by spotting an error before it can turn into a big problem.  Not that you could necessarily be expected to know everything that should be happening, and this does not remove your attorney’s responsibility for properly handling your case.  However working as a team along with your attorney can be an effective safeguard for you.

5.  MYTH:  You should not have a problem finding a lawyer to take your legal malpractice case.

Though attorneys do and should want to help clients that need their assistance, a legal malpractice case is unique, in that it sets lawyers on opposite sides in a personal way, not just a professional setting.  The case will actually involve many lawyers wearing many different hats.  There will be a lawyer defendant, likely represented by another lawyer, and your second lawyer bringing your malpractice case.  In addition, each side will likely have lawyers that will testify as experts in the case regarding the standard of care that should have been followed, and that your original matter would or would not have been successful.  This scenario can be uncomfortable for some attorneys who would rather not go up against another attorney.  But there are also many more attorneys who will see your malpractice claim as a wrong that needs righting, and will willingly pursue it for you.

6.  MYTH:  You were not the client, so you cannot bring a malpractice case even if you were hurt by the lawyer’s conduct.

Generally this is a true statement, but it is not always the case.  The basic rule for pursuing a legal malpractice case is that there needs to be an attorney-client relationship.  However in some limited circumstances, a third party can bring a case against an attorney who caused a loss, where the attorney would have known at the time that the representation was affecting others.  In the case of a negligently drafted will, for example, the client was the person making the will.  However the purpose of the will is to benefit those who should receive money or property under the will.  Where the attorney-client relationship has a purpose that is to benefit or affect someone else, there may be a case for legal malpractice for the third party’s losses from the attorney’s mistake.

7.  MYTH:  The time limit to file the malpractice case has passed, so it is over.

There is generally a two-year statute of limitations in legal malpractice cases. This means that if your case is not filed within two years, you lose your right to bring it.  However there are several gray areas and exceptions to the rule, and therefore it may be worth speaking with an attorney to go over the specifics of your case.  For example, the beginning of the time period is not always clear.  You have to look at what point in time you should have reasonably known that you suffered from attorney malpractice.  Also, there are other factors that could extend the period of time.

8.  MYTH:  The case was settled, so you cannot bring a lawsuit for legal malpractice complaining about it later.

In some circumstances, you may pursue a legal malpractice claim even after you have settled your case.  If your lawyer committed serious errors in your case that forced you into a settlement you would not have otherwise taken, you could have a claim for what you should have received and lost.  Sometimes a lawyer’s misconduct in pursuing and settling a case can cause you to lose other claims that you may have otherwise been able to successfully bring.  This error could also lead to a malpractice claim.

9.  MYTH:  The law changed right after the case was settled—if you had known of the change, you would not have taken the settlement.  The attorney is responsible for this.

While good attorneys should be following trends in the law, and should know of proposed legislation, there is no actual requirement for them to do so.  The standard of care in handling your case will ordinarily look to the law at the time your attorney was advising your and pursuing your case.  So if there is a change in legislation or the Illinois courts decide a case that would have changed your attorney’s advice to you if it was decided before the settlement, this will not likely be the basis of a claim for legal malpractice.

10.  MYTH:  Going up against a lawyer in a malpractice case is too expensive.

Many lawyers will take legal malpractice cases on a contingent fee basis, which means they will only be paid out of the money you are awarded in the case.  A percentage of your recovery will go to the attorney, and you will not have to pay for your lawyer out of your own pocket.  1/3 of the verdict or settlement is generally the amount paid to the attorney, after costs are taken out.  For this reason, the larger the potential damages you have to recover, the more likely an attorney will take the risk and take on your case.

2/24/12

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10 Myths About Personal Injury Lawsuits

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

1.  MYTH:  If you cannot afford to pay your lawyer, you cannot afford to bring a lawsuit for your injury.

Most lawyers will take personal injury lawsuits on a contingent fee basis.  This means that the lawyer’s fee depends on the positive outcome of your case.  Your attorney will receive a percentage of the money that you are paid in a settlement or after a trial.  Typically the contingent fee is 1/3 of what you recover for your case, after the costs have been paid out.  The good news about this kind of fee arrangement, is that you do not have to suffer a financial loss to bring a personal injury lawsuit, nor do you have to walk away from pursuing a claim when you have been wrongly hurt.  However the downside is that attorneys will not necessarily take on a case if it is not worth enough money, or is not a solid enough case that it is worth taking the risk of not being paid if the case is not successful.

2.  MYTH:  You can wait until you have recovered from your injuries before you have to think about bringing a lawsuit.

After an injury you want to be sure, first and foremost, that you take care of your medical needs.  However, as soon as you are able, you should consider the possibility of legal action, and take the steps necessary, including contacting a lawyer.  The reason for this, is that there are time limits to bringing a lawsuit, and if you wait too long, and the time limit has run, then you could lose your right forever to pursue your case.  For most personal injury lawsuits, the time in which you must bring your case (the statute of limitations period) is two years from the date of the accident.  Even if you did not know the extent of your injures until some time after the accident, the statute of limitations will continue to run and will not start over just because you have had a later diagnosis.

3.  MYTH:  The lawyer you spoke with at your first meeting will be doing all the work on your case.

This is an issue you will want to discuss when you are interviewing law firms to take your case.  The law firm may send a senior, experienced lawyer to discuss your case initially, but there may be other lawyers will far less of a track record actually doing the work and executing the plan.  You have a right to know and to be familiar with the attorney or attorneys that will actually be handling this important matter in your life.  And since the attorneys are likely getting paid a percentage of your recovery, you will not pay more whether the work is done by a new lawyer or a seasoned expert.

4.  MYTH:  If you have a personal injury lawsuit you will make millions.

Despite the way personal injury lawsuits are often portrayed, they are not an automatic windfall for the plaintiff.   The money it will take to compensate you for your injury—your damages—can be calculated based on many factors of your case.  Damages take into account your medical bills, lost wages, future losses, and other measures of what you have suffered from the accident.  But frequently the full amount your case is worth cannot be known right at the outset.  As the case progresses, facts are discovered which help to determine what you may be entitled to for your case.  And not all cases are worth very large sums.  An experienced attorney will know how to help you get what you should be entitled to.

5.  MYTH:  The defendant that caused your injury is responsible for all of your ongoing bills to repair the damage.

Plaintiffs cannot generally sit idly and allow the injury and damage to mount, without taking some action to correct what can be corrected.  This is referred to as mitigating your damages.  If an injury to you or your property has occurred, and you are reasonably able to take some steps to stop the situation from getting worse, then you should take those steps.  Otherwise, you risk being able to recover that amount in damages that you may have been able to prevent.  Courts will not necessarily go so far as to require you to have a surgery you do not want, or pay out of your pocket for an expensive home repair.  But other reasonable steps to obtain medical treatment or to repair your property should be taken.

6.  MYTH:  The injury happened at work, so there can be no personal injury lawsuit.

Illinois workers’ compensation laws would likely prevent a lawsuit against the company for your injuries.  However, there may be another person or company that played a role in your accident, that would be responsible for compensating you for your injury.  For example, you may have been injured at work by a product that was defective, and the manufacturer of the product could be liable to you.  Or there may have been another person that was involved in the accident, that was not covered by workers’ compensation, and could be a defendant in a lawsuit.

7.  MYTH:  If you were hurt on someone else’s property, or by someone else’s actions, you must be able to bring a lawsuit.

In order for someone to be responsible to you for your injury, he or she must have had some level of fault in the events that caused the injury.  In the case of an injury on someone’s property, if the owners did not violate some duty of care with regard to the property, then they are not likely responsible for your injury.  Likewise, if you are hurt by someone’s actions, but that person was acting in a reasonable and appropriate way, then generally there is not a case against that person.

8.  MYTH:  The driver that hit you has no money and no insurance, so there is no personal injury case.

The facts of every case are different, and you do not necessarily want to abandon a case just because it seems that the person who injured you does not have the ability to compensate you.  Many times there is another party that may be involved, and that shares some responsibility for the events that caused your.  For example, you may have been hit by a car or truck that was driven by an employee of a company that is responsible for putting that driver on the road, and for the condition of the vehicle that hit you.  In situations like this, the company could have some legal obligation to you, in addition to the driver himself or herself.

9.  MYTH:  You signed a form that was a release of liability, so you cannot bring a lawsuit.

These types of forms are being used very frequently in many activities.  They attempt to absolve companies and individuals from any legal responsibility if their actions or facility had a role in someone’s injury.  This is another situation where the specific facts of your case are so important to examine.  Not every document that is presented to you in order to participate in an activity or event is appropriate, or controlling in every accident.  The release itself, and all of the surrounding circumstances may be looked at closely by an experienced attorney to determine whether you might be able to bring a lawsuit for your injury anyway.

10.  MYTH:  You are partially to blame for the accident, so you cannot recover any money for your injury.

In Illinois, the fault of each party to an accident is taken into account, but does not necessarily prevent you from bringing a lawsuit or being able to recover your damages.  This is called “comparative negligence,” and it strikes a balance between creating a windfall for either side.  The defendant in the case is able to raise the issue of the plaintiff’s fault in causing the accident.  If the theory is accepted, then each side’s relative blame is assigned as a percentage.  The plaintiff’s total damage award will then be reduced by the percentage of blame that he or she has been assigned.  If the plaintiff’s responsibility is found to be more than 50%, though, then at that point he or she would not be allowed to recover any money for the accident.

2/23/12

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5 Things Your Lawyer Should be Doing for You When You Buy a House

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

When you are buying a home there are several players you will encounter in the process that may seem like they have your best interest at heart.  In reality, when it comes to protecting your legal interests and the vast amount of money involved in the transaction, only the lawyer you hire really has that covered.  Here are some of the areas your residential real estate attorney will be involved in during the home-buying process.

1.  CONTRACT

After you decide on the home you wish to purchase, you will likely be given a real estate contract by the agent.  There is a standard form real estate contract that is most often used in Illinois.  But even so, if you are able to, it is best to have your lawyer review the contract before you sign.  Not every provision in the contract may be acceptable or appropriate for your situation, and you want to be fully advised as to what you are agreeing.

Whether or not you are able to have an attorney review your contract first, once it is signed there is still legal work to be done regarding the contract provisions.  The standard contract will have a short period of days for attorney approval.  During this period, the lawyers will review the terms of the contract, and renegotiate any terms that are not acceptable.  After the attorney approval period is over, if you need to walk away from the purchase it becomes much harder to do that without incurring fees or penalties.

2.  INSPECTION

If both sides have approved the contract terms, then the next step is to have a home inspection.  Under the standard Illinois contract, a period of time for the home inspection is specified.  This period needs to include enough time to hire a qualified home inspector, have the inspection itself completed and a report generated, and then deal with any findings that require attention.  If the inspection period is not long enough to complete the process, then your lawyer can negotiate for a longer period of time that will fully cover all that needs to be accomplished.

Based on the results of the inspection, the purchase price may have to be renegotiated, and/or the seller may be given a reasonable amount of time to correct any problems that are discovered.  The date for closing may need to be pushed off depending on the time needed to complete the repairs.  These are all steps that your attorney will take to protect you, and help ensure that you do not get stuck with major repair problems down the road.

3.  TITLE and SURVEY

The next significant step leading up to the closing deals with the title report and survey.  The seller will have these prepared for your lawyer to review and to look for any potential problems with the land and its chain of ownership.  Issues that could come up include unpaid taxes or charges, code violations, encroachments on your land, and other such problems that could reduce the value of your purchase.  Sometimes these may be fixed by the seller, or sometimes they may affect the purchase price.  Your lawyer will negotiate for the period of time to correct the problems, a delay in the closing, or any other change that needs to be made to your agreement.

4.  FINANCING

Most home sales require the buyer to have a mortgage to be able to pay the purchase price.  The terms and conditions of the loan can be very complex, and the process may take longer than is provided for in the contract.  Your lawyer can help guide you through this process, and renegotiate as needed to allow more time before the closing so that your mortgage is approved.

5.  CLOSING

Throughout the closing itself, you will be presented document after document to sign.  In order to be sure that all the documents are correct and appropriate, and that you understand what you are signing, you will have your attorney right there going through it all with you.  Additionally, there may be some last-minute items to renegotiate, if there is any problem when you do your final walk-through of the house that day.

Even after you leave the closing, your lawyer should still be following the rest of the process to be sure that the deed and mortgage are recorded, and the title policies are issued.

2/22/12

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10 Common Myths about Medical Malpractice

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

1.  MYTH:  You can sue for malpractice if your doctor is unprofessional or you do not like the result of your medical procedure.

When it comes to a medical malpractice case, there is leeway for doctors to exhibit bad behavior, and to have their treatment plan not work out as you wanted it to.  Malpractice, or medical negligence is the result of something more than the typical risk of medical procedure, and more than the behavior of a doctor that is rude or unprofessional.  He or she may face disciplinary action, but would not necessarily be subject to a lawsuit for malpractice.  These cases involve conduct where there was a violation of the proper standards that the medical professional should follow.  Expert medical testimony helps to establish what kind of care is expected by the physician or other personnel, and that the standard of care was not followed.

2.  MYTH:  If you could have been badly injured from a physician’s negligent treatment, you have a case for medical malpractice.

These cases are brought based on what harm you actually suffered as a result of the medical negligence; and not what could have happened.  If your situation was a narrow miss, and you thankfully found out before you were hurt by the mistake, or with only minimal injury, then you are not likely to be able to bring a successful case.  Medical malpractice cases are premised on what actually happened to you as a result of the medical mistake.  Though it can be very upsetting and scary to think what could have happened if only you had not caught the problem in time, it is not necessarily enough for a medical malpractice case.  Also, these cases can be quite expensive and time-consuming because of all of the expert testimony involved.  If the medical malpractice did not result in considerable injury or death, it is far less likely to find a lawyer to take the case.

3.  MYTH:  You will get the doctor’s attention by suing for a huge amount of money.

Generally specific dollar amounts are not set out in the case initially.  When your case is filed, the only relevant dollar figure is an amount that represents the classification that tells you which division of the court system your case belongs.  It may sound like it packs a “punch” to say you are suing for “X” million dollars, but in reality this figure is not known until much further into the litigation process.

4. MYTH:   You can file any medical malpractice case, just like you do with any other kind of lawsuit.

Unlike most other cases, medical malpractice cases have an extra hurdle before you can bring your lawsuit.  You will need to have an expert who is in the field of the professional that you plan to sue, who will verify that you have a case.  The expert will need to review the medical records that show the mistake that was made, and certify that the standard of care in the profession was in fact violated.  Only after you have this expert opinion that shows that you have a valid claim, can you proceed with your case.

5.  MYTH:  Medical malpractice is about suing medical doctors.

There can be many different defendants named in a lawsuit for medical negligence.  It is important to be sure to include in the lawsuit, any medical professional, facility, or product manufacturer that may have played a role in the sequence of events in your case.  There may have been many treating professionals– surgeon, nurse, anesthesiologist, radiologist, physician’s assistants, and others—that had some part in your injury.  Also, other professionals may have been involved such as pharmacists and various technicians.  In addition to the individuals, the hospital itself may have been negligent, or the manufacturer of a product that was used in your treatment and caused you injury.

6.  MYTH:  You can wait until things settle down before you think about filing a lawsuit.

There are time limits for filing all lawsuits.  But for medical malpractice cases there is an added wrinkle.  The medical situation that has been caused by the negligence may be ongoing, but time could be running to start the case.  For example, if your loved one is still trying to fight his or her way back to health after a botched surgery, you cannot necessarily wait until the situation is resolved before you explore bringing a lawsuit for medical malpractice.  The time limit begins to run from the time you knew of the mistake, or should have known of the mistake.  The amount of time you have depends on several variables.  And it takes time to gather the facts together and locate an appropriate expert. So unfortunately, it is not always possible to put aside the issue of such a lawsuit until the medical problems resolve.

7.  MYTH:  Lawyers are always paid 1/3 of what the plaintiff gets.

Medical malpractice cases are generally handled on a contingent fee basis.  The attorney is paid based on a percentage of what is recovered by the plaintiff in the case.  But Illinois law has structured some rules about contingent fees in medical malpractice cases.  Though the fee cannot usually be more than 1/3 of the money recovered, the law sets out a sliding scale of lesser percentages being allowed, the higher the amount of the plaintiff’s recovery gets.  Also, the fee amount is subject to the court’s review to see that it is fair.

8.  MYTH:  If a doctor missed a diagnosis, it is medical malpractice.

All missed diagnoses are not necessarily malpractice.  Where a diagnosis should have been made of a disease or condition, and later you suffered serious effects, there is gray area concerning whether the mistake really caused further harm.  Essentially if, for example, a cancer diagnosis should have taken place at your examination, and it was discovered instead some period of time later when the cancer developed, it is important to be able to have evidence that an earlier diagnosis could have prevented your current condition.  If it can be shown that the cancer would have progressed on a similar path even if it had been discovered at the earlier time, then it is not likely that the doctor would be liable for the mistake.

9. MYTH:   Additional money damages can be awarded to punish the doctor.

Damages that go above and beyond, and attempt send a message to punish the defendant, are not allowed in Illinois for medical malpractice cases.  Punitive damages, and other such damage awards are excluded by Illinois law from these cases.

10.  MYTH:  If you sign a consent form, you are unable to sue for medical malpractice.

Standard consent forms are most often presented to patients to sign.  Though these forms are evidence of what you may have known at the time, or been aware or informed of, they are not the end of the road for a lawsuit for medical malpractice.  Courts will take into account other surrounding circumstances and give proper effect to them.  But just because you signed a consent for treatment that seems to be harmful or fatal to your case, it may not be so.  Because of the complexity of these cases, it is advisable to speak with an experienced attorney about your particular situation and see what the implications of the consent may be, if any.

2/21/12

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