Page 46 - Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

SVMIC Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

complicated. They involve medical issues that are complicated.

Experts must be retained and have sufficient time to prepare.
This often cannot occur until a significant part of the discovery

has taken place. Discovery must be scheduled around the

calendars of experts, healthcare workers, and lay witnesses.
Throughout the litigation, the attorneys for the parties file

various motions that must be heard and decided by the trial
judge. Most courts require the parties to attend a mediation

(settlement conference) to explore whether there is any

interest in settling the lawsuit [Note - it does not have to be
settled if either party desires to go to trial]. And the sums at

risk are significantly greater in a malpractice case than in other
civil litigation matters, such as a car wreck case. For these

reasons, trial courts almost always schedule the trial in a

medical malpractice case for a date a long time in the future.

The calendar on which trials are scheduled is known as the

court’s docket. Courts only schedule trials on the docket a

limited number of days per month. The courts have to reserve
a certain number of days per month for other matters such as

the hearing of motions. Moreover, some courts schedule

multiple trials to begin on the same day on the docket. The
theory is that most of those cases will be settled, dismissed, or

continued prior to the scheduled trial date since only one case
can be tried at a time. If any one of the earlier cases on the

Docket goes to trial, the remaining cases must be rescheduled
to a later date. All of this can only add to the delay.

Once the trial begins, it can often last days or weeks in a

malpractice case depending on the number of parties,
witnesses, and issues involved. Physicians must understand

Page | 46