It's bad enough to face the pain and consequences of a disability due to medical malpractice, but having to decide how to pursue a case, gather evidence, plan a strategy, and decide whether to negotiate or litigate a settlement is beyond the scope of most people. That is why you should contact a medical malpractice lawyer to determine if you have a medical malpractice case, and then to pursue it for you. The first thing that has to be filed, even before the lawsuit, is a certificate of merit. It is a statement from medical malpractice experts in the same medical field as the defendant who examine the details of the case and determine if it has merit to go to court. Once the medical malpractice experts certify that the case has merit, it can be filed and proceed through the stages of a medical malpractice case.