What You Need to Show Your Attorney

Communication is important between you and your attorney when you’re filing suit against someone or some institution for medical malpractice. But telling your side of things to the attorney is just the preliminary step. You’ll need to give your lawyer a variety of documents and paperwork that serve as tangible evidence to back up your side of the story.

The Most Crucial Documents in a Malpractice Case

A copy of your complete medical records, including any mental health records, is a key part of your case when dealing with medical malpractice. If you don’t have a copy of your records to give your attorney, you can get them simply by asking. Your medical records are considered your personal property, and you have a right to them. Your doctor may not be obligated to provide them just the moment you ask, but they should be able to tell you when the copies will be ready. They also may charge a fee for making the copies. You can also give the proper information to your attorney who will then get a copy of your records.

Other Documents You Will Need

• Any health insurance information you have available
• Information about your prescriptions
• Medical bills, both from your doctor and a hospital, if one was involved
• Pay stubs or other wage records to show lost wages because of the illness or injury
• Anything the defendant has provided you with
• Anything else that might seem relevant. You might not immediately know what it’s for, but it could help your attorney see the big picture of your case and be better able to argue for you

Don’t Limit Yourself by Thinking Something’s Not Important

It’s easy when you’re trying to determine what your attorney needs to see to decide that this document or that really isn’t that important. But if you originally thought the documents were worthy of being kept, then something about them seemed important enough at the time. Don’t edit yourself. Turn it all over to you attorney and let him or her be the judge of whether it’s important.

Anything that ties in is a relevant document. If you’re suing about a specific drug, for instance, give your attorney copies of the inserts that came with your prescription, and any sheets you were given listing side effects and the safety of the drug. If you’ve found information about the drug somewhere else, like a book or a magazine article, or you’ve taped a show about it on television, make a copy and provide your attorney with it.

Chances are good that the attorney would have come across similar information, but by providing it you’ve save him or her that step. And every step saved is not only money saved, but another step closer to a settlement. You’ll want to hasten that process in anyway you can.

Please contact us if you or a loved one was a victim of medical malpractice.