switching solicitors in medical negligence case?

allybabe84

How easy / difficult is it to change solicitors in a medical negligence case? Does it happen very often?

McCrack

It's not impossible but can be difficult or not depending on a few factors.

There will be fees owed to your current solicitor for work done to date and there may be fees owed to other experts. Really it will depend on your current solicitor passing the file to your new solicitor and making or accepting arrangements re fees owed. Usually an undertaking is given by your new solicitor.

What stage is your case at?

allybabe84

McCrack wrote: »

It's not impossible but can be difficult or not depending on a few factors.

There will be fees owed to your current solicitor for work done to date and there may be fees owed to other experts. Really it will depend on your current solicitor passing the file to your new solicitor and making or accepting arrangements re fees owed. Usually an undertaking is given by your new solicitor.

What stage is your case at?

My solicitor has done all the legwork as in my medical records etc have been collected and I have already paid for the offical report back from the expert.....

blueythebear

allybabe84 wrote: »

My solicitor has done all the legwork as in my medical records etc have been collected and I have already paid for the offical report back from the expert.....

You would normally have to pay for all the legwork that your solicitor has done before he will release the file. Otherwise you will have to come to a deal with your (soon to be) former solicitor in that his costs will be paid upon successful outcome of the case. However, he may not agree to do so and indeed is not obliged to.

nuac

Med neg are complicated matters.

If you change, your new solicitor will have to spend some time and effort reviewing the matter.

You may end up paying twice for the same work.

If your present solicitor has made reasonable progress, consider whether your change is necessary

Blackrockcomet

If you change, make sure your new solicitor is an expert in Med neg as it gets complicated even with a strong report

Pat Mustard

I would say that an experienced Personal Injury lawyer should be able to handle it, especially with backup from experienced Counsel/Senior Counsel.

nuac

The Mustard wrote: »

I would say that an experienced Personal Injury lawyer should be able to handle it, especially with backup from experienced Counsel/Senior Counsel.

I suggest med neg is in it's own world.

Really need to know one's way around medical files and issues, and to know what expert witnesses to consult.

Some of those who circularise their availability may not be the best. You need experience of working with them in court, seeing them at consultation and standing up to crossexamination.

Pat Mustard

nuac wrote: »

I suggest med neg is in it's own world.

Really need to know one's way around medical files and issues, and to know what expert witnesses to consult.

Some of those who circularise their availability may not be the best. You need experience of working with them in court, seeing them at consultation and standing up to crossexamination.

In my view, most of the Plaintiff med neg work in this country is carried out by experienced PI solicitors, rather than by those who specialize in med neg, per se.

I don't disagree with you on the difficulty of the work or the need for experience.

McCrack

I think any experienced PI practitioner is going to have medical negligence experience. If a practitioner is practising heavily or exclusively in PI he/she will have medical negligence queries coming in the door some of which no doubt will lead to proceedings issuing.

hullaballoo

The Mustard wrote: »

In my view, most of the Plaintiff med neg work in this country is carried out by experienced PI solicitors, rather than by those who specialize in med neg, per se.

Is that why so many med neg cases go through PIAB first? :pac:

Pat Mustard

hullaballoo wrote: »

Is that why so many med neg cases go through PIAB first? :pac:

Harsh. :pac:

Blackrockcomet

We don't know the OP's complaint, nor do we want to know it but even med neg specialists within firms, divide work between different areas. e.g. someone might specialise in birth trauma injuries and another in orthopaedic injuries. It is that complex. While many PI solicitors get approached to handle med neg cases, many refer them to specialist colleagues. Often after 'having a go' first, they realise that it's a lot harder than it looks and extremely time consuming. Plus, you have to think about the fact that the State claims agency/MPS or whoever is going to have serious resources and appoint specialist med neg (or healthcare as they like to call themselves!) solicitors. You are already at a disadvantage when it comes to resources, you don't want to be at a knowledge disadvantage either.

McCrack

I don't quite agree. Plaintiff medical negligence litigation is a specialty of PI but the basics are the same i.e. establish breach of duty, causation and liability.

An experienced PI solicitor is going to be well versed reading medical records and obtaining medico-legal opinions, dealing with discovery, briefing counsel and running High Court proceedings to be able to handle medical negligence cases.

shermanban

Getting back on topic I don't think it's worth your while switching Solicitors. But that would depend on your reasons for doing so. I would be more concerned with the Senior/Junior Counsel you have as they are the people who will be arguing your case and/or negotiating a settlement. Whether your Solicitor is very competent or not doesn't really matter once the case is up and running and goes to trial as long as you've got a good barrister.

McCrack

shermanban wrote: »

Getting back on topic I don't think it's worth your while switching Solicitors. But that would depend on your reasons for doing so. I would be more concerned with the Senior/Junior Counsel you have as they are the people who will be arguing your case and/or negotiating a settlement. Whether your Solicitor is very competent or not doesn't really matter once the case is up and running and goes to trial as long as you've got a good barrister.

The competency of the solicitor is extremely important as it is he or she that does the investigative work and also prepares every aspect of the case with other experts whether they be legal (counsel) or medical to obtains opinions.

Counsel generally has little input throughout the case. They become important at Advice on Proofs stage and settlement/trial.

shermanban

McCrack wrote: »

The competency of the solicitor is extremely important as it is he or she that does the investigative work and also prepares every aspect of the case with other experts whether they be legal (counsel) or medical to obtains opinions.

Counsel generally has little input throughout the case. They become important at Advice on Proofs stage and settlement/trial.

I disagree. Personally, as a solicitor myself (and not to belittle the work we do), I think the value of any compensation in any tort action really depends on having a good barrister. Obviously having a good solicitor helps, and we are very important procedurally, but having a competent barrister can be the difference of 10 or 15 grand I would say.

allybabe84

Thanks for all your replies, but what has happened is a different solicitor from the same firm is taking up my case, and has already organised my first meeting with the barrister so I'm much happier with the way things are going

Blackrockcomet

McCrack wrote: »

I don't quite agree. Plaintiff medical negligence litigation is a specialty of PI but the basics are the same i.e. establish breach of duty, causation and liability.

An experienced PI solicitor is going to be well versed reading medical records and obtaining medico-legal opinions, dealing with discovery, briefing counsel and running High Court proceedings to be able to handle medical negligence cases.

Firstly, while PI solicitors are of course au fait with getting medical records, when it comes to reading them, it is entirely different. For PI, you are often looking for non- medical things such as alcohol in RTAs whereas in medical it is often a time consuming trawl through volumninous records looking for minute details.
Secondly, reports on liability and causation are very different from the reports prepared on injuries suffered during an RTA for example. Evaluating the strength of this report is quite a skill given that Doctors are unlikely to hang a colleague (even if he is from a different jurisdiction) and the interpretation of the strength of the report and whether it gives the defence any wriggle room is key. Even knowing the correct expert to brief can be challenging.
Now granted some PI solicitors may make the transition seamlessly but I think it is a bit of a risk to go to a PI solicitor (particularly if you are transferring from another solicitor) unless you are sure that they've won contested med neg cases before.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on your comments on the importance of a solicitor during the litigation process. It is absolutely not just procedural. While good barristers are key, the solicitor picks them and should not play a passive role, deferring to them at every turn

McCrack

The point I'm making is an experienced PI solicitor practising personal injuries litigation and has a heavy PI caseload is going to have medical negligence cases and handle them competently.

Blackrockcomet

McCrack wrote: »

The point I'm making is an experienced PI solicitor practising personal injuries litigation and has a heavy PI caseload is going to have medical negligence cases and handle them competently.

Fair enough. My own experience is that med neg tends to be quite a niche practice. I see the same names coming up again and again on the plaintiff side. Many cases are initiated by different firms but you do see the same names coming on board and taking them over, even from those who are well known PI firms. I agree with you that many PI solicitors are more than capable of handling med neg but I just think if someone asked me about a plaintiff case, I would always feel better about sending them to a solicitor who specialises in it, day in day out.

Pat Mustard

Blackrockcomet wrote: »

Fair enough. My own experience is that med neg tends to be quite a niche practice. I see the same names coming up again and again on the plaintiff side.

I see PI guys doing this work, competently. It may be a specialisation within PI, but experienced PI guys are quite capable of handing the work, in my view.

Solicitors who are less experienced in medical negligence can get hold of Senior Counsel, get a list of the necessary experts and basic advice on taking up records etc.

Although it may be difficult work and it may be for high stakes, it's still a type of PI action all the same.

I agree with McCrack on this.

vinnie13

the short answer is no it not hard at all,simply find a new solicitor willing to take the case and have the files sent to them.its no big deal things like this happen all the time

nuac

vinnie13 wrote: »

the short answer is no it not hard at all,simply find a new solicitor willing to take the case and have the files sent to them.its no big deal things like this happen all the time

Make sure the new soliciitor has med neg experience.

It is different and more complex than usual PI work

The selection of expert witnesses is most important.

Ideally your new solicitor should have worked with such experts in previous cases.