Are you a law student or looking to switch practice areas? Interested in a medical malpractice career? Read below to see what I’ve learned about this practice area in the past few years.

1. Litigation Can Take a While. Coming from the no-fault world where it can sometimes even take under a year from filing to settlement, I can say that medical malpractice cases are quite lengthy. Not even accounting for the Notice of Intent that must be sent before a lawsuit can even be filed, all the discovery that must be conducted, attempts at facilitation, any appeals, trial, and any post-trial appeals, it can sometimes take 5-6 years (or longer!) before a case is finally resolved.
2. You Will Learn the Medicine. If you liked bio class in school, you will probably like medical malpractice work. By the time gain a few decades in this field, you’ll not only know the difference between bradycardic and tachycardic, but you may even think you could scrub into an appendectomy.
3. Medical Malpractice is a Type of Negligence. A medical malpractice case is simply a special type of negligence case. Plaintiffs still must prove duty, breach of that duty, causation, and damages.
4. There Are Human Beings on Both Sides. While, yes, on the defense side you may be working for the “big, bad insurance company,” what most forget is that even when you’re defending a claim, there is a doctor, nurse, physician assistant, or other medical care provider whose care is being questioned. Even if it’s a medical institution getting sued, there are still human being medical providers who will likely be involved in the case through depositions. Depositions in and of themselves can be scary for some.
5. There Can be So Many Records. Now, here’s the thing . . . in the past couple decades or so, hospitals and medical institutions have moved to EMR (or electronic medical records), which is great. However, that also ends up in hundreds, if not thousands of pages that we then have to review during a lawsuit. The good news? They probably aren’t as dry as reading through financial records—let’s be honest!
6. There Might be Tears. Deposing a family member of somebody who has passed away is not easy. During those depositions, we need to balance the need to obtain information while advocating for our clients and empathy. At the end of the day, everybody’s a human being and we must be cordial.
7. Experts, Experts, Experts. In Michigan, a plaintiff needs to file an Affidavit of Merit signed by a qualified expert along with the Complaint who holds the opinion that the standard of care was breached. In turn, the Defendant needs to file an Affidavit of Meritorious Defense signed by a qualified expert explaining why the standard of care was not breached. The facts of the case are important; however, sometimes, a claim (or defense) can succeed or fail based upon the strength of the experts.
8. Non-Economic Damages Are Capped. While economic damages (think medical expenses) are not capped in Michigan, noneconomic damages (think pain and suffering) are capped at $1,047,000 and $586,300 depending on the classification of the injury. These are adjusted each year based upon the Consumer Price Index.
9. Medicine Isn’t Practiced Like on TV. Just like how most attorneys do not have surprise witnesses and evidence at the last minute (does TV not know what witness and exhibits lists are?) or go to trial every day, medical professionals also do not practice medicine like Dr. House or Dr. Conrad Hawkins. Depending on the ailment, imaging can take some time, and oh, there are no screenwriters to let the doctor know that 5 weeks prior, the patient was in a specific area of a certain desert, which is only apparent because of the type of dirt that was on the patient’s shoes, and lo and behold, in that particular desert exists a type of mushroom that is now making the patient sick, so “can we get a CT STAT?!?!?!” All this to say—whatever side you’re on, keep this in mind when counseling and advising clients.
10. It’s Rewarding. Whether on the plaintiff’s end or the defendant’s end, you gain a special kind of satisfaction knowing that you helped lessen the burden that was carried by your client.

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Silvia A. Mansoor is the current SBM YLS Chair and a health care provider advocate at Foley, Baron, Metzger & Juip, PLLC.