Choosing Solicitors

In medical negligence cases your choice of solicitor can make an enormous difference. Time and again we hear about medical negligence cases that were lost, or settled for far less than they should have been, because the solicitor was not a medical negligence law expert.
 
If you remember nothing else from the Medical Negligence London website, remember this: choose a solicitor who is a genuine expert in medical negligence law.
 
In some cases, it could make a difference of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of pounds. We have first hand experience of turning around cases that were previously being handled by solicitors who simply do not have expertise in the specialist field of medical negligence law.
 
So how to choose your solicitor?

We have put together a checklist of questions and your solicitor should be able to answer yes to all of them:
 

   1. Is the head of your medical negligence team accredited with the Law Society under the Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme? The Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme sets a high standard for membership and it is a strong indicator of expertise in medical negligence law.


   2. Does the firm have a franchise with the Legal Services Commission to undertake publically funded work in relation to medical negligence Law? This is of key importance even if you are not eligible for legal aid. This is because the Legal Services Commission has strict criteria in selecting firms that are permitted to undertake legally aided medical negligence work and only the leading medical negligence law firms are able to do this.

 
   3. Has the firm recently handled a medical negligence case concerning a similar area of medical practice?


   4. Will the case be handled personally by a skilled expert in medical negligence law?


   5. Does the firm work with top barristers with specialist expertise in medical negligence law?


   6. Does the firm have contacts with leading experienced medical consultants?

 
 
Being able to answer yes to these questions is the basic minimum and at Medical Negligence London our view is that you should not even consider a firm that cannot do this.
 
The suggestion from Medical Negligence London is to speak to at least three firms that can answer yes to all of the above questions and then from those select the solicitor with whom you feel personally comfortable.