Patients pursuing medical malpractice claims in Indiana and elsewhere face long odds of winning at trial. According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, patients won only 22.7% of all medical malpractice cases tried in the United States in 2005. In contrast, plaintiffs won 56% of all general civil litigation trials in the same period. (This would include claims from automobile accidents, animal attacks, premises claims, etc.)
What accounts for this low win percentage in medical malpractice cases? One factor is that the strongest medical malpractice cases usually don’t go to trial. Those cases are typically settled before trial. Because the malpractice insurers control the purse strings, they control which cases go to trial and which cases settle. Naturally, they choose to take to trial the cases which they believe they have the best chance of winning.
Another factor is that juries are reluctant to believe that doctors or hospitals make mistakes. Doctors continue to rank among America’s most admired professionals. Additionally, because jurors depend on physicians for their own health care, they often choose not to accept the notion that their health is in the hands of someone who is fallible.
Because of the difficulties in winning medical malpractice claims, the selection of a lawyer to pursue the claim is vitally important. The attorneys at Garau Germano, P.C. have the experience and skill necessary to beat the odds in medical malpractice cases.