Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

In Montgomery County, PA, northeast of Philadelphia, doctors and lawyers are working together to streamline the process for resolving medical malpractice claims. Members of the Montgomery County bar association along with the Abington Memorial Hospital have launched a new program to avoid taking the disputes to court. Following a pattern being implemented by a number of suburban and rural counties across the country, the goal is to prevent what is sometimes termed the culture of blame surrounding medical malpractice cases. The goal is to resolve the problems with negotiation, without mutual recrimination and bitterness.

Proponents of the program also say that the current process is exhausting of physical, emotional, and financial resources. Instead of necessitating trials, which often include putting emotionally traumatized victims on the witness stand, the new system proposes a two-step approach to resolving problems.

First, doctors will explain to patients exactly what happened to them. Since many people file medical malpractice claims to get straight and truthful answers from an often close-mouthed doctor, this step may prevent many claims from ever being filed. However, if necessary, patients who feel they have been wronged, the process moves to a mediation step. In this step, attorneys from both sides will sit down and determine an outcome of the situation that is acceptable to both patient and doctor. If mediation fails to reach a mutually agreeable solution, a claim can still be filed with the court.

To the extent that this process may work to reduce the stress for people who have already undergone the trauma of a failed surgery, this seems a good thing, and, if successful, we might all look forward to its spread.

The process, however, still requires a lawyer to act as advocate for the injured party. If you have suffered as a result of the negligence of a doctor, contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation.