- Home
- About The Firm
- Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?
- Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
- Choosing your lawyer and working with him effectively
- When Do I need a Lawyer for My Medical Malpractice Case?
- How Do I Choose My Lawyer?
- What Questions Do I Ask When Choosing a Lawyer?
- Meeting With Your Lawyer
- How Do Lawyers Determine the Value of My Case?
- How Do I Effectively Work With My Lawyer?
- What is the Attorney Client Privilege?
- What are the Ethical Rules for Lawyers?
- What is a Contingency Fee?
- When and How Do I Fire My Lawyer?
- Screening the case
- Recoverable Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases
- Fees and Costs in Medical Malpractice Cases
- The Legal Process
- Medical Review Panels
- Litigation, Trial and Appeal of Medical Malpractice Cases
- How Does My Case Proceed?
- What is Discovery
- What is Evidence?
- What Motions Are Filed in My Case?
- The Value and Settlement of My Case
- Will my Case Likely Settle?
- Do these Cases Often Settle?
- How Do Lawyers Determine the Value of My Case?
- Settlement Evaluations
- Physician's Consent to Settle the Case
- Reporting of Physician to National Databank
- How Do Insurance Adjusters Settle Cases?
- What is Mediation?
- How Do I Know If I Have a Good Settlement Offer?
- The Trial Of My Case
- How Does The Appeals Process Work?
- Does the Supreme Court Get to Hear My Case?
- Media & Press
- Verdicts and Settlements
- Contact Us

The Value and Settlement of My Case
The value and settlement of a medical malpractice case can be difficult to determine. Their are so many factors that go in to making an accurate determination of what a judge or jury might award if the case goes to trial. Moreover, the case may have one value if it goes to trial and another value if it settles early on after a law suit has been filed. Defense costs, the costs of experts and the risk of developing adverse evidence in discovery all play in to the valuation process at various stages of the litigation.
In most states, if a plaintiff wins the case, he is entitled to collect interest on the judgment from the time of the rendering of the judgment until paid. In some states, like Louisiana, if a plaintiff wins the case, he is entitled to receive interest on the judgment from the date the law suit (or medical review panel) was filed until it is paid. Since these cases can drag on for years, interest on a medical malpractice case in Louisiana can be substantial. Interest however, is not legally required to be paid if the case settles before trial.
Medical malpractice lawyers evaluate medical malpractice cases different than many other types of personal injury cases. Generally, these cases are more expensive and have more risk involved as the trial approaches. Even on great cases, problems with the availability of testifying expert physicians can present challenges to the case. It does no good to have a great case, if the evidence cannot be conveyed to the judge or jury.