If you recently suffered injury at the hands of a negligent physician, you may have already consulted with a medical attorney and begun the process of filing a medical malpractice claim against the offending doctor.  But once the ball gets rolling, what can you expect next?  Will you go to court?  Will your case be decided by a judge or a jury?

There are generally three possible outcomes of medical malpractice cases.

Settling out of court. Contrary to popular belief, not every medical malpractice case ends up in court.  Many times the guilty party will admit fault and agree to settle to avoid further litigation.  This often happens when the doctor being accused and his attorneys feel that they don’t have a strong enough case to win in court.  When cases are settled out of court, they are typically concluded quickly (within a few months) which can be beneficial to the victim, especially when they are in need of settlement funds to pay medical bills and other expenses.

Mediation/arbitration. Often times both parties in a lawsuit cannot agree on a settlement amount and are forced to take the case to the next level.  This doesn’t necessarily mean court is in your future.  If you are unhappy with the settlement amount offered but would like to avoid a lengthy court battle, you have the option of using mediation or arbitration first to try and reach an agreed upon outcome.  All the parties involved, along with their legal representation, will meet with an unbiased third party affiliated with the court to try and reach an agreement that everyone is happy with and avoid going to court.  This can also mean a faster outcome than an actual courtroom case.

Going to court.  Sometimes an agreed upon settlement cannot be reached and the case must be presented to a judge or jury for a final decision.  Expert witnesses are usually called by both sides and testimony is heard as well as evidence presented for review.  It’s important to know that medical malpractice cases that end up in court can take a long time to resolve so you should be prepared to be in it for the long haul should your case end up in litigation.

Of course, every case is different and it can never be predicted exactly how yours will go, however your medical attorney should be able to give you a better idea of which option might be best for your individual situation, and also be able to estimate the possible amount of time you can expect your particular case to last.