Uninsured Physicians Defense

Legal Defense for Uninsured Physicians

Being named as a defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit is something that a health care provider never wants to have happen. If you have insurance, your malpractice insurance company assigns your defense to a law firm and your legal bills are paid by the insurance company. However, if you are a Florida physician who made the decision to forgo the crushing costs of malpractice insurance, you may be facing the daunting task of finding a qualified and cost-conscious medical malpractice attorney. It is imperative to find an experienced attorney who can effectively defend you through every phase of the malpractice litigation.

What to Do When Faced With a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
What to do when you are faced with a medical malpractice lawsuit? The first thing you must do is contact an experienced medical malpractice defense attorney to defend you. Send the Pre-suit Notice or the lawsuit to your attorney. Your defense attorney may be able to settle the matter at a very early stage in the litigation. You will have to pay for this defense, but that is certainly preferable to disregarding the issue because that will only end up with a default judgment entered against you which in turn will greatly increase the legal cost to you to get out of that situation.

Physician Strategy and Settlement Analysis
The litigation strategy and settlement analysis is different for the defense attorney representing an uninsured health care provider than one who is insured. Under Florida’s Physician Financial Responsibility Act, physicians may comply by obtaining a letter of credit, a surety bond, having $250,000 in assets, or promising to pay a judgment up to $250,000 withing 60 days of the judgment. One solution that is possible for uninsured physicians is for his or her defense attorney to negotiate a a payment plan settlement between the physician defendant and the plaintiff. I have extensive success in negotiating acceptable terms for my health care clients.

Experience is Everything in Medical Malpractice Defense
Please be sure the lawyer you do retain is experienced in medical malpractice defense. Do not employ your business lawyer who handled your real estate transaction, the one who handled your friend's divorce or the one who prepared your will. Medical malpractice is a true specialty and your interests will be best served by retaining someone who does this type of work on a daily basis. Meet with your medical malpractice attorney early into the litigation, so that you can explore the options available to you and formulate an exit strategy to resolve this matter as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

Beryl Thompson-McClary has more than 20 years of experience with health care related cases and representation of physicians and other health care providers. She has both the experience and expertise required in this type of litigation. Contact our office today to discuss your physician defense matters.