Because of the highly technical and complex area of medical malpractice, if you have been injured due to the negligent acts of a health care provider, you will need to seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice. Medical malpractice cases occur when a healthcare provider, for example, a doctor, dentist, nurse, hospital or nursing home, provides less than the accepted standard of care to their patient causing an injury.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are complicated and expensive to pursue. It is essential that you seek the advice of an experienced medical malpractice attorney. If your case can be substantiated, you will be working with this attorney and his or her office for possibly years through the trial and potential appeal process. Many reputable malpractice attorneys have nurses or other medical professionals on staff that can help to evaluate your case.

Attorneys will often provide a free consultation to discuss your case. The State of Utah has limited the contingency fee that attorneys in medical malpractice cases can charge to no more than one-third of the amount recovered. Pursuing a medical malpractice case can be very expensive. Therefore, you will want to discuss with your attorney the payment of any costs involved in preparing your case, to include expert witness fees.

While Utah does not require that expert witnesses testify on your behalf, it would be likely that a doctor or other medical professional will be retained as an expert witness. If the medical errors in your case are easily understandable by jurors this may not be necessary.

The time frame in which you have to file a claim for medical malpractice is called the statue of limitations. In Utah , the statue of limitations is generally 2 years from the date the injury was discovered or should have been discovered. However, in some circumstances you may have up to 4 years to file your claim. These rules do not apply to minor children. It is always best to contact an attorney upon your first inclination that there is a problem with your medical care to avoid missing the window of opportunity to file a claim before the statute of limitations expires.

There are two general types of damages that your attorney will seek on your behalf in medical malpractice cases, economic and non-economic. Economic damages include the actual medical costs due to the injury and any lost wages or earning potential. Non-economic losses are for pain, suffering and inconvenience. The State of Utah had set limits on the amount of non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases to $400,000.