About experience

  • How much of your practice is birth injury and medical negligence work, as opposed to other kinds of injury cases?
  • Have you handled cases involving our child’s condition before? What did those cases involve?
  • Are you licensed in the state where the birth took place? If not, how would you handle that?
  • Who in your office would actually work on our matter, and who is our point of contact?

About the review

Our guide to how claims generally work describes the stages these questions refer to, and the records guide explains what the hospital holds.

  • What would you need from us to start, and what would you request from the hospital?
  • Which kinds of medical experts would review the records, and who pays for that review if the matter does not go forward?
  • Based on what we have told you, what would you expect the experts to focus on? What would make you conclude there is no claim?
  • How and when will you tell us if you decide not to proceed?

About money

  • What is your fee, and is it a percentage of the recovery? Does the percentage change if the case goes to trial?
  • Who pays the costs of records, experts and filings, and are they deducted before or after the fee is calculated?
  • If there is no recovery, do we owe anything at all?
  • Will you give us the agreement in writing to read before we sign?

About time and communication

Deadlines differ by state and are not stated on this site; our state framework explains why.

  • Are there deadlines that apply to our child’s situation, and how do you track them?
  • Realistically, how long does each stage take?
  • How often will we hear from you, and how do we reach you with a question?

Signs worth noticing

Caution is reasonable if an attorney promises a result, quotes a figure before reviewing a single record, presses you to sign at the first meeting, or cannot explain what the experts would need to find. Confidence is reasonable if an attorney explains clearly, says what they do not know yet, and tells you plainly that they will say so if the record does not support a claim.

Take notes, take your time, and talk to more than one attorney if you want to. “No thank you” is always acceptable.