Las Vegas, NV personal injury attorney Keith E. Galliher talks about his approach to handling medical malpractice cases. He is very cautious when considering medical malpractice cases. Many clients mistakenly believe that any negative outcome during a medical procedure, such as surgery, automatically constitutes malpractice. However, he clarifies that a poor outcome does not necessarily equate to malpractice. The first step in evaluating a potential case is carefully assessing the client’s account to determine if there is a reasonable possibility that malpractice occurred.

If there are grounds to suspect malpractice, the attorney must gather all relevant medical records, including those from hospitals, surgical procedures, and office visits. Once these records are obtained, an expert physician should be retained—preferably one with specialized training relevant to the case. For example, if the case involves urological surgery, a urological surgeon would be consulted. Finding qualified expert witnesses can be challenging, but there are services available to help locate and hire these professionals. This process often requires an upfront financial investment, which clients may find difficult to manage.

After reviewing the medical records and consulting with the expert, the attorney will receive a preliminary opinion on whether malpractice occurred. If the expert determines that malpractice did not happen, the attorney must convey this difficult news to the client, explaining the expert’s reasoning. Clients usually appreciate this level of transparency, especially as they learn about the significant costs involved in litigation and the generally low success rates for medical malpractice cases that proceed to trial—typically around 10 to 15% for plaintiffs and 85 to 90% for defendants.

For the attorney, agreeing to take on a medical malpractice case reflects a strong conviction that the physician acted egregiously and a commitment to proving this claim in front of a jury.