Abritration and medical malpractice

Valerie Ann Farris

Ordinarily the arbitration agreement itself will describe the process for initiating arbitration. Not only can you have an attorney present, I strongly suggest you *should* have a lawyer there to represent your interests. Having an attorney with you provides a dual benefit - the right lawyer will be familiar with both the arbitration process generally, and medical negligence law specifically. Feel free to call our firm if you have questions.

David T. Lopez

First, make sure that your agreement is one for arbitration--a process that results in a binding and essentially non-appealable decision--or mediation, an assisted negotiation process that helps the parties try to fashion their own agreement and is non-binding if there is no settlement. In a mediation conference you need not have an attorney, although having legal counsel always is advisable. If you do have an arbitration agreement, study it carefully to determine to whom you need to give notice of your desire to arbitrate. If you are going to have an attorney represent you, give the attorney a copy of the agreement and let the attorney handle the details of arranging for an arbitration hearing. If you were not provided a written copy of the arbitration agreement, have the lawyer obtain it from the opposing party. Before actually starting the arbitration process, you might ask the lawyer to explain what obligations you would have regarding the arbitration fees and whether you would run the risk of having you be charged with attorney's fees not only for your lawyer, but also for the lawyer on the other side. Malpractice cases also might require the hiring of a medical expert witness and you should find out how the fees and expenses of such witness would be paid. If you reach a conclusion that the potential costs to you of the arbitration are too much for you to risk, you can ask a lawyer to determine if it is possible to have the agreement declared unfair and allow you to proceed with a lawsuit. In any case, you can try to have the other party agree to a mediation conference to discuss settlement before engaging in the possibly much more expensive process of arbitration.