You may be astounded when you are served with a personal injury lawsuit for your supposed acts of medical misconduct against one of your patients. You may feel inclined to fight this claim until the end, especially if you believe no amount of fault should be assigned to you. But before making such a hasty, drastic decision, you must fully understand the implications of a potential medical misconduct trial. So without further ado, please follow along to find out whether your medical misconduct case will be taken to trial and how one of the proficient New York physician defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law can help you prepare for its legal repercussions.
Will my medical misconduct case be taken to trial?
Of note, only about seven percent of medical misconduct cases are taken all the way to trial. The other 93 percent are taken care of in pre-litigation settlements. Understandably, you may be hesitant to settle because it may insinuate your admittance of fault when you believe you did nothing wrong in the first place. But this may be in your best interest so to avoid the time and financial commitment of litigation proceedings.
What’s more, your settlement may not become part of the public record. This is because your lawyer may work on your behalf to include a confidentiality agreement as part of the settlement. Here, the plaintiff would have to promise not to speak publicly on any information regarding the case, or else they would have to face serious penalties. Ultimately, the last thing you may want is to go to trial and receive an unfavorable jury verdict, as it may permanently tarnish your reputation in the New York State medical community.
What should I know about my OPMC or OPD hearing?
While you may get everything squared away in your personal injury settlement, you may be unable to avoid your mandatory hearing with the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD).
Your OPMC or OPD hearing may go very similarly to how your personal injury litigation proceedings would have transpired. This is because, here, you may have to defend yourself and make a solid case why the Board should find you not guilty of the accusations against you. In this case, the best possible outcome is for this medical misconduct action to be closed or dismissed early on. This is so this incident does not land on your public record.
In conclusion, do not delay your preparations for your upcoming personal injury case and OPMC or OPD hearing. Retain the services of one of the talented New York physician defense lawyers from Walker Medical Law today. We look forward to hearing from you and working on your case soon.
