baughman law centers

How Do I Proceed

• When you call us we will first decide if the case is one that we will want to invest our money in ordering the medical records and paying for an initial screening and evaluation by a physician.  The hospital and medical records, as a rule of thumb, will cost about $100 for each day of hospitalization.  Sometimes evaluations can be undertaken without ordering all the records.  Also, it may be additionally necessary to order copies of films taken.
   

• The next step involves a medical evaluation, which will cost a minimum of $1,500.  If the case has possibilities, we will pay for ordering the medical records and the initial evaluation.  This whole process must be completed  before the statute of limitations runs.  The statute of limitations in Illinois is measured 2 years from the date the malpractice is discovered, but no longer than 4 years.  In the case of children, the statute of limitations is 8 years or age 20 which ever is sooner.  The statute does not run against a mentally disabled individual.  In the case of a governmental entity, such as Cook County Hospital, the statute of limitations is reduced to one year.
   

• In Illinois, before a suit can be filed, a certificate must be obtained from a physician practicing in the same specialty indicating that there was a deviation from the medical standard of care to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, which caused the injury of which the patient is complaining.  All we then ask from the patient is cooperation over a period of several years as the litigation progresses.  As a plaintiff you will be asked to do as much as possible in assisting the attorney in gathering information and attending depositions.  Of course, the exact date of a statute of limitations expires can only be determined after the medical records have been thoroughly reviewed by a medical expert and an attorney makes a determination as to which statute of limitations applies.  Don't try to make this determination without the prompt advice of an attorney.

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