Frequently Asked Questions | FAQ's

The podiatrist-lawyers listed on the Footlaw.com website are also all Board Certified Podiatric Physicians and Surgeons, each with more than fifteen years experience in the evaluation and treatment of medical conditions affecting the leg, ankle, and foot. The focus of the law practice of each individual podiatrist-attorney is medical malpractice litigation involving problem areas associated with the legs, ankles, and feet. This includes the representation of clients who have suffered injuries as the result of a doctor’s negligence and/or malpractice.

In short, each physician-attorney has personal experience in this highly specialized field of medicine and surgery. More information, and a list of areas of legal assistance can be found in the services section.

In those instances where one of the independent physician-attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com website is consulted by a client or other counsel representing their client in a jurisdiction outside of where that physician-attorney is admitted to the Bar, that individual will associate with local counsel who is either personally known, or who has been interviewed and in whom that physician-attorney has confidence in being competent to co-manage the case as exhibited. The physician-attorney will continue to work with local counsel in preparing the case’s research, motions, pleadings, discovery, and depositions and if needed, attain temporary privileges to practice law in that state through the judicial doctrine of Pro Hac Vice.

In this manner, the physician-attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com website are available to clients in all fifty of the United States, the District of Columbia, and to consult with attorneys throughout the world.

The physician attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com website have represented clients or consulted with attorneys in Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington (state).

An unanticipated result or unsuccessful conclusion from medical treatment or surgery does not, in of itself, equate to medical malpractice. A doctor must have acted in a manner that was unacceptable as compared to other similarly trained doctors. Examples of how medical malpractice occurs are delay, misdiagnosis, or failure to properly diagnose a patient’s medical condition; an error in selecting or performing a surgical procedure; failure to properly recognize and treat complications; and the failure to gain the informed consent from a patient for the treatment or surgery performed.

The simple answer is YES. Although the actual medical records are the property of the health care provider, patients are entitled to copies of every piece of medical information contained within their patient record. The patient will be required to sign and execute a form authorizing the release of their medical records and may be charged a reasonable fee for duplication. Some states provide severe penalties for a doctor’s failure to provide a patient their medical records in a timely manner.

The federal HIPAA law became effective April 14, 2003. Under HIPPA you have certain federal rights, including a right to receive a copy of the providers Notice of Privacy Practices and a right to access (copy) of your medical record. HIPPA also provides patients the right to amend their medical records if, after reviewing your medical record, there are inaccuracies or omissions.

Generally, the client is ultimately responsible for the expenses of a lawsuit, including a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Generally, your attorney will advance some of the costs and expenses incurred in the investigation, preparation, and trial of a medical malpractice case. If there is a successful outcome of your case, these expenses are then reimbursed to the attorney. Most states require that attorneys be reimbursed directly from their clients even in the event of an unsuccessful malpractice claim. In that these costs and expenses can require a significant amount of funding, it is important that clients discuss and clarify this matter with their attorney.

Litigation expenses include filing fees, court reporter fees, deposition transcript fees, medical record fees, travel fees (airfare, lodging, ground transportation), photocopying fees and exhibit costs. Additionally, in a medical malpractice case, since an expert (physician) witness will need to be retained there are also expenses related to the expert witness(es). These can be quite substantial and include the doctors time to review the case, ongoing review, deposition costs, travel costs, and testimony at trial.

This is a form of payment to your attorney for their professional services in the handling and management of your medical malpractice case. In this type of arrangement, the attorney is paid for his services as a percentage of the ultimate settlement or verdict in your case. State Bar Associations and statutes differ in their interpretation of contingency fee agreements but the usual percentage is between 30% and 40 % of the recovery. Should the case prove to be unsuccessful, the attorney in a contingency fee agreement receives no reimbursement for their professional services, however the client continues to be responsible for the costs and expenses incurred

“Contingency attorneys’ fees refer only to those fees charged by attorneys for their legal services. Such fees are not permitted in all types of case. Court costs and other additional expenses of legal action must be paid by the client.”

Georgia Bar Rules, DR 2-101(B).

Informed Consent is the process by which a physician advises you about your treatment. Depending upon state laws, the physician may have the obligation to tell you your diagnosis, your proposed treatment/surgery, the reason for the treatment/surgery, the possible complications, the likelihood of success, alternative treatment options, and the risks to you if you do not undergo the treatment/surgery.

The Statute of Limitations is the time period after which a lawsuit cannot be brought.

The Statute of Limitations varies by state – in medical malpractice cases, many states have a two year Statute of Limitations. Some states have Statutes of Limitation as short as one year, other states have Statutes of Limitation as long as three years or more.

The attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com web site will only advise potential clients of the Statutes of Limitation for those states in which they are admitted to that state’s Bar.

The attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com web site have represented clients in many states – often with the assistance of local counsel.

Those states include:

Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington

The attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com website have performed Case Evaluations in many more states than are listed above.

In fact, with the assistance of local counsel and with admission Pro Hac Vice, the attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com web site can potentially represent clients in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Absolutely not!

Generally, in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the attorney will receive a contingency fee. The Footlaw.com and the local attorney will divide that contingency fee after they agree upon the division of representation that each will provide. You, as the client, must approve that working relationship. But the amount of the contingency fee will remain the same regardless.

In order to perform a proper Case Evaluation, you must provide

• Copies of ALL of your medical records from all doctors and hospitals who have examined or treated you.
• Copies of ALL of your x-rays. It is essential that you provide copies of the x-rays themselves and not of the reports.
• Copies of photographs, after for sure and before if available.

After we have received these, we may request additional information in order to complete the evaluation.

There is no fee for a Footlaw.com attorney to review your case.

If you desire that your case be evaluated, please contact the attorney and forward copies of ALL of your medical records, x-rays, and photographs to the Footlaw.com listed attorney.

After review, that attorney will advise you whether or not they can assist you in your matter.

The policy of the attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com web site is not to discuss a clients’ case if that client is currently represented by an attorney. This is in keeping with the Bar rules of many of the states.

If you already have an attorney representing your interests, you should discuss with that attorney whether or not the addition of one of the attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com web site to your team would benefit your case. If so, then your attorney (and not you) should contact the Footlaw.com attorney of your and his/her choice.

The attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com web site can also assist you in handling Personal Injury claims involving serious injury to your body including your foot, ankle, or leg.
The modern phrase which all of us are familiar with is “Personal Injury,” but in law, it is also known as a “tort,” or the French word for “wrong.” Personal injury or tort law is intended to compensate you as the victim for someone else’s carelessness, recklessness, or intentional misconduct if such action injures or damages you. For example, if someone hits the back of your car while you are stopped at a red light, and you fractured, that is broke your ankle, that person commits a tort.

The person whose action results in a personal injury is often referred to as the “tortfeasor.” If the injured party files a lawsuit, that is, starts an official litigation filed in Court, he or she is called a “plaintiff” or “claimant,” and the wrongdoer is called a “defendant.”

Some common personal injury claims involve:

• Slip and Fall Accidents (a person slips, falls, and is injured on someone else’s property), for example, grocery stores, discount and department stores, malls, and apartment complexes;
• Injuries on the Job (workplace accidents) or Workers Compensation;
• Motor Vehicle Accidents (accidents caused by reckless or careless driving);
• Nursing Home Neglect
• Product Defects – Injuries or death as a result of a defective product such as automotive and consumer products, medical equipment, surgical prostheses, drugs, industrial equipment, and household appliances.

Yes, many other medical specialties treat the foot. In addition to foot surgery, patients can be victims of malpractice by non-surgical treatment or by doctors other than podiatrists or orthopedic surgeons. Many different specialists treat the foot. Some of these doctors include general practitioners, family doctors, primary care physicians, internists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, radiologists, chiropractors, vascular surgeons, and emergency room doctors. The attorneys listed on Footlaw.com have represented clients who have been treated by some of these specialists.

Whether a person “has a case” depends upon whether a jury would find in their favor after a trial on the merits. Since no one can predict the future, all that we can advise is whether we feel that we can help you proceed with a lawsuit.

While the initial facts that you give in the Contact Form are helpful, a full review of ALL of your medical records AND x-rays will be necessary before a decision can be made as to whether or not we can help you. There is generally no fee for records review.

Your case may be worth nothing IF the jury decides against you after a trial on the merits.

The value of a case can only be determined after (1) a jury finds in your favor after a trial on the merits and (2) the made an award of money. Since no one can predict the future, we can only use certain factors to make an estimated “case value.”

Some of those factors include:

Special Damages

• The total amount of related medical bills – past, present, and future.
• The total amount of lost wages – past, present, and future (e.g., a person who does not work will have lower case value, all other things equal, then a 35 year-old who was making $100K+ per year and can no longer work because of the injury.
• Similarly, a person who is able to work will have a lower case value, all other things equal, then the person who can no longer work because of the injury)

General Damages

• “Pain and Suffering”
• Loss of body part (e.g., amputation)
• Loss of use of body part (e.g., paralysis)

What you need to do now is to take steps that will eventually help your attorney to prosecute your case.

They include:

• Obtain copies of ALL of your medical records. That includes the records of the potential defendant, as well as all subsequent treating doctors, all hospitals or other facilities, all imaging reports, and especially records of all medical care that you received before seeing the potential defendant.
• Obtain copies of ALL x-rays, MRIs, and other tangible studies.
• Gather ALL of your medical receipts and insurance Explanations of Benefits. If you cannot find these, contact the provider or insurance company and ask for replacement copies.
• Keep a record of every time and date that you saw the potential defendant. Then fill in the dates with as much detail and information as you remember.
• Make a list of all potential witnesses and a short statement of what you expect them to say.
• Do not discuss your case with anyone except your attorney.

REMEMBER THAT ALL LEGAL ACTIONS HAVE TIME LIMITS AFTER WHICH CLAIMS CAN NO LONGER BE BROUGHT – THE TIME VARIES FROM STATE TO STATE

In all cases, the success of your case and maximizing the portion of any settlement or award that you receive receives prime consideration.

Generally our policies are:

• If the case is in the state of one of the attorneys listed on footlaw.com, with a few exceptions, one of the footlaw.com attorneys will handle your case.
• In cases where the footlaw.com attorney is not admitted to the bar of your state, the footlaw.com attorney will often obtain local co-counsel to assist in your case and we will work together with the local counsel.
• In instances where the local counsel or the law firm prefers to handle the entire case, we will remain available in a consultation capacity.
• In those cases where your case value may be low, it is often to your benefit to have the footlaw.com attorney refer the case to a local attorney and still remain in a consultation capacity.

We reserve the options to handle your case or to refer your case, based on the above factors and other considerations, including your desires and your permission.

To engage the services of one of the physician-attorneys listed on the Footlaw.com web site, contact the physician-attorney of your choice, by e-mail, telephone, or US mail.

Discuss the issues and facts of your case with your chosen attorney. After discussing your case with your, your attorney will tell you about the next step.

The next step often involves a review of the medical records. If you have these records, the attorney will often instruct you to mail copies of the records to him.

A formal relationship only begins once you have signed an Agreement authorizing representation. If you desire that the attorney represent you, he will mail these documents to you.