Medical Malpractice Arbitration

Answer:

The other day, I was speaking with one of my clients about her medical malpractice claim. I was explaining to her that the case was going to be in arbitration rather than litigation. There are several key differences between arbitration and litigation, the primary difference being that in a lawsuit, you can walk into a courtroom and have your case heard by 12 jurors; 12 of your peers will hear the evidence and independently evaluate it. In arbitration, you have what’s called a neutral or an arbitrator. Sometimes you can have a panel of arbitrators, up to three or five, and they get to hear the evidence that’s put before them and they make the decision. The interesting thing with arbitration is that your neutrals are people that have experience in the legal profession and the legal field, unlike jurors, so your arbitrator is going to be either an attorney or a retired judge, and that can greatly affect the decisions that get made about your case, and it can affect the amount of money that you recover in your case.