A medical malpractice trial can take one to six weeks. A trial of a complex
business case frequently takes months; some have gone on for more than a year.
Trials cost each party $2,000 a day and up, depending on the number of
attorneys representing the party. Expert witnesses' fees and expenses can add
another $1,000 to $2,000 a day for every day or part of a day that the witness
must be in court. For parties paying their own lawyers, a trial can be so
expensive that any victory will be pyrrhic. For plaintiffs represented on
contingency contracts, a trial increases the expenses that they must pay out of
any money they receive, but it is their attorneys who bear the major expense of
the trial. The time, expense, and uncertainty of a trial is the major
justification for the 30 percent to 50 percent of the award that a contingent
fee client must give up to the attorney.
Defendants represented by counsel paid by an insurance company must bear the
costs of lost business. Although the insurance company pays all of the direct
costs of the trial and these costs do not directly raise the defendant's
insurance premium, they must be recouped from all of those insured in the
defendant's insurance pool, including the defendant. Defense costs are a major
factor in the decision to settle any lawsuit. An insured defendant may want to
fight a case on principle, but it is usually a bad business decision to spend
$150,000 to fight a case that could be settled for $25,000.
The most disturbing consequence of trial costs is that they allow a very
well-funded party to punish an opponent, irrespective of the merits of the
case. A wealthy surgeon can use litigation to force colleagues on a peer review
panel to back down from limiting his or her privileges. A tobacco company can
devote unlimited resources to fighting persons who sue for injuries caused by
smoking.
The Medical and Public
Health Law Site
The Best on the WWW Since 1995!
Copyright as to non-public domain materials
See DR-KATE.COM for home disaster preparation
Edward P. Richards, III, JD, MPH Webmaster
