The Benefits of Hiring a Lawyer Who is Also a Medical Doctor

Personal injury lawyers, by the very nature of their profession, work with injured victims who seek compensation for their damages through the civil justice system. While knowledge of the law, trial experience, and other legal tools that lawyers accumulate throughout their education and careers are unquestionably important to helping victims navigate their legal situations, an understanding of medicine is also invaluable – especially in cases involving birth injuries and medical malpractice.

At Cullan & Cullan, our firm holds the distinction of being a practice where law and medicine merge. With award-winning trial lawyers who are also doctors, we’re able to provide a breadth of insight and experience rarely found elsewhere. As our history of record-setting results and more than $350 million in compensation recoveries show, working with doctor-lawyers can make all the difference.

Here are a few of the many benefits of the doctor-lawyer advantage.

• A deeper understanding of injuries – Many attorneys who practice personal injury law pick up much of their medical knowledge incidentally as part of their daily jobs. However, it is often the case that their understanding of injuries and the practice of medicine is cursory or limited in nature. By working with lawyers who are also doctors, clients can benefit from advocates who have a deeper understanding of their physical injuries, medical needs, and prognoses. This allows a doctor-lawyer not only to delve into how and why injuries occurred when working to meet the burden of proof in civil lawsuits, but also to better understand their severity and impact on victims when seeking compensation that correspond to the full scope of their damages.
• Leverage in negotiations – Most personal injury cases do not go to trial. Instead, they are often resolved out of court with insurance companies or corporations. As corporations, these parties have a vested interest in protecting their bottom line, and too often they put profits over people when working to dispute or deny liability for victims’ damages or underpay their claims. Knowledge is power, and a more robust understanding of injuries, treatment, and future medical needs provides our team with the leverage to create a level playing field with the most powerful corporations, compel defendants and adjustors into viewing victims as people rather than numbers, and secure the settlements clients deserve.
• Skilled insight in house – Attorneys without medical degrees typically consult medical professionals when working to support their arguments and strengthen clients’ cases, especially in matters involving serious injuries and complex cases that fall within the realm of medical malpractice. In fact, not all personal injury lawyers handle medical malpractice claims due to their complexity and the need for resources and professional connections. With a team that includes attorneys who have medical degrees, medical training, and advanced degrees in engineering and anatomy, we’re able to draw from diverse insight most lawyers are forced to obtain from outside experts. This can facilitate a more streamlined approach, save costs associated with hiring medical experts for insight or testimony, and allow for fruitful and meaningful collaboration with specialists in cases where unique expertise is required.
• Meticulous investigations – Serious injuries, medical negligence, and birth injuries demand detailed and diligent investigations. The thousands of cases investigated by our attorneys have been driven in large part by our medical knowledge and education. In birth injury cases, for example, our hands-on understanding of the professional standards and duty of care associated with the practice of medicine allow us to target and identify serious breaches, substandard treatment, and acts of medical negligence that can ultimately form the basis of our legal claims.
• Translation at trial – When litigation is necessary, especially in high stakes cases involving powerful corporate defendants, the complexity of the medical issues involved can create tremendous challenges. While our medical background allows us to tackle these challenges during investigations and pre-trial preparation, our training as trial lawyers helps temper that insight with the power of presentation and persuasion. Trials can be won or lost in many ways, and attorneys who depend too heavily on expert medical testimony, the technical aspects of injuries that most laymen won’t understand, or medical explanations lacking in depth, can impede a jury’s understanding of the most important facts, and their ultimate decisions. Through a harmonious blend of law and medicine, our doctor-lawyers work to translate even the most dense and technical medical information into easy-to-understand terms, focus on the most essential concepts and facts, and structure the succinct and compelling arguments that resonate with juries and judges.
• Protecting patient safety – Doctor-lawyers provide many advantages to victims and families struggling with the tragic consequences of medical negligence. In addition to helping victims navigate their own personal journeys, the work of doctor-lawyers can also have a much broader impact. By holding medical professionals and health care providers accountable, often in spite of their efforts to evade liability, doctor-lawyers and the families they represent play a vital role in protecting patient safety. Through legal action, increased awareness, and accountability, these efforts can help prompt needed changes, and prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.

A Passionate Approach Driven by the Power of Knowledge

Cullan & Cullan was founded by Dr. Dan Cullen, one of the first doctor-lawyers in the U.S. Known for his diligent and passionate approach to cases, Dr. Cullen cultivated a mission and reputation for fierce and intelligent advocacy our legal team continues to uphold today. If you would like to learn more about our legal team, the services we provide, and how working with our team of doctor-lawyers may be of benefit in your own fight for justice, contact us for a free consultation today.