FAQs

Standards of Care in medicine and other health-related disciplines are virtually identical in all Western countries, and we have had a great deal of experience in the area having handled over 70,000 cases of medical negligence and disability claims over 30 years.

Law on the other hand is very local, involving different procedures, Rules of Court, precedents, judgments etc. that are quite specific for any one geographic region.

We are NOT a law firm.

Malpractice Check is the very first company to offer, directly to the affected person or delegate, an efficient and secure web-based assessment of medical malpractice with a comprehensive report.

Medicine is Global – Law is Local

Upload your electronic or scanned copies to the Malpractice Check server.

Absolutely, provided you show evidence of the relationship and your legal ability to act on someone else’s behalf (e.g. parents of a child, spouse of a deceased relative, guardian of a mentally incompetent relative/friend, etc.)

Yes. We encourage communication between Malpractice Check and the lawyer you eventually choose, as we can be of significant further service: offering pragmatic medical strategy on your case, arranging for additional expert opinions, coaching for questions to pose to the negligent party, pre-trial preparation etc.

Certainly. Our service helps lawyers cost-effectively determine the merits of any one particular case before agreeing to take it on.

Negligence is a general term that means failure to conform to certain regulated, legislated or generally accepted standards of action or responsibility. Otherwise stated, it is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. It could apply to medical as well as many non-medical situations, such as failing to cover a manhole.

Malpractice is negligence attributed to a professional or an institution employing a professional; so there can be medical malpractice, nursing malpractice, dental malpractice, insurance malpractice (generally called ‘Bad Faith’), legal malpractice etc.

In reality the terms medical negligence and medical malpractice are often used interchangeably.

We handle malpractice cases involving:

• Vaccine Injuries (Covid-19 and Autism related)
• Nurses and midwives
• Health care institutions (slip and falls, medication errors), and Hospital acquired infections (‘Super Bugs’ MRSA and C. difficile)
• Dentists
• Psychologists
• Physical and occupational therapists
• Massage therapists
• Acupuncturists
• Osteopaths
• Naturopaths
• Alternative medicine/holistic practitioners
• Tattoo artists
• Chiropractors (strokes following neck manipulation)

A Statute of Limitations refers to legislation that specifies how much time you have to start a lawsuit after the negligent act took place or was discovered. Different jurisdictions have different timeframes, and you need specific advice from an experienced lawyer from your jurisdiction to be sure.

The following is just intended as a guide, as many exceptions and rules apply. In a general sense the various Statutes of Limitations are:

• Canada – 2 years
• USA – 2 years with some exceptions: 1 year in Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Ohio; 5 years in Maryland
• UK – 3 years
• Ireland – 2 years
• Australia – 3 to 6 years. Rules vary greatly depending on the State or Territory
• New Zealand – a no-fault system where cases are assessed on their unique merits according to established rules and precedents

There are general exemptions to these time frames:

• If the negligent event was only discovered after the expiry of the limitation period.
• If the person was a child at the time of the negligent event.
• If the person is mentally incapable.

Additional information on the various Statutes of Limitations for Medical Malpractice can be found under the Resources tab.

We have tried very hard to keep the cost of our service as low as possible, recognizing that many people affected by a malpractice event are out of work and have limited funds.

Telephone conversations would take considerable time for our staff to manage, and the increase in our internal costs would result in a higher fee which we want to avoid.

To maximize our efficiency, other than when we call you for the telephone interview, all our communications are electronic through the MalpracticeCheck website.

Thank you for your understanding.

We cannot change the transcribed interview as that is information you give us.

If you disagree with the medical opinion in our Formal Report, we strongly recommend that you obtain a second opinion elsewhere. Please remember that the Formal Report is based solely on your interview and review of the documents you selected for assessment.

Please be assured that retaining your confidence in MalpracticeCheck is of utmost importance to us.