Once a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, in most cases, there are four main stages of the litigation.
The first stage is the document and information exchange phase—called written discovery. Each side will send the other side interrogatories, requests for documents, and requests for admissions.
Once those are collected and analyzed, the litigation moves into the second stage—fact discovery. In this stage, depositions of the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) are conducted.
The third stage is the expert discovery phase. The defendant(s) will take the deposition of plaintiff’s experts and vice versa.
Typically, once expert discovery concludes, the parties will attempt to resolve the case via settlement through a mediation. Should mediation fail, the case moves into the fourth stage, which is trial.
On average, the four stages of a medical malpractice case take about 18 months to two years. Note, however, that the majority of medical malpractice cases in Kansas and Missouri are resolved prior to trial.
If you feel you have been a victim of medical malpractice, do not hesitate to reach out to Shull & Klenda so that they can accurately gauge whether you have a case.