Client personality characteristics can compensate for, or amplify, weaknesses in litigation strategy. Desire for revenge because of feelings of rejection should alert the litigator. Rarely will a medical malpractice plaintiff prevail in a credibility contest. Blatant personality disorders are readily recognisable, but lawyers should be sensitive to client attitudes that discourage sympathy.
Client personality characteristics can compensate for, or amplify, weaknesses in litigation strategy. Experienced personal injury counsel are of course conversant with the general success characteristics of plaintiffs in contentious claims. Some aspects of medical malpractice litigants require special consideration.
Desire for revenge because of feelings of rejection should alert the litigator. A seemingly uncaring attitude in the caregiver is frequently a principal motivator. Communication problems and a sense of abandonment may spawn ill-founded claims. Though there may be professional disciplinary issues better addressed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, standards of diagnosis and treatment are usually found to have been within community standards despite the adverse outcome.
Rarely will a medical malpractice plaintiff prevail in a credibility contest. Where there is material discrepancy between plaintiff and defendant versions of events, good quality medical records will usually favour the defendant. In the absence of such contemporaneous documentation, the highly articulate and credible plaintiff may have the edge, particularly if s/he characteristically understates rather than exaggerates.
Blatant
personality disorders are readily recognisable, but lawyers should be sensitive
to client attitudes that discourage sympathy. Just as judges quickly
tire of plaintiffs who habitually take no personal responsibility for
their plight, jurors will tend to be prejudiced against litigants with a generalised
paranoia about caregivers.
Screening
Checklist
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