Are you fascinated with the idea of saving people’s lives without being a medical doctor, surgeon, nurse or any other health professional?
If you are, you should consider pursuing a career in medical malpractice law. Hastings Law Firm is a reputable law firm where aspiring or would-be medical malpractice lawyers can work.
In this article, I will share with you what you need to become a successful medical malpractice lawyer.
Medical malpractice lawyers are just like other lawyers but as the name implies they only work on cases involving medical malpractices which are not limited to the following: medical personnel negligence, violations of patient confidentiality, or criminal activity involving patient abuse and misuse of prescription drugs.
What qualifications do you need before you can practice this profession? Find out in the ensuing paragraphs.
- You first need to earn a bachelor’s degree in Law: A right step in your pursuit of becoming a medical malpractice lawyer is to earn a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree is required for admission to law school.
- Upon the completion of the degree program. You will need to attend law school for 3 years. To gain admission into law school you must pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The LSAT tests your critical-thinking, analytical and logic skills. Your admission into law school is dependent on your GPA and LSAT scores.
- It takes 3 years to complete law school, while in school you will be afforded the opportunity to study courses in health law in year 2 and 3. This gives you an overview of the health profession. The successful completion of law school earns you a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.
- You will have to write the bar exams after completing law school. Depending on where you desire to practise this profession. You must pass the bar exam of the state you intend to practice to become licensed to practice.
- The license granted to you affords you the opportunity to practise all fields of law but if you intend to become an authority in the medical malpractice field you have to hone your skills in this regard. You can join a medical malpractice law firm to hone your skills or you can start your own law firm while taking only medical malpractice lawsuits.
- To gain a formal recognition as an authority in this field, The American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys certifies lawyers who have at least five years of experience specializing in medical malpractice. You are required to document your experiences working as a medical malpractice attorney over 36 months to become certified.
- You can also consider a Master degree in Health Law if you are interested in additional education about healthcare and medical malpractice laws. This program usually includes 30 credit hours of study in courses like health care payments, privacy law, physician regulation, government health policy, health care business and finance, administrative law and health care regulation.
Follow the aforementioned guides to reach the peak of your career as medical malpractice lawyer.