dismissal of lawsuit

What is the name of your state? Illinois.
Could someone please help me. I filed a complaint at law for a wrongful death/medical malpractice lawsuit, and it looks like I am going to dismiss it. If I have not sent out the papers to the defendants yet, do I have to send them notice, and do I have to go before a judge? In Illinois, is there just a form I can fill out at the clerk's office to do this? Thank you so much for any help.

You had better go NOW to an Illinois lawyer for help or you will lose everything. Look in the Yellow Pages for any lawyer who does malpractice and who will give you an appointment today.

Originally posted by JackSchroder
You had better go NOW to an Illinois lawyer for help or you will lose everything. Look in the Yellow Pages for any lawyer who does malpractice and who will give you an appointment today.

Thank you for your response. I have not been able to get an attorney, because this is a very sticky situation. I believe it involves cover-ups on more than one level (local), probably involving an official. I need someone who is not afraid to expose corruption, or maybe "anti-establishment", but don't know where to look for an attorney like that. This situation would involve Rocking the Boat. Maybe the judge will dismiss it without prejudice, then I hope if I find the right attorney, maybe I can still pursue this case. I called the clerk's office several times, to find out how to do this, and got a different story every time. But more importantly, I want to expose what is going on and put a stop to it, and have the parties involved removed from their positions, investigated, and charged. I believe there may have been cover-ups involving other cases also.

Originally posted by Debbyjean
What is the name of your state? Illinois.
Could someone please help me. I filed a complaint at law for a wrongful death/medical malpractice lawsuit, and it looks like I am going to dismiss it. If I have not sent out the papers to the defendants yet, do I have to send them notice, and do I have to go before a judge? In Illinois, is there just a form I can fill out at the clerk's office to do this? Thank you so much for any help.

You have done something that will not succeed. You must have a good lawyer if you intend to sue for medical malpractice. Stop playing with your case and go to a good lawyer now.
Whatever the malpractice was, or what you think it was, you are not going to be able to gather the information you need, or to depose (a tricky thing to do even for lawyers) the defendants, and you certainly will not be able to carry the case through trial in open court.
If you have tried to find a lawyer and have not able to get one to take your case, you have to consider several possibilities. The first is that you do not have a case that a lawyer can win. Be sure you do have a strong malpractice case. But if you are searching for a lawyer, he will have to make that decision from what you show him. Do not give up too easily if you think you have case. My book Then Why Does It Still Hurt?, will tell you how to find a lawyer.
The second aspect of a lawsuit is cost. If the lawyer sees no way to recoup the money he must spend to win a malpractice lawsuit, he will turn you down no matter how good your case is. You have to show the lawyer that you have lost MONEY. You have lost time from work; you have lost the opportunity to better yourself at work; you have had to spend money to recover from the malpractice; any cost that the lawyer can use to show you rate compensation for the malpractice.
The third aspect that you have to consider is that maybe you do not appear to be a good client. Will a jury sympathize with you and your case? Have you a criminal history? Are you a drug user Lawyers hope for a client who is attractive and worthy of a jury's consideration. Try to demonstrate to your lawyer that you are a person who can appeal to a jury's sense of right and wrong.
But all this is to show you that you must have a lawyer. So go find a lawyer now. Do not give up too easily. Out there somewhere is a cranky old lawyer who will take your case. You want some old timer who has had it with lying doctors and cheating hospitals. So keep on looking. Keep in mind the things I've told you today.

Originally posted by JackSchroder
You have done something that will not succeed. You must have a good lawyer if you intend to sue for medical malpractice. Stop playing with your case and go to a good lawyer now.
Whatever the malpractice was, or what you think it was, you are not going to be able to gather the information you need, or to depose (a tricky thing to do even for lawyers) the defendants, and you certainly will not be able to carry the case through trial in open court.
If you have tried to find a lawyer and have not able to get one to take your case, you have to consider several possibilities. The first is that you do not have a case that a lawyer can win. Be sure you do have a strong malpractice case. But if you are searching for a lawyer, he will have to make that decision from what you show him. Do not give up too easily if you think you have case. My book Then Why Does It Still Hurt?, will tell you how to find a lawyer.
The second aspect of a lawsuit is cost. If the lawyer sees no way to recoup the money he must spend to win a malpractice lawsuit, he will turn you down no matter how good your case is. You have to show the lawyer that you have lost MONEY. You have lost time from work; you have lost the opportunity to better yourself at work; you have had to spend money to recover from the malpractice; any cost that the lawyer can use to show you rate compensation for the malpractice.
The third aspect that you have to consider is that maybe you do not appear to be a good client. Will a jury sympathize with you and your case? Have you a criminal history? Are you a drug user Lawyers hope for a client who is attractive and worthy of a jury's consideration. Try to demonstrate to your lawyer that you are a person who can appeal to a jury's sense of right and wrong.
But all this is to show you that you must have a lawyer. So go find a lawyer now. Do not give up too easily. Out there somewhere is a cranky old lawyer who will take your case. You want some old timer who has had it with lying doctors and cheating hospitals. So keep on looking. Keep in mind the things I've told you today.

Thank You for your response. This is a wrongful death/medical malpractice case. I posted a question about this case before under a different thread--drug-induced/autopsy, and you were kind enough to respond. I don't think I will find a lawyer in this case because of who some of the defendants are. I believe this involves corruption by a local official, as well as others, and this person could make it very difficult for an attorney if he wanted to. A couple of attorneys even admitted this to me. I can't really say which office this person holds, because anyone can see this.
There are many details. But I am not sure how to voluntarily dismiss it. I am getting several different stories. If I never sent out the papers will a judge possibly dismiss it without prejudice? I am going to concentrate on sending out as many complaint letters as I can , petitions, etc., maybe then one day I will get some justice for my son. Yoiur helpfulness is truely appreciated. Where can I purchase your book?

[ellencee]

Debbyjean
File a motion to dismiss and state your reasons for dismissing the suit.
The clerk of court may be able to give you a copy of a form or a form to complete. Your local library may have a book of forms that you can copy, complete, and submit.
If you can't find a form, use the same format that you used to file this motion and after the headings and listings of the parties, title it something like Motion to Dismiss and then state that you, the plaintiff, pro se in this action, request to withdraw the action pro se and seek legal counsel and representation. State that you have not served the defendant with notice of this action's being filed. Ask that the judge dismiss without prejudice.
Give it to the clerk of court, get a date in front of the judge, tell him your reasons to seek a dismissal without prejudice.
The worst that can happen is for him to say something rude to you and about people who waste the court's time by filing actions, pro se.

I didn't understand your claim of wrongful death and I didn't understand your question about the autopsy report. The written report of the autopsy will show physical findings only. During deposition or testimony, the pathologist could testify as to whether or not the physical findings in the liver are consistent with liver dysfunction and, or destruction as caused by XYZ.

There are attorneys out there who aren't afraid of the devil himself and if you look hard enough and deep enough, you will find an attorny not afraid to take on the 'big guys', no matter who the 'big guys' are. You may have to look outside your local area for an attorney willing to come into the proper court to represent your interests in this matter.

If the death was caused by a medication, you may want to search for any class action lawsuits (still on-going) against the pharmaceutical manufacturing company.

If the deceased had life insurance that paid benefits, the life insurance company may have some legal resources for you or at least someone who can advise you further.

If you want to be more specific about your circumstances and give those of us with medical/health care knowledge and experience a chance to evaluate your complaint(s) as compared to reasonable standards of care, please post again and be specific. Of course, don't name doctors or hospitals. Tell us the age, sex, and general health of the deceased, the cause of death, events leading up to the death, etc. Then, maybe we can give you some idea of whether or not liability appears to exist.

You will still need an attorney to represent your interest. I feel 99 & 54/100 % sure that if you have a valid concern, an attorney who will help you is out there.

Best wishes,
EC

Thank you so much! You all are so Wonderful!! I understand things more now about dismissals .

It sounds to me as if you may lose this case because of all the running around the different lawyers.
Stop trying to run this case yourself. If you are unhappy with the lawyer you have now, then find another soon. Go to the court house and run through the index to civil actions. Find the lawyer who has won the greatest number of TRIALs (not settlements) in the past five years. Take your case to him. Don't waste time with telephone calls, but see him ni person after lunch. Do this for all the lawyers you have got from your list that you made while going through the index. When you find a lawyer who says, give me your case, give it to him and let him run it. I think you are wasting time and energy worrying about your case. We can not solve your problems. You have to do this. So, do it.

Thank you for your response.

[ellencee]

Debbyjean
I believe your son's medical record's for the past 8 to 10 years are going to be significant in determining if the physican made appropriate efforts to monitor your son's health.

Some of the findings on the autopsy are probably findings normally associated with changes during the process of dying and the period of time postmortem.

Some of the findings that you posted are chronic findings and should have presented signs and symptoms in your son's health and in his lab values.

One issue that must be addressed is that he was predisposed to sudden death. It will be your burden, as the plaintiff, to show that his death was not directly related to his seizure disorder but to the effects of improper medical treatment. A medmal attorney will know how to manage this 'problem'.

I may have misread or misunderstood your statement to the pathologist that your son did not have convulsive seizures because your description of his spinning on the floor while on his side and his arms and legs thrashing is a description of a kinetic, or convulsive seizure. The walking around in a daze is a postictal state and can occur after kinetic or akinetic seizures.

I am guessing your intent was to contrast between his 'normal' seizure pattern as opposed to the fatal seizure, which you suspect to have been caused by drug toxicity and undiagnosed liver damages.

I know you lost your child, but unless someone was damaged by his death, in a way that deprived them of his income or presence as a husband or father, there may not be a party to whom a monetary award could be due. That situation alone could prevent any legal action or medmal claim.

Anyway, I hope the attorney who has experience with this MD will be willing to help you get to the bottom of this and if a valid claim of medmal exists, that he will agree to represent you; and, if one does not exists, I hope he can assist you in filing a complaint with the proper organization.

Thank you for providing the information in your last post; I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to read and relay to me. I appreciate your taking the time and enduring the personal pain so that you could tell me, a perfect stranger, what happened to your son.

Best wishes,
EC

.


Thank you for taking the time to read all of my long messages. The test I performed was on my son's sodium and chloride which is stable in the post mortem vitreous for a while after death, and it shows the levels one or two hours before death. I believe the excessive levels caused my son's fatal seizure due to the fact that he had chronic diahrrea as an adverse drug reaction, and with this fact in in mind the physician never should of doubled his medication before testing his electrolytes, which had not been tested in 4 years. He knew what he did was wrong, because he held onto that record so no one could see it until 2 months before the statute. My son was not married and had no children, but he was my only child, and the only one that I will of ever had, that should mean something in a lawsuit, would it not? Also, as I mentioned before, there are certain things I cannot post on this forum, because I would not want the wrong party to view it.
When I speak of convulsive, I am speaking of generalized (tonic-clonic) grand mal seizures. Which he did not have, but looks like he had when he died. It probably was convulsive status epilepticus. I was even wondering if his kicking and spinning may have been a rotary seizure, there is not a lot of information on that type. The wandering that he did after the kicking and spinning was not from the postictal state, it was from a complex partial seizure. He was diagnosed with that seizure type, with possible frontal lobe involvement. He had all the symptoms, automatisms, glassy stare, etc. After that was over, then he would be in the confused postictal state for a while. I believe the convulsive seizure that killed him was not connected to his epilepsy, it was froim his electrolyte imbalance, just as anyone even without epilepsy can have a convulsive seizure from a number of causes. If he had his regular seizure when he died, his whole room would have been upside down, and he would not have been in the bed in that position. But anyway, You all have been so kind and helpful in anwering all of my long questions, it's time a put an end to this and stop taking up so much of your time. Thank you ellencee, Jack Shroeder, and everyone else. You have the best legal forum on the internet!