Medical malpractice plaintiffs who have suffered adverse outcomes often have no answers as to what happened to them and why, and that struck Ryan Marinacci, associate at Bogoroch & Associates LLP, as a situation he could do something about.
“Advocating on behalf of this very vulnerable segment of the population drew me in,” says Marinacci. “Diving deep into the issues and providing clarity and legal recourse for these individuals really stood out for me, and I haven’t been disappointed.”
Marinacci was called to the bar in June, and joined the team at Bogoroch & Associates soon after. He was drawn to the firm for a variety of reasons, first and foremost being Bogoroch & Associates’ reputation, particularly in the area of medical malpractice. Built up over many years, the firm is known for taking on difficult and significant cases in this complex area of law and is recognized within the legal profession and among injured individuals for going to trial regularly, which “in terms of my development has been fantastic,” Marinacci says.
Despite recently joining the firm, Marinacci has already been involved in multiple medical malpractice lawsuits over a range of stages. He’s handled intakes of claims, the first point of contact between a potential client and the legal system, and assisted in preparing for trial, often the last stage in a lawsuit, with exposure to everything in between. From consulting experts and drafting statements of claim, to attending — and even running — examinations for discovery and arguing a contested motion, he’s “had the opportunity to cover many different experiences under the guidance and mentorship of very experienced plaintiff-side medical malpractice lawyers.”
“The willingness to take the time to really be involved in the learning of junior lawyers stands out for me at Bogoroch,” Marinacci says. “Right away it struck me that very senior lawyers are the firm go out of their way to offer guidance and provide opportunities. To have such well-rounded experiences is pretty remarkable, but that’s the approach Bogoroch takes with their juniors — it’s an investment in the future of the firm.”
To be successful in this area of law, attention to detail is critical. Often medical malpractice lawyers comb through medical records that run between a few hundred pages long to several thousand pages long, “and a breach can be hidden in those pages — it’s not always obvious where to look,” Marinacci says. Tenacity is also important because it’s a contentious process, and lawyers need to be able to persist and overcome that adversity. It calls on you to be empathetic as well, Marinacci adds, as these cases revolve around the worst thing that’s ever happened, and likely ever will happen, to the client. The ability to offer understanding as well as solid legal advice and guidance is another necessary trait.
As Marinacci can attest, junior lawyers are well-advised to take any mentorship opportunities and learning experiences offered to them, because although it’s a very rewarding area of law it’s also a challenging one. Relying on experts, making out a breach of the standard of care and then having the experts opine that the breach caused the outcome — which is “uncertain in almost every case until you actually speak to experts,” Marinacci notes — make medical malpractice litigation especially complex.
With so much of the case dependent on science and medicine, some new lawyers may be concerned that they lack the necessary background for this area of law, but “it’s important not to write yourself off,” Marinacci says. The process relies heavily on the experts: they know the scientific and medical aspects, and part of their role is to assist you in learning them as well when necessary. That teachability is key, he adds, and coming into your career with a willingness to learn is the best advice he has for law students and fellow junior lawyers.
“It’s possible to learn — you just have to put in the work. This isn’t an easy area of law but it’s one I very much wanted to pursue, and I couldn’t be happier.”
This article was originally published in Canadian Lawyer.
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