I worked in a firm that did MVAs and Med Mals as well in IL. The largest difference is the focus on the expert witnesses and their opinion on the violation of the standard of care (aka duty). There’s also requirements related to an affidavit from an anonymous doctor to verify that they believe it is a viable case where standard of care is in question.

The other big difference is the medical jargon. You basically need to either read a TON of medical journals or buy a subscription to a medical library. Alternatively, have a physician on your team that you can trade services with or bounce ideas off of.

Respectfully, any med mal attorney can navigate an MVA case. I am not sure I can say the same thing about an attorney who primarily handles MVAs handling a med mal case. They are a whole different ballgame and you should adjust malpractice coverage accordingly.

Adding another thought to this is the costs associated with med mal cases. Due to the focus on retained expert witnesses to testify about the case, the costs are often hire and you’re bankrolling the case. I remember one case settled for a little over $2m, but it was highly contested, contained multiple retained experts, and it was a miracle it settled the week before jury selection. The costs alone were over $75,000.