No, there are no fees to join or maintain membership in our network.
Do I have to accept cases when you reach out to me?
No, there are no obligations to take any case that we offer. You are free to decline or accept a case, at your discretion. We appreciate your responsiveness either way.
What’s a vetting call?
Sometimes attorneys are looking to have a brief call with a prospective Expert to discuss the details of the case and their relevant experience/background. These calls also give the Experts an opportunity to better understand the case specifics, and scope of work, the attorney is expecting. Vetting calls should be a brief conversation to figure out whether you’re a fit for a case review. They are unpaid and done at your convenience.
Who are your Clients?
We work with Plaintiff and Defense attorneys as well as Insurance Companies, on any matter that requires a medical expert including malpractice, personal injury, workers compensation, and criminal cases.
Why do you pay after work is completed rather than in advance?
We’ve developed this system to provide a level of security for both our Clients and our Experts. It helps us guarantee that our physicians are paid for their work, regardless of the out come of the case and that our Clients have an expectation of what cost will be incurred based on the work they requested. It also aids our Experts in performing their reviews and removes the uncertainty of not being paid for unauthorized work.
Can I do other cases on my own?
Our network is non-exclusive. You are free to conduct this type of work independently.
When will my initial opinion be due?
The typical turn-around for cases is 2 weeks. If there are no deadlines in the case, we can request additional time from the attorney to complete the initial review. If the attorney has let us know there are deadlines in the case, we will relay this to you when we present the case.
Is there a standard for how much time it should take for any review?
In our experience, the typical review rate is about 1 hour of review per one (1) inch of medical records (of course, dependent on density).
What do you mean by competitive rates/fee schedule? I charge more on my own.
Because we’ve aided Experts and Clients with tens of thousands of cases over almost 25 years, we've been able to get a good gauge of the average rates of medical professionals across the country. Our rate structure is designed to keep our Experts competitive in the market place and the goal is to offer our Experts more cases, and provide our Clients with the highest quality, unbiased experts.
Working with us is different then conducting these cases independently because we conduct all the administrative functions on each case, we advertise our network to bring in quality cases, as well as a medical department that fields each case, we inherit many of the costs an Expert working independently would typically pay on their own.
How do I get paid for work on a case?
Once you complete the requested work, you send your invoice to AMFS and we pay you. All of our Experts work on a retainer basis, meaning we obtain the funds in advance to ensure your payment for authorized work. After you complete any work, just send us a bill to your Case Manager; we pay our Experts every billing cycle (1st/15th).
What do you mean by authorized work?
Authorized work means that your case manager has informed you that we have the funds in retainer based on your time estimate and you are approved to begin the requested work. By pre-approving time estimates and securing a retainer prior to beginning the work, this allows the attorney to anticipate the cost of the requested work, and gives the Expert the security that the funds will be available to them when the work has been completed.
How does payment for travel work?
If travel is needed, your lodging and airfare will be arranged by the attorney and is typically prepaid. Any other reasonable related out-of-pocket expenses (breakfast, cab, parking, gas if not flying, etc.) would be reimbursed.
How does payment for trial work?
We pay you the whole day rate for first day of trial (it doesn’t usually go further, but will be paid at half day or whole day as applicable, thereafter). The whole day rate is inclusive of your travel time to and from the trial and the time you are present at the trial. After your appearance you will submit your bill to us for payment.
What if I am too busy for testimony?
Every case has the potential to go to testimony, but realistically, less than 5% progress to any sort of testimony. Even less make it to trial. If you have accepted a case and have been retained by our Client, you would be obligated to follow the case to completion, including testimony. When a Client retains an Expert through our network, and if that Expert supports their case, they are expecting that they will be the expert for the life of the case i.e. someone willing to review records, write reports, testify, etc. (if it is needed).
Any future work with the attorney AMFS introduces to an Expert should be processed through Company. Why?
We incur many of the costs of business to bring on new clients and retain our present ones and must protect ourselves from losing business. If one of our Clients is coming to you directly that is a compliment to you and the work you have done for them, but keep in mind that if we had not introduced you to that Client you would never have had this second opportunity to work with them. However, this doesn't mean we're going to oversee any Clients you already work with or any other companies you work with. Our agreement only addresses our Clients that we introduce to you.
What if I no longer want to do this work?
Please keep in mind that when you accept a case, you are agreeing to follow the case to completion. Every attorney and case is individual, so we do our best to anticipate issues, but sometimes they’re unavoidable. We’ll do our best to remedy anything that comes up as we have both attorneys and medical directors in-house who can help you in those situations. However, if you just become uninterested in continuing to accept new cases and you should want to leave our network, you will need to submit a written request for removal from the network. You will be asked to fulfill your obligations on any active cases you agreed to be the expert on, and still must see those cases through to completion.
