Preparing medical legal illustrations, whether to be used in a courtroom situation or in outside negotiations, is a fairly complex process. But the steps are fairly similar in each case, and follow this general arrangement:

1. With the agreement of a tentative deadline for the illustrations, the true preparation a medical-legal illustration can begin. At this stage it is important to know roughly how many illustration panels might be expected. But for large cases involving more than one or two panels, research into the medical details may reveal good reason to adjust the number of panels.

2. The attorney sends relevant medical records to the medical illustrator, either digitally or by mail. These include emergency room reports, clinical notes, radiological reports, surgical reports, x-rays, and follow-up records. In this digital age, I have found that the medical records my clients are sending can amass to thousands of pages. The more records, the longer the prepration time may be.

3. The medical illustrator makes suggestions for exhibits: how many panels and what content wach will hold. Suggestions will be offered so that each panel entirely reveals one injury or one aspect of the case. If there are several injuries in different regions of the body, an overview illustration may be recommended.

4. The attorney reviews these suggestions, offers personal perspective, and a discussion of the details will finalize the concepts to be domonstrated in each panel.

5. The finalized proposal is sent to the attorney including the suggested illustrations and cost. This is free and of no obligation to the attorney.

6. The attorney signs the proposal, including an agreed-upon portion of payment so that the illustration process may begin.

7. Medimagery prepares preliminary sketches for the attorney. The medical illustrator consults with the treating physician or other experts, as necessary. Within the timeframe allowed, physicians and other experts may be requested to offer approval of sketch materials.

8. Medimagery forwards sketches to the attorney for initial approval. After receiving the preliminary sketches, the attorney and any consultants will review the sketches and make any necessary corrections.

9. The experts return the sketches signed with an approval or with any corrections indicated. A sketch revision may be necessary and will be sent for approval. If signed and approved the sketches from both the attorney and the experts have not been returned by the deadline, the attorney will be notified. The attorney will decide whether Medimagery completes the medical legal exhibit/s. Approval is necessary before proceeding.

10. Once authorization is received for the sketches, the final exhibit/s are completed, labeled with any pertinent medical terminology and delivered by print in the form agreed-upon. All changes must be made during the sketch phase. Any changes made after the sketches are approved will be charged at an additional rate.

11. After delivery of the medical-legal exhibits, a bill is sent for the final costs and shipping. The process is complete.

Laura Maaske, B.Sc., M.Sc.BMC
Racine, WI 53402
Cell: (262) 308-1300
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We specialize in highly interactive dynamic medical illustrations for both print and e-publishing. Content is dynamic and interactive, or traditional. Illustrations are prepared for advertising, pharmaceutical, publishing, health promotion, health professional education, children, and medical-legal resources. All medical, e-book illustrations, dynamic and conceptual artwork are prepared by hand for the client's unique needs. All materials Copyright © - Laura Maaske - Medimagery LLC. Call Laura at 262-308-1300 with questions or to request a price quote.