Medical malpractice is negligence.  Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable medical practitioner in the community would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).Prior to filing a lawsuit for negligence against the doctor, it may be possible to settle the case with her malpractice insurance carrier.  Obtain the name, address, and telephone number of the doctor's malpractice insurance carrier.  Notify the malpractice insurance carrier in writing that you will be filing a claim on behalf of your son.When your son completes his medical treatment and is released by the doctors or is declared by the doctors to be permanent and stationary, which means having reached a point in his medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain his medical bills and medical reports including the reports from the specialists.  Your son's claim filed with the malpractice insurance carrier should include those items.Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement.  The medical reports will document the nature and extent of his injury/illness and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.If the case is settled with the first doctor's malpractice insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the malpractice insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the doctor.  You will need to be appointed guardian ad litem to file a lawsuit on behalf of your son because he is a minor.If the case is NOT settled with the doctor's malpractice insurance carrier, the lawsuit on behalf of your son for negligence against the doctor must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or your son will lose his rights forever in the matter.