Thanks to the bungling ignorance and gross arrogance of a series of doctors during and following an emergency event a few months ago I have become, well, essentially, "lame." The foot I've been left with is one (or a generous two) notch above no foot. And where would toe be with no foot?

All kidding aside, as I've griped and moaned about this over the past few months, I've heard, "At least you're not an amputee." quite a few times, and there have been times I wished I was, because then at least I'd know the pain wasn't real.

Anyway, with all that Seinfieldesque BS out of the way, I'm wondering if I could get some advice on how to find a good medical malpractice lawyer. I see their ads on TV and they just look so sleazy. . . THere's always the yellow pages, but what can you tell from that? Does the fact that a law firm has enough money to buy TV air time mean they are more successful--and does that success transfer to their clients?

I know Americans as a whole have become a little trigger happy when it comes to lawsuits, but using the use of a limb isn't frivolous, is it? My parents have actually been pushing me to sue. . .my mother is a doctor and she is actually advising me to sue for malpractice.

Please slide me some advice on how to find a decent malpractice lawyer. Considering the injuries the settlement should come out to include a whole lot of zeroes and I don't want to hire some bozo and mess that up. I need the money.