Your loved one has died or sustained a serious injury or a life-long disability because of a failure of medical staff to establish a proper diagnosis, administer proper medicine or act in a timely manner? Or maybe a medical professional has failed to consider how multiple drugs interacted in a patient and, as a result, the patient’s recovery and maybe even their life have been severely jeopardized?

In law, the aforementioned instances can be the basis of a medical malpractice case. The law defines medical malpractice or medical negligence as a deviation from or a breach of the generally accepted standard of care in patient treatment. In other words, the standard of care is specified as an action that prudent medical staff would or would not have done in the patient’s care under the same or similar circumstances. This is one of the conditions that need to exist if you are contemplating suing for medical malpractice or medical negligence, namely the medical malpractice plaintiff needs to prove that the relevant standard of care has been breached.

The typical medical malpractice cases might include but not limited to:

• Childbirth injuries (failure to diagnose dangerous medical conditions of the mother, birth defects, ectopic pregnancy, diseases that might result in the death or severe injury of the fetus like genital herpes, to adequately and timely respond to fetal distress, inadequate use of forceps or vacuum etc.)
• Prescribing incorrect dosage
• Administration of incorrect dosages
• Medical equipment malfunctioning
• Failure to properly investigate the patient’s previous medical history
• Administering too much or too little anesthesia
• Surgery and post-surgery errors (operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical instruments in the body, damaging internal organs during surgery, failure to provide proper post-op care)
• Unnecessary amputations
• Wrong heart valve bypassed
• Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose life threatening conditions and diseases
• Medical complications from receiving a transfusion of an incompatible blood type
• Fertility clinic confusing sperm samples
• Removal of a perfectly functioning internal organ
• Plastic surgery gone wrong

The Journal of the American Medical Association has stated that medical malpractice / medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the United States, immediately after heart attack and cancer. For instance, in 2013, more than $3 billion was paid out in medical malpractice cases. According to the statistical data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice, the average payout in the medical malpractice cases was $400,000 and that New York is one of the three states with the highest malpractice payouts (In 2011, New York had the highest payout of any state at $677 million).  Also, almost 90% of such cases are settled out of court. Furthermore,  over 50% of all doctors practicing in the US will be sued for medical malpractice before they turn 50 years old.

What is the first step in suing for medical malpractice? First, contact our experienced medical malpractice lawyers. Second, we review all the case’s particulars in detail, securing applicable patients’ medical records. We find documentation of procedures and results of diagnostic tests. Next, we conduct interviews with the patient, family members, and medical personnel. Then we analyze all of this information and determine if there is evidence of negligence: an act or omission by medical personnel in the course of treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient. With you, we will determine if filing a claim could result in positive outcomes whether to take the case and file a tort on your behalf.

Medical malpractice cases can be incredibly complex and detailed. The statutes of limitation (the law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought or, in simpler terms, the deadline by which a lawsuit should be made) vary from state to state, as do the procedural conditions that have to be met for the medical malpractice lawsuit to be made. According to the New York City Bar, the statute of limitation for medical malpractice cases in the state of New York is “two and a half years from the date of malpractice or from the end of continuous treatment rendered by the party or entity you intend to file a claim for a particular condition, illness or injury.”  It is always advisable to seek legal advice from a lawyer licensed in the state where the malpractice case happened.

Don’t be one of those patients who will not pursue a valid medical malpractice case because you fear that you suing would increase the cost of your medical care or because you think that the financial costs associated with litigation are high, or you believe that if other medical professionals learn about your lawsuit, they will refuse to treat you. A seasoned medical malpractice lawyer can handle any challenge, no matter how complicated or complex it may be, to get you the justice and the payout you deserve.

A claim for medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice is measured from the end of continuous treatment by the party you plan to sue for alleged negligence. The attorney on behalf o the attorney must have their claim filed for eligibility for an award for damage with the 24-month Statute of Limitations NY. 

We, at Gurfein Douglas, pride ourselves in being just that. Apart from law degrees, our firm’s principals Richard Gurfein and Preston Douglas, also have degrees in engineering and biochemistry, which gives them an edge over other medical malpractice attorneys in New York. Preston Douglas is an expert in medical malpractice and severe injury cases and, in the last 27 years, he has cross-examined over 2,000 doctors in trials and depositions.

At Gurfein Douglas, you can rely on the scientific training of our two partners to uncover the often hidden technical details of your medical malpractice lawsuit that the untrained eye might miss. We are your lawyers with an Edge! Our attorneys are not afraid of a challenge. On the contrary, they relish it. No matter how complicated the case or how formidable the defendant may be, Gurfein Douglas will do everything in their power to get you or your loved one the justice and the compensation you deserve.

Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys will carefully review all medical records to determine whether the patient’s death or a severe injury resulted from a human error, defective medical or lab equipment, inaccurate test results, or other errors in the medical system. Contact us, and you find out why we are considered one of the best medical malpractice lawyers in NYC. 

• $110,600,000.00 jury award a grandmother doctors failed to consider transferring her to nearby facilities with ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) able to remove the build-up of carbon dioxide in her brain and could prevent injury to her brain. The largest award for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in 2019.
• $4,000,000.00 jury award a landscaper after a top neurologist had him undergo four years of agonizing treatments for a condition he didn’t have.
• $7,400,000.00 settlement on behalf of a 60-year-old woman who became paralyzed in both legs and one arm after her doctors failed to diagnose an infection in her spine.
• $5,500,000 settlement structured for a 6-year-old who sustained brain damage during her birth causing cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and spastic quadriplegia.
• $3,990,000 settlement for a 3-year boy because the doctors and nurses gave too much IV fluid and caused the child to have seizures and hemorrhages in the brain.
• $2,750,000 settlement for a 15-year-old girl diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease who lost her ovaries as a result of the negligence of the team administering radiation therapy.
• $450,000 settlement after trial and a finding of punitive damages for a 40-year-old professional dancer and choreographer when the orthopedist operated on the wrong knee.
• $5,750,000 verdict on behalf of a 20-year-old woman who was discharged from the hospital after giving birth to her second son, even though she had a very aggressive infection in her uterus and abdomen.
• $1,200,000 settlement on behalf of a 4-year child with Erb’s Palsy.