Queens Medical Malpractice Attorney

Dedicated Medical Malpractice Lawyers Fighting For Victims of Medical Negligence in New York

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Medical professionals like doctors, nurses, and specialists are trusted with diagnosing and treating medical concerns because of their extensive education, training, and experience.  Unfortunately, these people are still humans, prone to making mistakes, and patients are the ones who suffer when medical malpractice or medical negligence occur.

Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Queens, NY Schedule A Free ConsultationWhile there’s always some risk involved with medical practices and procedures, and doctors can’t control everything, there are also instances in which medical professionals fail to do all they could or should, resulting in undesirable outcomes for patients.  A breach of duty is the basis of medical malpractice, and it can be difficult to prove.

This is why it’s so important to hire a qualified and experienced medical malpractice attorney, like the professionals at Shaevitz & Shaevitz, if you think you have been injured due to a failure to uphold medical standards.  An expert medical malpractice attorney will thoroughly investigate and collect evidence to prove that malpractice has occurred, as well as fight for maximum compensation from medical providers, hospitals, and insurance companies that are liable.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Just because something goes wrong during a surgical procedure, or prescribed medication causes side effects, doesn’t mean you’re dealing with medical malpractice.  In order for a medical malpractice lawyer to successfully argue for compensation, certain criteria must be fulfilled.

First, a medical provider must violate standards of care.  Under the law, medical standards pertain to behavior that is reasonably consistent across healthcare providers in the same or similar situations.  For example, it wouldn’t be considered standard to leave a surgical instrument or sponge inside a patient when closing up an incision following a procedure, but according to a study published by the NIH, this occurs in as many as 1 in 1,000 patients.

The second criteria for medical malpractice is that a breach in care must cause injury to the patient, and further, it must be proven that the injury would not have occurred in the absence of error or negligence on the part of the medical provider.  Finally, there typically needs to be significant damage to make pursuing a medical malpractice case worthwhile, as they can be extremely expensive to litigate.

If you are given the wrong prescription and it causes vomiting, for example, you might not care to pursue legal compensation.  If, however, you experience considerable pain due to a medical instrument left inside your body and you need another surgery to remove it, or if the death of a loved one occurs as a result of medical malpractice, you should certainly consider seeking compensation.  Some of the most common forms of medical malpractice include:

  • Misdiagnosis or a failure to diagnose
  • Delay of medical treatment or failure to treat
  • Undertreating or overtreating
  • Prescription medication errors
  • Mistakes involving anesthesia
  • Surgical or procedural errors
  • Unnecessary surgery
  • Mistaken patient identity
  • Operating on the wrong body part
  • Childbirth injuries
  • and more

If you are injured and facing significant damages as a result of medical malpractice, it’s imperative that you consult with a medical malpractice attorney.  The qualified professionals at Shaevitz & Shaevitz can help you determine the extent of malpractice and recover the compensation you’re due, and if there’s no recovery, you pay no fees.

How is Medical Negligence Different?

Medical Malpractice Attorney in Queens, NYMedical negligence is slightly different from medical malpractice, but it’s an important distinction when it comes to financial recovery for harm.  The term “negligence” implies that there was no intent to harm.  If, for example, a surgical sponge is accidentally left in a patient’s body during an operation, this oversight can obviously be harmful, but it was almost certainly unintentional.

If, on the other hand, a medical provider fails to order a needed test because a patient’s insurance won’t cover it, knowing that a failure to act could increase health risk for the patient, it would be malpractice if the patient suffered injury or illness due to the breach of standards.  While patients can seek compensation in cases of both medical negligence and medical malpractice, you’ll need to work with a qualified attorney to determine which type of case you should pursue.

The Importance of Hiring a Medical Malpractice Attorney

Medical malpractice cases can be extremely complicated, and proving medical negligence or medical malpractice is not easy.  You need an experienced law firm to help you gather evidence, determine causation and liability, find medical experts to back up your claims, and protect you from unscrupulous insurance providers that will give you the runaround, delay and deny claims, and drag out your case until you accept a low-ball settlement or give up completely, or until the statute of limitations expires.

Hospitals and medical professionals never want to admit to negligence or malpractice, as this can damage their reputation and cost them a ton of money in compensation.  You need an experienced medical malpractice attorney with a proven track record of success to help you recover compensation when you’ve been injured through negligence or breach of duty by a medical provider.

Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Once it has been determined that your injury is related to medical malpractice, you need to make sure you seek compensation from any medical provider who is liable for negligence or malpractice.  This could include healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants, ER staff, and specialists like surgeons, anesthesiologists, and even pharmacists.  Your claim may also include hospitals or their administrative staff.

A qualified medical malpractice attorney can help you determine who is at fault for your injury in order to secure the compensation you’re due.  This could include payment for actual expenses like medical bills and lost wages, if you’re unable to work temporarily or permanently as a result of the injury.  It may also include compensation for non-monetary damages like pain and suffering.

It’s important that you file suit before the statute of limitations expires.  Often, personal injury cases have a statute of limitations of three years in the state of New York, but filing a claim for medical malpractice, in particular, must be done within two years and six months of the date when the medical error occurred, although this date may be extended if you don’t discover the malpractice until several months or years after the fact.

How a Medical Malpractice Attorney from Shaevitz & Shaevitz Can Help

When medical malpractice or medical negligence occur, you deserve compensation for the injuries you suffer through no fault of your own.  In addition to securing coverage for expenses, many patients want to make sure that those responsible are held accountable for their actions and the harm they caused due to negligence or error that could have been avoided.

As your medical malpractice attorney, Shaevitz & Shaevitz is committed to using our considerable knowledge and resources to investigate your case, identify responsible parties, and fight medical providers and insurance companies to ensure a fair settlement that covers your expenses and losses and accounts for your pain and suffering.  You don’t need to face intimidating medical professionals and insurance providers on your own.  Our qualified and successful team will guide you through the process and deliver the positive outcome and peace of mind you deserve.

The qualified attorneys at Shaevitz & Shaevitz Law Offices have been winning cases like yours for over 65 years.  Contact a dedicated medical malpractice attorney today at 718-291-3400 or 718-LAW-SUIT to schedule a free consultation and discover what we can do for you.