Do you suspect that an error made by a physician, hospital, or other healthcare provider caused serious medical complications, or resulted in the death of a loved one? If so, you may have been the victim of medical malpractice.
The New York and New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers at The Cakani Law Firm, understand that avoidable medical errors can cause life-changing injuries or even death. While a lawsuit cannot turn back the clock and undo the error and the damage it caused, a medical malpractice claim can hold the negligent party responsible and provide compensation for the resulting loss or injuries.
The lawyers at The Cakani Law Firm, represent people who have been injured by medical mistakes and errors in the New York and New Jersey metro area. To find out what your legal options are, contact the firm now by calling 1-212-962-0500 ( Consultations are free. We collect fees only if you win your case.
About NY & NJ Medical Malpractice Cases
Doctors and other medical professionals are not perfect. The legal definition of medical malpractice varies slightly from one jurisdiction to another, but it typically involves a deviation from the normally accepted standard of care for a medical professional that results in injury or harm to the patient. In other words, a doctor who followed all of the proper procedures, yet lost a patient on the operating table may not be found negligent. However, a doctor who did something that another doctor would not have done, or failed to do something that other doctors would have done, could be found negligent.
Conservative estimates are that as many as 100,000 people die each year as a result of medical malpractice, and hundreds of thousands more are injured or fail to heal properly. Some experts believe that there are many more cases of medical errors that go unreported.
According to a Journal of the American Medical Association study, approximately 34 percent of inpatient errors are surgical in nature, while the most common outpatient claim was “diagnosis error,” representing 46 percent of all outpatient claims.
Common forms of medical malpractice include:
- Anesthesia Errors
- Birth defects and injuries – Errors made by medical professionals during pregnancy and birth can cause injuries that require a lifetime of treatment, and some mistakes result in irreparable damage or even death.
- Defective medications – Medicines can be lifesavers for many people, however, some medications produce dangerous side effects or complications. Even relatively safe drugs can cause problems if improperly prescribed or administered.
- Defective medical devices – Insufficient testing, faulty design, and other defects can cause medical devices to do more harm than good, making patients sick or injuring them. Some examples include defective hip implants, pacemakers, heart monitors, and mesh implants.
- Failure to diagnose injury or illness – Recognizing and correctly diagnosing an illness can make a critical difference in a patient’s chances for recovery. However, some healthcare providers fail to diagnose patients with conditions such as cancer and heart disease, often with tragic results.
- Foreign objects – Studies show that surgeons leave objects inside patients thousands of times a year. Tools including sponges, instruments, and gauze can lead to infection and serious injuries.
- Hospital errors – Many different medical professionals and staff members must work together in a hospital to ensure that patients get proper treatment. Communication errors and other mistakes can injure patients, or prevent them from getting the treatment they deserve.
- Improper use of medical equipment or implants – Doctors and other health care providers have a duty to learn how to correctly use tools, equipment, and other medical devices. Inexperience or improper training can lead to patient injuries.
- Nursing home abuse – Nursing homes should be a safe place for the vulnerable adults who live there. Unfortunately, many nursing home residents face physical abuse or neglect at the hands of the people who are supposed to care for them.
- Surgical errors – All surgeries carry a certain degree of risk, but mistakes made by surgeons, nurses and other medical providers can cause injuries to patients beyond the scope of acceptable risk. Sometimes a procedure takes place without the patient’s informed consent, and some surgeries are even performed on the wrong patient or the wrong part of the body.
Medical malpractice is a complicated and complex area of the law. Determining whether a medical professional committed malpractice generally takes a lengthy and in-depth investigation of the patient’s medical records by a qualified and experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Contact Our New Jersey and New York Medical Malpractice Attorneys Today
If you believe that you have been the victim of medical malpractice, or if you have lost a family member as a result of medical errors or mistakes, now is the time to get legal help. Time is of the essence in a medical malpractice claim. Not only is there a statute of limitations that must be considered, but evidence can be lost, and witnesses can disappear over time.
