Common Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice cases involve getting compensation for individuals who have been harmed by a physician, allied health professional or facility’s actions or failure to act. Lawyers of Barasch & McGarry know medical malpractice cases can be complex and difficult cases to pursue because the law and procedures are intricate, the standards to prove vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and expert witness testimony is always required to make the case.

Common New York City Medical Malpractice Claims

Our New York personal injury lawyers have extensive experience representing clients seriously injured by medical malpractice, doctor negligence, and 9/11 cancers & illnesses in New York.

• 9/11-Linked Cancers & Illnesses

  Rescue workers, volunteers, Lower Manhattan residents, office workers, students, and school faculty who were exposed to the toxic mix of chemicals released during the September 11, 2011 attacks suffer today from a wide range of 9/11 illnesses and ailments.

  These include the following:

  • 68 different forms of cancers including: lung, breast, prostate, blood, colon, trachea, esophageal, kidney, bladder, skin, thyroid and ovarian cancers, as well as rare and childhood cancers
  • Sinus related diseases
  • Breathing disorders such as asthma, interstitial lung disease, and pulmonary GERD
  • Digestive disorders such as acid reflux

  Unfortunately, many of these illnesses were misdiagnosed and wrongly treated by negligent and uninformed medical professionals. A comprehensive 9/11 lawsuit should always take such negligence into account. As the law firm that handled one of the first and most prominent 9/11 lawsuits for an ill first responder—resulting in the passage of The Zadroga Act—Barasch & McGarry attorneys are exceptionally experienced in helping clients suffering from 9/11 illnesses.

  For more information please visit our 9/11 Victim Website

• Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
  

  These cases involve the failure of a physician to correctly diagnose a problem, or the failure to diagnose it at all. Currently, failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of cancer is one of the more common examples of failure to diagnose cases, and occurs when a patient’s cancer was not diagnosed correctly or at all, resulting in serious consequences to the patient. However, misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose can apply to any illness or condition for which the failure to correctly diagnose results in serious medical consequences for the patient.

• Surgical Errors
  

  Cases involving surgical errors or mistakes stem from errors made by a surgeon or surgical team when performing a procedure on a patient. Examples of surgical errors include amputating the wrong limb, treating an organ or limb other than the one with the problem, performing the wrong procedure, or accidentally leaving items like sponge or surgical instruments inside the patient. Medical malpractice may also apply to medical procedures like cardiac catheterization if an error results in serious medical harm to the patient.

• Prescription Errors
  

  If a patient receives the wrong medication, the wrong dose or the medication is not administered correctly, and harm to the patient results, a prescription error has occurred that may be compensable by a medical malpractice claim. Although larger facilities in particular have procedures to safeguard against these kinds of errors from happening, they do still occur, sometimes because of packaging similarities among medications, or because of basic human error, and the consequences can be devastating.

• Birth Injuries
  

  Injuries to an infant as a result of the actions of the obstetrician or obstetrical staff can include any limitations or deficiencies that are attributable to something the staff did or did not do during pregnancy, or labor and delivery, like brain development problems, neurological problems, hearing or vision deficits, or respiratory or cardiac problems. Failing to correct problems like an umbilical cord wrapped around the neck of a fetus that cuts off blood supply to the baby’s brain, or improper use of forceps or other instruments can cause short-term or long-term damage that is compensable in a medical malpractice case.

• Nursing Home and Elder Care Abuse
  

  When patients in a nursing home or other care facility suffer serious health consequences because of something the facility or its staff did or failed to do, medical malpractice may be applicable. Examples of claims filed involving nursing home and elder care abuse include cases in which infections were not diagnosed, infections were left untreated, basic safety and sanitary guidelines were not followed and appropriate care was not administered at all, or not in a timely way.

Proving Causation

The biggest difficulty with medical malpractice cases is proving causation. Proving conclusively that the action or inaction of the physician, healthcare provider or facility caused the injury to the patient can be very difficult, especially when there are multiple defendants in a case, because he or she may each have contributed to what eventually happened. When there are multiple defendants, each must be pursued and in the end, the trial determines a breakdown of responsibility among all parties found responsible. It also can be difficult to establish what the standard of care against which a doctor or facility’s care will be measured is, and to find the best expert witnesses to testify on behalf of the victim.

My husband and I were very pleased with the outcome. He received as much assistance as needed to understand every single document and the progress of his case. Everybody we had work with was highly professional, motivated, friendly, supportive and always available to us.

J.H.
Personal Injury Client

Proving Medical Malpractice Is A Complex Undertaking

Because there are so many variables that determine if a claim ultimately will succeed, it is very important to have knowledgeable representation by a New York injury lawyer who is experienced with medical malpractice cases in your jurisdiction. You can trust the lawyers at Barasch & McGarry to provide honest and robust legal representation for your malpractice injuries.