Medical Malpractice FAQs

Common types of medical malpractice include surgical errors, failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, failure to treat, and prescription drug errors. Failure to diagnose a disease or illness is very common, with the most common diseases that are misdiagnosed being cancer and heart attacks. When a doctor fails to diagnose a life-threatening condition, catastrophic injuries or death may result. Similarly, there are surgical errors that can be life threatening. Sometimes these involve leaving sponges or tools inside a body cavity, while sometimes the wrong site is operated upon. Sometimes a surgical technique is not performed correctly. In other cases, there is a failure to obtain informed consent to perform the surgery. There are also situations in which a doctor arrives at the correct diagnosis but doesn’t treat the illness according to the accepted professional standard of care, or fails to follow up. Many medical malpractice lawsuits are brought against OB-GYNs for birth injuries. These birth injuries may be the result of a failure to perform a C-section or a failure to provide proper monitoring during the pregnancy. Doctors may make actionable mistakes by prescribing an incorrect medication, prescribing a medication that has an adverse interaction with another medication taken by the patient, or through incorrect dosing.

Most doctors strive to provide quality care during a patient’s pregnancy or labor and delivery. Unfortunately, mistakes happen. When newborns suffer birth injuries due to medical malpractice, their lives may be changed forever. Birth injury lawsuits need to be filed within 2 years and 6 months from the time of injury. Wrongful death lawsuits based on birth injury need to be filed within 2 years from the date of the baby’s death.

Differential diagnosis is a process used by doctors to determine which disease or condition explains a patient’s symptoms. Usually the information needed to diagnose the patient is gathered by taking a medical history and performing a physical exam. However, diagnostic procedures may also be performed for diagnosis. Failure to promptly diagnose a condition can cause the condition to worsen or progress. Certain illnesses can be harder to treat the further they progress. For example, if certain kinds of cancer are allowed to progress undiagnosed for a period of time, they may progress to a stage where they are no longer treatable and the patient will die. A dedicated medical malpractice attorney serving Syracuse can review the facts of your case to determine whether you may have a viable claim related to a failure to diagnose.

Permanent injuries such as brain injuries and spinal cord injuries can result in substantial damages if victims can prove liability. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, you may be able to recover economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages for permanent injuries may include amounts to cover medical bills, medical equipment, prescription drugs, rehabilitation, therapy, replacement services, and alterations to one’s home. For example, if you can’t perform the housekeeping you previously performed, it may be possible to seek and recover costs for replacement housekeeping services. Likewise, if you can no longer get around your home without building wheelchair ramps, you may be able to obtain the costs to install these. Noneconomic damages may include amounts for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment, and loss of consortium. For example, sometimes a spouse is no longer able to be sexually intimate or emotionally close with a spouse who has permanent traumatic brain injuries, and in that case they may be able to recover for loss of consortium.

If you are trying to obtain damages for medical malpractice, it is wise to retain an experienced Syracuse medical malpractice attorney. There are complex rules related to expert testimony in medical malpractice lawsuits. Often the issues are technical and difficult to understand. Medical malpractice lawyers have experience considering these issues. They can figure out technical problems like how to cross-examine and attack the health care provider’s expert witness who claims you shouldn’t recover damages.

You can sue for medical malpractice if you or a loved one were a patient harmed by a doctor who failed to competently perform medical duties. The parties you may be able to sue include any health care providers who provided you with care, or with whom a doctor-patient relationship arose. It may also be possible to recover damages from parties including a pharmacist, a laboratory, nurses, or a hospital.

Numerous acts and omissions qualify as medical malpractice under New York law, but generally, medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, hospital, nurse, or other healthcare provider departs from the accepted standard of medical care and causes injury to a patient. A poor medical outcome alone does not automatically establish malpractice. Instead, the injured party must show that the provider acted in a manner that a reasonably competent medical professional would not have under similar circumstances. Examples of conduct that may give rise to a medical malpractice claim include surgical mistakes, delayed cancer diagnoses, birth injuries, anesthesia errors, medication errors, and failures to properly evaluate or treat serious medical conditions. Because these cases are highly technical, they often require a detailed review of medical records and consultation with qualified medical experts.

In New York, to prove a medical malpractice claim a plaintiff generally must prove that the healthcare provider owed the patient a duty of care, breached the accepted standard of care, and directly caused the patient’s injuries. Unlike many other personal injury cases, medical malpractice lawsuits almost always require expert testimony to explain how the provider’s conduct deviated from accepted medical practices. For example, an expert physician may testify that a doctor failed to order appropriate testing, misinterpreted imaging results, or delayed treatment in a way that no reasonably competent provider would have. The plaintiff must also establish causation, meaning they must show that the negligent conduct substantially contributed to the patient’s injury or worsened condition. Medical records, diagnostic studies, hospital policies, and witness testimony can all play important roles in building a strong claim.

The compensation available in a medical malpractice lawsuit includes damages for both economic and non-economic losses. Economic damages can include hospital expenses, surgeries, rehabilitation costs, prescription medications, future medical treatment, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity. Non-economic damages compensate victims for pain and suffering, emotional distress, disability, and the loss of enjoyment of life caused by the injury. In cases involving catastrophic harm, compensation may also account for long-term care needs and permanent impairments. Unlike some states, New York does not impose a cap on pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases. Instead, the amount of compensation available depends on the severity of the injuries, the impact on the patient’s life, and the strength of the evidence supporting the claim.

Under New York law, most medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within two years and six months from the date of the alleged malpractice or from the end of continuous treatment provided by the negligent healthcare provider for the same condition. There are important exceptions that may alter this deadline. For example, in certain delayed diagnosis cancer cases, the statute of limitations may begin when the patient discovers or reasonably should have discovered the malpractice. Claims involving public hospitals or municipal healthcare facilities may also require compliance with additional notice requirements and shorter deadlines. Because these rules can be complicated and strictly enforced, it is critical to consult an attorney promptly to protect your rights.