Get help from a top-rated New York City medical malpractice lawyer
Raphaelson Levine is a personal injury law office that has served the needs of people harmed by their healthcare provider for over 30 years. Our personal injury lawyers also accept cases from family members experiencing the wrongful death of a loved one through medical error or neglect.
We have a strong reputation for aggressively pursuing maximum compensation for our clients. With a short statute of limitations from the date of injury or death of a loved one to file a claim, we encourage you to schedule your initial consultation with a New York Medical malpractice attorney from our law firm today.
We will evaluate your case, answer your questions, and provide you with the guidance and support you need to move forward. Let us help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
NEXT STEP: Get your free consultation today, call 212-268-3222 today or complete the online case evaluation form below.
Millions Won for Our Clients
Our experienced law firm has the reputation, resources, and respect to get maximum compensation in your malpractice claim.
Medical negligence is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S.
Medical negligence is a growing concern in New York. Every year hospitals, health professionals, and other care providers spend over $3 billion paying out medical malpractice claims, paying an average of over 30 claims per day for medical errors.
The medical malpractice lawyers at Raphaelson & Levine Law Firm have helped hundreds of New York families recover compensation after injuries that have resulted from negligent medical care.
Located in Midtown-Manhattan, New York, our law firm serves patients that have suffered medical negligence throughout New York City (including the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island).
The medical malpractice statute of limitations typically provides patients, or their families, 2.5 years (30 months) from the date of their injury to file a claim – a much shorter period than many other types of claims.
Examples of medical malpractice
Failure to diagnose cancer
Many types of cancer respond favorably to treatment when detected early. Unfortunately, your doctor may refuse to order the tests you need to confirm it or be guilty of misdiagnosis, both of which allow cancer to spread unchecked. When it comes to cancer, it’s also common for victims of medical malpractice to receive a report showing no particular problem due to a technician performing the MRI, CT, or other imaging test wrong or a doctor misreading the results.
Emergency room errors
Emergency rooms are busy places, and staff often wants to get patients discharged or admitted as quickly as possible. This can easily lead to NY medical malpractice when a doctor or surgeon doesn’t take the time to diagnose and treat your presenting problem correctly.
Birth injuries
Preventable birth injuries that lead to cerebral palsy and other lifelong medical conditions can make for a tragic medical malpractice case. However, we understand that sympathy will only get you so far. You need the opportunity to sue the negligent party or parties for medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs associated with providing ongoing medical care for your child with a serious birth injury.
Surgical errors
It can sound unbelievable, but surgical errors such as leaving an instrument inside of a patient’s body, operating on the wrong body part, or operating on the wrong patient altogether are more common than you think. We have seen numerous cases of surgical errors locally as New York medical malpractice lawyers.
Medication errors
A doctor should never write a prescription, nor should a pharmacist fill one, without knowing if it potentially interacts with other medications you take. It’s especially incumbent upon the prescribing doctor to consider the medication’s known side effects and weigh them against the potential benefits you could gain from taking the medication. You always have the right to make an informed decision as a patient and could have a legitimate NYC medical malpractice case if you feel that you didn’t have all the facts you needed to make the best possible decision for yourself or a loved one.
Nursing errors
Doctors, surgeons, and diagnostic equipment technicians aren’t the only ones who can cause serious injuries due to a lack of professional skills and judgment. You have just as much right to file a medical malpractice case against a nurse as you do against any other type of healthcare professional.
Exceptions to the 30-month statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice case in New York
In most cases, you have two and one-half years from the date of your injury or the wrongful death of a loved one caused by medical malpractice to seek legal advice and initiate a lawsuit.
New York medical malpractice law does allow for the following exceptions:
- Discovery of foreign instrument left inside of body: You have 12 months from the date you discovered this serious error to initiate a claim for medical negligence in New York. Please note, the 12-month clock starts from the date you first realized the error and not the date of the surgery itself.
- New York statute of limitations regarding minor children: When victims of medical malpractice are under age 18, the statute of limitations doesn’t begin until the 18th birthday. However, neither the patient nor the parents can pursue a personal injury lawsuit more than 10 years after the medical malpractice occurred regardless of the child’s age. If the error or negligence happened when a child was five years old, for example, his or her parents would need to pursue an NYC medical malpractice case by the time the child turned 15.
Filing a medical malpractice claim for maximum compensation
Our medical malpractice lawyers have recovered numerous million-dollar verdicts and settlements for individuals whose lives have been changed due the negligence of a medical professional.
Recent examples of medical malpractice lawsuits our clients have won include:
$2.2 million award on behalf of a young teaching aide who is legally blind because of repeated failures to diagnose the cause of her severe headaches, despite three emergency room visits in one month. We proved that timely referral, diagnosis, and treatment could have prevented the irreversible damage to her vision.
$750,000 award for a 45-year-old woman whose breast cancer went untreated for six months because her OB-GYN doctor failed to inform her of a suspicious mass found on a sonogram. The award for the complications she suffered from the delayed diagnosis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it take to prove a medical malpractice claim in New York?
The Raphaelson & Levine Law Firm holds physicians and hospitals accountable for medical negligence resulting in lasting disability, grave illness, or fatality.
Our lawyers work hard and are recognized as leaders in uncovering medical malpractice and making those providers pay. An unsuccessful surgery or other adverse outcome is not necessarily malpractice.
To justify a claim of medical malpractice, there must be lasting harm and there must be evidence that the medical professionals deviated from the accepted medical standards.
Specifically, you must prove that your healthcare professional in NYC failed you in the following four ways:
- He or she owed you a duty of care. This is the most basic requirement and the easiest to prove when it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits. Duty of care means that you hired a healthcare practitioner to complete any type of medical procedure, and he or she failed in the legal and moral obligation to provide you with competent care.
- Your provider committed a breach of care by not offering you the standard of care you have the right to expect from someone with similar medical training and experience. Because proving breach of care can be highly subjective depending on who is interpreting the law, you need personal injury attorneys with many years of experience on your side as you fight for your right to proceed with the lawsuit.
- Proving a relationship between the medical provider’s breach of care and your subsequent injuries or worsening of symptoms.
- Proving a direct correlation between the provider’s actions and the medical consequences you suffered because of them. It’s a common defense strategy in a medical malpractice case for personal injury lawyers representing the other party to claim that you had the condition before you visited the medical provider or that you are exaggerating how his or her actions made your situation worse.
It’s important to understand that the burden of proof lies entirely with you as a person suing for serious injury in a New York State medical malpractice claim.
Whether you have sustained brain damage, your parent was neglected in a nursing home, your newborn baby developed Erb’s palsy due to birth neglect, a family member has died and you want to pursue a wrongful death claim, or you have another legitimate reason for seeking legal representation, our law firm wants to help.
We encourage you to act as quickly as possible to give your trial lawyers enough time to collect evidence and retain expert witnesses before the 30-month statute of limitations expires.
How much is my medical malpractice case worth?
The average settlement or verdict in a medical malpractice case can range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars, depending on the specific factors involved. It's important to consult with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to evaluate your case and determine the potential value of your claim.
Determining the value of your medical malpractice case can be complex and varies widely depending on the specific circumstances of each case.
In general, the amount of compensation awarded in a medical malpractice case is determined by the damages suffered by the victim, which may include economic and non-economic damages.
Factors that can influence the settlement or verdict in a medical malpractice case include the severity and extent of the injury, the degree of negligence or recklessness of the medical professional or institution involved, the impact of the injury on the victim's life, and the jurisdiction where the case is being litigated.
What compensation can I receive in a medical malpractice case?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Can I sue for medical malpractice if the patient died?
If a patient died as a result of medical malpractice, their surviving family members may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible healthcare provider or institution. The compensation in a wrongful death case may include damages for medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost income, and other losses suffered by the family as a result of the patient's death.
Discuss your claim with a medical malpractice lawyer today
At Raphaelson & Levine, we have a reputation for getting big results in big cases. We know how to navigate the complexities of medical malpractice cases and are committed to securing the best possible outcome for our clients while attending to each clients' needs throughout the process.
If you decide to pursue an attorney-client relationship after we provide you with a free, no-risk case evaluation, we will explain each of the next steps as you seek justice in your medical malpractice or wrongful death case.
While our goal is always to arrive at a fair settlement with insurance companies, we are fully prepared to represent your interests in a jury trial if necessary.
NEXT STEP: Call 212-268-3222 or contact us online for a free consultation with one of the top-rated New York City medical malpractice attorneys at Raphaelson & Levine Law Firm.
