Manhattan Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A claim generally needs a treating relationship, care that departed from accepted medical practice, proof that the departure caused the injury rather than the illness itself, and real harm. A separate claim can arise when a non-emergency procedure was done without disclosing the risks and alternatives a reasonable practitioner would have disclosed, if the statute’s other elements are also met. A qualified medical expert usually has to review the records before either can be assessed.

Generally two years and six months from the malpractice, or from the last treatment where the same provider was still treating the same illness, injury or condition that gave rise to the claim (CPLR 214-a). Narrow additional rules apply to some foreign objects left in the body and to a missed cancer, and infancy can extend the time up to ten years after the claim accrues; the deadlines section on this page sets out each branch. For an ordinary personal-injury claim over care at Bellevue, Harlem, Metropolitan or another NYC Health + Hospitals facility, a notice of claim is due on NYC Health + Hospitals within 90 days after the claim accrues and suit within one year and 90 days, subject to any toll or late-notice relief.

Damages can include past and future medical and care costs, lost earnings and earning capacity, and pain and suffering, including loss of enjoyment of life. A spouse may have a related claim, and after a death the estate may bring wrongful death and survival claims. The value depends on the injury and the proof of causation; we do not quote figures before a review.

Treatment carries risk, and a known complication can occur with careful care. Malpractice is a departure from what a reasonably careful provider in the same specialty would have done in the same situation, usually shown through expert medical testimony. A disclosed risk that occurs despite care that met accepted standards is generally not malpractice, but disclosure never excuses a procedure performed negligently. A missing disclosure is not enough on its own; an informed-consent claim needs all the elements in the table on this page.

We review care at any Manhattan hospital, specialty center, clinic or private practice. Bellevue, Harlem, Metropolitan and Gouverneur are NYC Health + Hospitals facilities, where an ordinary injury claim needs a notice on NYC Health + Hospitals within 90 days of accrual. Most other Manhattan hospitals and practices are private, so no municipal notice of claim applies to a claim against them. Naming a hospital is not a suggestion that anything went wrong there.

You do not hire one yourself. Usually, before filing, your attorney consults an appropriately licensed practitioner (a physician, or a dentist or podiatrist for those claims) and signs a certificate of merit stating there is a reasonable basis for the case (CPLR 3012-a). It is the attorney’s certificate, not an expert affidavit, and the statute allows limited alternatives, such as filing it later when a deadline is about to run, or a different certificate when a case relies only on res ipsa loquitur. Expert medical testimony is usually needed on the standard of care and causation; we arrange that review.

Teaching-hospital care often involves several physicians, residents and nurses, each of whose records and roles must be identified and reviewed. Defendants usually have separate lawyers, and depositions and expert disclosure follow. The long-term effects of an injury may also take time to understand. Every case and court calendar differs, so we do not promise a timeline.

If you need medical care, get it; choices about your treatment and doctors are for you and your providers. Write down dates, names and what you were told, especially about risks before a procedure. Request your records, including signed consent forms (Public Health Law 18), and note whether the hospital was an NYC Health + Hospitals site, because its 90-day notice is short.

No separate Manhattan standard exists. Providers are measured against accepted practice for their field in the situation they faced, and a specialist is generally judged as a specialist. A large teaching hospital may have more people involved in your care, which can make it more important to identify who made each decision, but the legal test is the same anywhere in New York.

Possibly, but a complication alone is not malpractice. The questions are whether the surgery and follow-up met accepted practice, whether you were told the reasonably foreseeable risks and alternatives before a non-emergency procedure (Public Health Law 2805-d), and whether a departure caused the harm. NYU Langone is a private hospital, so no municipal notice of claim applies and the general deadline usually controls.

The case begins in the Supreme Court with a summons and complaint, usually accompanied by the attorney’s certificate of merit, served on each doctor, practice or hospital. An ordinary injury claim against NYC Health + Hospitals also needs the earlier 90-day notice. The proper county depends on the parties and where the care happened, and we confirm it at the review. The consultation is free.