Do I need to hire a medical malpractice lawyer?

Sooner or later, we all need to seek medical care for any number of reasons.  A broken bone, an emergency appendectomy or to get treated for heart disease.  The list of possible ailments is almost infinite.

In New York City, and throughout the country, when we seek care we have every right to assume that the treatment we receive will be what we need to give us the best chance at getting healthier.  Unfortunately, the human body is a fickle machine, and there are no guarantees, despite a medical team’s best efforts.

What happens when a doctor makes the wrong diagnosis or prescribes a course of treatment that fails to cure or makes things worse?  The results can be devastating.

As patients, when this happens, we have the right to challenge that care, asking the question of whether or not the doctor’s actions rise to the level of medical malpractice.  Proving medical malpractice can be difficult, especially going up against well-oiled insurance companies and seasoned legal teams.  However, if a patient and their lawyer can prove that a doctor did not meet the test of providing an appropriate standard of care, then the possibility exists that the patient may be able to collect a judgment based on the failure to meet that standard of care.

Proving medical malpractice is based on several things.  It must be proven that a doctor/patient relationship existed and that the standard of expected care fell short and created medical negligence.  Further, it must be shown that this failure directly caused harm to the patient and that there are quantifiable damages as a result.  Each of these elements has several offshoots that can be challenged in court, but at the very least, this framework lays out a broad overview of what a patient can expect if they are considering a Nassau County medical malpractice lawsuit.

Isaacson, Schiowitz&Korson LLP proudly serves New York City, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Long Island, Nassau and surrounding communities.  Contact us for a free consultation at (212) 267-6557.