What is Malpractice?
Professional malpractice occurs when a professional, such as a doctor, nurse, lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor, deviates from the accepted standard of care for their respective profession and, as a result, causes personal or financial injuries.
In the medical context, we expect health practitioners to perform their duties with a certain level of skill and professionalism. In other words, we anticipate that they will provide care that follows the standards within the medical community. Medical malpractice can take many forms. Generally, however, if a health practitioner failed to act according to the standard of care, he or she is said to have committed medical malpractice. Circumstances that may lead to a patient suffering harm and filing a claim of malpractice include:
- Poor medical decisions by providers.
- Errors in treatment, testing, or surgery.
- Failure to diagnose or properly provide care.
- Delay of care.
- Medical equipment misuse or failures.
In the legal setting, circumstances that may lead a client to suffering harm and filing a claim of malpractice include:
- Allowing a statute of limitations to pass without filing a case.
- Missing a filing deadline or court date.
- Breach an attorney-client contract by failing to meet express obligations.
- Failing to follow a client’s instructions or not getting consent before acting.
Our firm has extensive experience successfully litigating complex malpractice cases for our clients. In one medical malpractice case that was subject to worldwide media attention, we secured a $5.5 million settlement for our client tragically died while donating his bone marrow to help a teenager he had never met. Although our client’s oxygen plummeted, the anesthesiologist failed to closely monitor his vital signs or take timely action. In one legal malpractice case, our managing partner, David Mazie, was able to secure a $1.4 million settlement where two New Jersey lawyers wrongfully insisted that they were hired solely for ministerial tasks for an allegedly botched case involving failed real estate ventures.
The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Readers of this website should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this website should act or refrain from acting based on information on this website without first seeking legal advice from counsel.
What is Considered Malpractice?
Malpractice claims are inherently fact-sensitive and are dependent on the unique circumstances in each case. Generally, in the medical setting, malpractice can occur when health practitioners and staff fail to timely diagnose or treat a medical condition, prescribe the wrong medications, incompetently perform a surgery or procedure, or misdiagnose an individual. In the legal setting, malpractice can occur when an attorney fails to file documents, misses deadlines or the statute of limitations, settles a matter without authorization, or misappropriates funds.
Common examples of medical malpractice matters that our firm has handled include:
- Improper anesthesia administration and a lack of patient monitoring during a surgery that lead to catastrophic results such as paralysis or death.
- Medication errors, such as incorrectly prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication, that cause serious injuries or fatal reactions, especially when a patient has a drug allergy.
- The failure to timely diagnose or misdiagnose conditions that can lead to a failure to treat or delayed treatment. Sadly, many cancers are misdiagnosed in New Jersey. Problems with a cancer diagnosis or a course of treatment can negatively affect a patient’s prognosis. In addition to cancer, conditions such as heart attacks, appendicitis, and strokes are frequently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
- Issues with medical testing and imaging such as misread tests, incorrect results, or a failure to order tests. Test results can also be misplaced or never shared with patients.
Our firm has extensive experience litigating malpractice cases. For example, we were able to obtain a $4.75 million settlement in a case where a pathologist failed to properly diagnose our client’s cancer. Unfortunately, the pathologist’s error was not uncovered for 16 months and, as a result, the cancer progressed from Stage 1 to Stage 4, ultimately resulting in the death of our client.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this website should act or refrain from acting based on information on this website without first seeking legal advice from counsel.
What is a Malpractice Attorney?
Malpractice attorneys in New Jersey litigate cases where a professional, such as a doctor, nurse, lawyer, or accountant, deviates from the accepted standard of care for their respective profession and, as a result, causes personal or financial injuries. Malpractices cases often are both factually and legally complex, and typically require the testimony of experts to prove a professional engaged in conduct that fell below the standard within their profession. Specific types of malpractice also present unique difficulties. For example, the most challenging and complicated part of a legal malpractice case is proving that the outcome would have been different if the case was handled correctly. This is called proving the “case within a case.”
Because of the complexities associated with these cases, however, it is crucial to have proper legal representation. Our firm has a wide breadth of experience handling and successfully litigating a wide variety of malpractice matters. For example, in one case, we obtained a $1.6 million settlement for our client, a New Jersey attorney, who now suffers from corneal ectasia and visual distortion after an eye surgeon performed a surgery despite the fact our client was contraindicated for the operation.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this website should act or refrain from acting based on information on this website without first seeking legal advice from counsel.
What is the Statue of Limitations on Medical Malpractice?
The period in which a person must file a personal injury lawsuit is governed by the “statute of limitations.” In New Jersey, and for adults, the case must be filed within two (2) years of the date that one knows or reasonably should have known that the injury occurred. For minors, however, the lawsuit must be filed within two (2) years of the child’s 18th birthday, unless the injury occurred at birth. If a child sustained an injury at birth as a result of medical malpractice, the lawsuit must be filed by the child’s 13th birthday.
Please note, however, that there are exceptions to the above periods. For instance, if the injury is not immediately obvious or the victim is not aware of his or her injuries, the statute of limitations can be “tolled.” For example, where a patient discovers that a medical instrument, such as a sponge, was left inside his or her body years after a medical procedure.
Whether the statute of limitations has run in a case is a legal issue that depends on the type of case, when the incident giving rise to the injury occurred, and when an injured party becomes aware of it. For more information, contact our firm at (973) 228-9898. Our firm has a long history of achieving substantial results for our clients. For instance, our New Jersey law firm was able to secure a $18.5 million verdict, after a four-week jury trial, for our client who was experiencing fetal distress during labor. However, the physicians failed to call for a timely C-section and, as a result, the child was born with cerebral palsy. This is believed to be one of the largest delayed C-section malpractice recoveries in New Jersey history.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this website should act or refrain from acting based on information on this website without first seeking legal advice from counsel.
What is Legal Malpractice?
Legal malpractice refers to an action brought against an attorney alleging negligence in the practice of law. Common examples of legal malpractice include:
- Allowing a statute of limitations to pass without filing a case.
- Missing a filing deadline or court date.
- Breach an attorney-client contract by failing to meet express obligations.
- Failing to follow a client’s instructions or not getting consent before acting.
To prove a legal malpractice claim, you must be able to show that the attorney’s mistakes changed the likely outcome of the case. Frequently, that means re-litigating the entire case in court. For that reason, legal malpractice lawsuits are very complicated and require significant resources and experience. Our firm has a long history of successfully representing our clients in legal malpractice matters. For example, our firm’s managing partner, David Mazie, was able to obtain a $2.5 million verdict in a legal malpractice lawsuit after a six-week jury trial. We have numerous other New Jersey legal malpractice lawsuit recoveries.
A claim for medical malpractice differs as it involves a lawsuit filed against a doctor, nurse or hospital for breaching the standard of medical practice. In such lawsuits, each litigant hires experts to explain what was required of the doctor or nurse, and how the negligence caused the patient’s damages. Medical malpractice lawsuits in New Jersey are very complex, difficult cases, and we have extensive experience winning medical malpractice lawsuits for our clients.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this website should act or refrain from acting based on information on this website without first seeking legal advice from counsel.