When you seek medical treatment, you trust that doctors, nurses, and hospital staff will provide competent treatment, consistent with the accepted standards of medical care. Unfortunately, preventable medical errors happen, and the consequences can be devastating. If you or a loved one has suffered due to a medical provider’s negligence in the Capital District, your questions about your rights, your health, and your financial future should be answered.
At Anderson, Moschetti & Taffany, PLLC, our attorneys bring decades of trial-tested experience and a track record of multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts to help victims of medical malpractice navigate the complex legal system. Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive from patients and their families in the Albany area.
1. What constitutes medical malpractice in New York?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted “standards of care” in the medical community, and that deviation causes injury or death to a patient. A successful claim generally requires proving four elements:
- Duty of Care: A formal doctor-patient relationship existed.
- Breach of Duty: The medical professional failed to provide the standard of care that a reasonably competent professional in the same specialty would have provided under similar circumstances.
- Causation: This specific failure directly caused your injury or significantly worsened your condition.
- Damages: You suffered measurable harm (physical pain, medical bills, lost wages, etc.) as a result.
2. My medical procedure didn’t work out as I had hoped. Do I have a case?
Not necessarily. A bad medical outcome, a known complication, or an unsuccessful surgery does not automatically mean malpractice occurred. Medicine is not an exact science. To have a viable lawsuit, we must prove that the bad outcome was the direct result of the provider’s negligence or error, rather than an underlying illness or an accepted, disclosed risk of the procedure. That’s why it’s important to contact an attorney with years of experience handling this type of case.
3. What is the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in New York?
In New York, the deadline to file a medical malpractice lawsuit is generally 2.5 years (30 months) from the date the malpractice occurred. However, there are other rules and nuances of the basic rule that are important for the attorney you consult to consider:
- Continuous Treatment Doctrine: If your course of continuous treatment beyond the date that you believe the malpractice took place for the same specific condition, illness or injury, the 2.5-year clock may not start until that continuous treatment ends.
- Lavern’s Law (Missed Cancer Diagnosis): If your case involves a failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor, you have 2.5 years from the date you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the error, subject to a maximum limit of 7 years from the date of the malpractice.
- Government Facilities: If the malpractice occurred at a state, county, or municipal facility, you may have as little as 90 days to file a claim.
4. Are there caps or limits on the damages that I can recover in New York?
No. Unlike some other states, New York does not place a “cap” (or limit) on the amount of compensatory damages you can recover in a medical malpractice lawsuit. You can seek full and fair compensation for:
- Economic Damages: Past and future medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, necessary medical equipment, and lost earning capacity.
- Pain and Suffering: past and future compensation for your physical, emotional and psychological pain and suffering, including loss of enjoyment of life.
5. What types of medical malpractice cases do you handle?
Our attorneys handle highly complex claims against doctors, surgeons, nurses, and hospital systems in Albany and throughout the Capital District. Common types of cases include:
- Surgical Errors: Operating on the wrong site, leaving instruments inside the patient, or severing nerves.
- Diagnostic Errors: Misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or failure to diagnose life-threatening conditions- whether stemming from the condition treated, or which the medical provider failed to diagnose.
- Birth Injuries: Conditions resulting from negligence during labor and delivery, such as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, or hypoxia related injury.
- Medication Errors: Prescribing the wrong dosage or failing to check for dangerous drug interactions.
- Anesthesia Errors: Administering too much or too little anesthesia, or failing to monitor patient vitals.
6. How can I afford a medical malpractice lawyer?
Medical malpractice cases require significant expenditure of time and expense, including hiring top-tier medical experts to review your records and testify on your behalf. At Anderson, Moschetti & Taffany, PLLC, we handling these cases on a contingency fee basis.
- We advance all costs for investigating and litigating your claim.
- You pay no upfront fees or hourly rates.
- We only collect a legal fee if we successfully secure a settlement or jury verdict in your favor.
Contact Our Albany Area Office
Medical malpractice cases are aggressively defended by hospitals and their insurance companies, and are subject to short periods of limitation for commencement of suit. It’s important to act immediately if you suspect you have been the victim of medical negligence. Do not wait to seek legal advice.
Our primary Albany-area office is conveniently located at:26 Century Hill Drive, Suite 206, Latham, NY 12110. Call us at 518-785-4900 or fill out the simple form at: amtinjurylaw.com.Your initial consultation is completely free and strictly confidential. We will listen to your story, review the facts of your case, and give you an honest assessment of your legal options.