When you visit a healthcare provider in Westchester County – be it a doctor, surgeon, or dentist – you trust that you are in capable hands. We rely on medical professionals to diagnose our illnesses, heal our injuries, and improve our health. Over the last two decades, medical negligence claims in New York and across the nation have been steadily increasing. Not only are there more medical malpractice lawsuits being filed against doctors and hospitals, the resulting damages awards are also higher. According to recent statistics, nearly all states have seen an uptick in multimillion-dollar medical malpractice jury verdicts.
If you suspect that malpractice is the cause of your injuries, or those of a loved one, the law firm of Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb & Green is poised to help. Over the past 50 years, our legal team has recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of injured clients, including residents of White Plains, Yonkers, and the surrounding communities. We are veteran trial attorneys who fight for the rights of clients injured by those who have taken an oath to do no harm.
Schedule a free consultation with medical malpractice lawyers in Westchester County, NY, who are dedicated to your full recovery.
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Medical Malpractice Claims in Westchester County, NY
New York’s Westchester County is home to numerous full-service hospitals, specialty clinics, urgent care centers, and highly-rated facilities that provide in-patient and outpatient care. But even the best-trained surgeons and physicians can make mistakes. Whether your medical provider took too long to make a correct diagnosis, or administered the wrong medication, these lapses can result in devastating consequences for victims and their families.
There are many situations that involve medical malpractice. It is our job to prove that healthcare providers or hospitals departed from the “standard of care,” and that this negligence caused your suffering and resulting hardships. The following are just some examples of claims handled by our Westchester malpractice attorneys.
- Delivery malpractice that results in birth injuries
- Wrong site surgery
- Misdiagnosis and late diagnosis
- Anesthesia errors
- Medication mistakes
- Failure to diagnose
- Emergency room negligence
- Unnecessary medical procedures or treatment
- Hospital-acquired post-op infections
Proving that a physician, nurse, midwife, or other medical professional departed from the accepted “standard of care” entails exhaustive legal analysis, thorough investigations, and expert testimony. It’s important to align yourself with a skilled Westchester medical malpractice lawyer who has the knowledge and resources to maximize your chances of a fair legal recovery.
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Filing Deadlines in New York
In Westchester County, New York, claimants generally have two and a half years from the date of the alleged malpractice to file suit. If the claimant is suing for the wrongful death of a family member, the action must be filed within two years of the decedent’s passing. As always, there are exceptions that can toll or reduce the time frame for bringing a malpractice claim in New York. Cases filed against medical facilities operated by the municipality or the State of New York have special requirements, which underscores the need for competent legal counsel.
Potential Defendants in Malpractice Cases
Healthcare practitioners like family physicians, anesthesiologists, paramedics, and nurses may be sued for the negligent actions and omissions that caused your injuries and damages. In some cases, defendants may include hospitals, medical partnerships, or healthcare systems that hired and employed the medical professional being sued.
Our attorneys have a proven track record winning complex medical malpractice cases and are passionate about securing justice and fair reparations for our clients.
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Basic Requirements for Proving a Medical Malpractice Claim
To receive financial compensation for a medical malpractice claim, you will need to prove four basic requirements by a preponderance of the evidence—meaning it is more likely than not–that you were a victim of medical malpractice. The four requirements are as follows:
1. A medical professional-patient relationship was established
This is typically the easiest to meet. However, if several specialists have seen you, it can become complex. For example, you may pursue a claim against a medical professional you only saw intermittently. In cases where this relationship is contested, you must provide testimony and documents proving that you chose to be treated by them. In addition, this doctor must have treated you for a health condition or problem, and the treatment was ongoing at the time of the alleged medical malpractice.
2. The medical professional was negligent due to a breach of the duty of care that you were owed
Medical professionals and facilities that treat you are held to a standard of care. It requires them to provide the same degree of care and skill that a competent medical professional or facility–in the same medical field–in your geographical area would provide. However, medical professionals and treatment facilities are unlikely to admit that they breached this standard of care. An experienced attorney will have the experience, knowledge, and resources to prove this requirement on your behalf.
To begin with, you will need a qualified expert witness–typically another medical professional in the same field and geographical area–to testify as to what a reasonable standard of care would have been in your case. Once that has been established, through medical records and an expert witness–perhaps the same one–your lawyer will need to show how the treatment you received fell below that standard of care.
3. You suffered damages which can be economic or non-economic
You must have suffered economic or non-economic damages as a result of the medical malpractice. As noted, some of the most common economic damages that medical malpractice victims sustain are medical bills, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity. Some of the most common non-economic damages are physical and emotional pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. Economic damages can be simpler to prove because they are often more easily documented. Non-economic damages may need to be proven through testimony from other medical professionals, friends, relatives, or co-workers.
4. The medical professional’s negligence actually and proximately caused your damages
Your attorney will likely utilize your medical records and expert testimony to prove actual and proximate cause.
What are Actual Causation and Proximate Causation?
Actual causation is commonly referred to as the “cause in fact.” In other words, did the medical professional’s negligence actually cause your harm? This can be complex, so two tests determine it:
- The “but for” test. This essentially asks whether the harm you suffered would still have occurred “but for” the medical professional’s negligence. Would it still have happened if the medical professional had not been negligent?
- The “substantial factor” test. Some cases are highly complex and may involve multiple negligent parties. So, it may be challenging to identify one party who was the sole cause of your injuries. For example, in personal injury law, let’s say you were driving your car, and as you approached an intersection, Driver A was distracted and ran a red light and T-boned your car from the right. At that same moment, Driver B was drunk, ran a red light, and T-boned you from the left. It would be impossible to decipher under the “but for test.” So, the court would use the “substantial factor” test, which determines whose negligence was a substantial factor in causing your injuries. In this example, both Driver A and Driver B were equally negligent.
In addition, the proximate cause determines whether it was reasonably foreseeable that the defendant’s negligence would lead to the injuries you have suffered. For example, a doctor misdiagnoses a cardiac condition, and you suffer a heart attack. It would have been reasonably foreseeable that you might fall victim to a heart attack from a misdiagnosis. Because of the complexity of these cases, it takes a skilled legal team who specializes in the areas of personal injury and medical malpractice law to win the damages you need to rebuild your life.
Westchester County Malpractice Lawsuit Compensation
The primary goal of suing for medical malpractice is to hold negligent persons accountable for their actions – or inaction — while recovering money damages for the resulting burdens and hardships.
Both economic and non-economic damages may be available to compensate for losses such as:
- Medical and hospital expenses
- Ongoing care and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and work-related benefits
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of future earnings
- Assistive devices and home adaptions
- Diminished enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
New York is one of the few states that does not cap damage amounts in medical malpractice payouts. This means that plaintiffs in Yonkers and White Plains typically net larger awards when compared to the national average.
Consult With a Medical Malpractice Attorney Westchester County Residents Trust
Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb & Green has decades of experience successfully handling medical malpractice claims. After being injured by a healthcare provider, you need effective and skilled legal representation. Discuss your claim with a trusted Westchester County personal injury attorney today. The consultation is free, and there are no attorney fees unless we win money in your case.
