About Medical Malpractice

Medical Lawsuits

The law firm Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP has medical malpractice attorneys who represent patients suffering from errors or negligence by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, other health care professional or medical facility. Grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit can include misdiagnosis, surgical or medication error, improper treatment or a doctor’s failure to disclose all possible risks of a procedure, treatment or drug. If you are considering the filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit and are seeking a medical malpractice lawyer to represent you, call the law firm of Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP today for a free consultation with one of our attorneys.

Medical malpractice cases occur when a health care provider deviates from a standard of care, defined by what other health care providers with similar training and experience would do if faced with the same or similar situation, resulting in injury or death of the patient.

A physician’s misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis and failure to diagnose are often, but not always, medical malpractice cases. Even when a doctor determines a correct diagnosis, that doctor may fail to treat the medical condition or give erroneous, or improper, treatment.

A key to establishing a case for a medical malpractice lawsuit is weather another physicians of the same training would have developed the same diagnosis and treatment in the same circumstances. Only an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can determine if you have a reason to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, call the medical malpractice attorneys at Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP.

Medical malpractice cases also include errors with the prescribing and diagnosing medication. Instances when this can happen include when a medical professional dispenses the wrong drug or dosage, gives the drug to the wrong patient or administers the drug via the wrong delivery route, such as an IV.

Our medical malpractice attorneys also represent patients who are victims of treatment errors or surgical errors, which can cause devastating, life-long adverse results or even death. These types of medical malpractice cases can include surgery on the wrong organ or limb, failure to remove sponges or instruments from a surgical site and failure to use proper surgical techniques. Improper use of a medical device, not enough or too much anesthesia, incorrect radiation doses during medical scans or treatment, patient exposure to hospital infections or biological contaminants, and birth injuries like Erb’s Palsy and cerebral palsy constitute grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Patients may also file medical malpractice cases if a doctor fails to disclose all possible risks of a procedure before the patients give consent for that procedure, called negligent nondisclosure.
The only way to determine if you should file a medical malpractice lawsuit is to consult a medical malpractice lawyer. Call the medical malpractice law firm of Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP and speak with one of our medical malpractice attorneys today.

Cases and Settlements of Note

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits & Settlements

• Badolato v. Rosenberg.   The Second Department affirmed the trial court’s denial of summary judgment to chiropractor, holding that a physician retained to perform a physical examination for Workers Compensation or Disability purposes can be held liable for medical malpractice where the physician affirmatively interferes with the patient’s treatment to his detriment.

• Selva v. Lillie.  The court affirmed a denial of summary judgment to general practitioner who claimed that her failure to refer a patient suffering neurological disorder that rendered him quadriplegic for specialist consult was not a departure from good medical practice because she did not have the neurological expertise to recognize that the patient was suffering from a systemic neurological disorder rather than a herniated lumbar disc.

• Graham v. Mitchell.  The appellate court reversed the trial court’s order granting summary judgment on a catastrophically brain-damaged infant claim and reinstated the plaintiffs’ complaint.

• Raciti v. Sands Point Nursing Home, et al., 54 A.D.3d 1014 (2d Dept’ 2008), reversing dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint by the trial court which abused its discretion in refusing to consider plaintiffs’ opposition and cross motion, delivered late to court due to interruption of transit service in a torrential rainstorm. 

• Buckley v. Charles K. Goldner, LLC, Abranham Colton. The firm represented Buckley who was a guest in the building, who leaned against an elevator door, believing it to lead to laundry facilities.  The elevator door swung open from below, and Buckley fell down the shaft, breaking part of his spine, tearing his urethra, and dislocating his shoulder. The Verdict of $1.9M was awarded in May 2010.
  
• Jermaine Rhoden v. NYC Transit Authority et al.  The firm represented Rhoden who was bicycling on White Plains Road when he attempted to pass between a parked vehicle and a public bus.  Rhoden became wedged between the bus and vehicle, and injured his knee, which required knee surgery to fix. A verdict of $550,000 was awarded in September 2009.