Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is a general term that describes a treatment, or lack of treatment, that violates good and accepted standards of medical care.

To prevail in any New York medical malpractice case, the plaintiff (i.e., the patient/family) must prove three things:

(1) Negligence

(2) Causation

(3) Injury

True medical malpractice exists when the negligent act or omission of a medical provider or health care specialist directly causes significant and permanent harm, or wrongful death.  Therefore, when initiating a claim for medical malpractice in New York, it is critical to evaluate the supporting evidence to ensure a meritorious lawsuit that can be successfully pursued in civil court.

Although any medical error could result in a New York medical malpractice lawsuit, the occurrence of a medical error does not necessarily mean that the patient has a case, or that the case should be tried before a judge or jury. For example, if there is a negative outcome without a meaningful error, or a medical error that causes inconsequential personal injury, the costs associated with prosecution of a claim may outweigh any potential recovery.

Meritorious claims require skilled, experienced and well-credentialed legal counsel to prove that negligent medical care caused harm, disability, or death, and to secure appropriate compensatory damages.  New York medical malpractice lawyers Josh Gillette and Janet Izzo have the skills and experience you can depend on.

How often does medical malpractice occur?

Statistically, actionable medical malpractice is relatively uncommon given the daily volume of patient medical services. However, when it does occur, the results can be catastrophic.

In 1991, a Harvard Medical Malpractice Study titled “Incidence of Adverse Events and Negligence in Hospitalized Patients” was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study’s authors reviewed more than 30,000 patient records from hospitals throughout New York State.  They found that “adverse events” occurred in 3.7% of hospitalizations (1133 events) and that 27.6% (280 events) were due to medical negligence.

In 2006, additional medical malpractice statistics were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in an article titled “Claims, Errors, and Compensation Payments in Medical Malpractice Litigation.” The authors reviewed 1400 closed malpractice claims from five malpractice insurance companies, ultimately concluding that 80% of claims resulted from “significant physical injury,” “major physical injury,” or death, and that the majority of these claims were the consequence of a medical error.

In an effort to track adverse events and improve patient safety, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) created the sentinel event database.  This data is from hospital reports of a “patient safety event” that results in death, permanent or severe temporary harm, or medical intervention to sustain life. The last published review of the database revealed 2966 events.  These events include 370 wrong-site surgeries, 365 operative/post-operative complications and 326 medication errors, 221 deaths due to a delay in treatment, 144 patient falls, 124 deaths of patients in restraints and 85 transfusion-related events.  Additionally, reports of 57 infection-related events, 51 fires, and 49 anesthesia-related events.

What are the most common types of medical malpractice?

Common medical errors encompass everything from surgical errors, hospital negligence, and emergency room mistakes, to improper diagnosis/treatment or cancer misdiagnosis or misreading of diagnostic imaging results (e.g., x-rays, MRI, CT).  Additionally, they include failure to timely diagnose and treat a stroke or heart attack, birth injuries, emergency room mistakes, improper diagnosis, cancer misdiagnosis, labor and delivery complications, retained foreign objects, surgical errors, prescription medication errors, negligent discharge, and misreading of diagnostic imaging (e.g., x-rays, MRI, CT).

Across all medical fields, approximately 7% of all physicians have a claim brought against them each year. Statistically, the medical specialties with the most malpractice claims are neurosurgery, cardio-thoracic surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, general surgery, plastic surgery, gastroenterology, urology, emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, and internal medicine. However, medical malpractice can occur in any medical discipline, and for any reason, including:

• anesthesiology
• bedsores
• birth injuries
• cardiology
• emergency medicine
• family practice
• failure to diagnose
• hospital negligence
• gastroenterology
• gynecology
• infections
• internal medicine
• intravenous fluid contamination
• informed consent
• medication errors
• nurse midwifery
• neurology
• nursing
• obstetrics
• oncology
• orthopedic surgery
• otolaryngology
• pediatrics
• radiology
• surgery
• urology