Hurt in a medical malpractice incident?

We trust medical professionals with our lives. When we go to a doctor or seek medical treatment in a hospital or clinic, we have a right to expect that every effort will be made to diagnose and treat our condition according to the expected level or standards of care. When they fail to uphold that duty of care, they may have committed an act of medical malpractice.

We are the New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers of Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP, with offices located in Edison, Red Bank, and Toms River, New Jersey. We are recognized as one of NJ’s pre-eminent personal injury litigation firms representing individuals and families who have suffered serious injury and financial damages as a result of negligence on the part of a health care provider in New Jersey. Our record of financial recovery in settlements and jury verdicts for medical malpractice cases exceeds $750 million, including many of the most significant awards ever obtained in the state.

Our medical malpractice lawyers will review your case, request your medical records, weigh opinions of medical experts, prepare a formal complaint against the negligent health care provider, and see your case through all phases of litigation. Contact us to arrange a free consultation and case evaluation if you have suffered an injury, or lost a loved one following medical care in any area of health care, including:

• Physician negligence: Licensed doctors and medical professionals must provide the accepted standard of care when diagnosing and treating their patients.
• Birth injuries: From your initial consultation with a general practitioner through prenatal care, labor and delivery, and neonatal care, doctors, nurses and hospital staff are responsible for using accepted levels of care and precautions to protect you and your baby from injury or illness.
• Wrongful birth & failure to diagnose genetic conditions: We have a well-deserved reputation in NJ for our work with clients whose children were not correctly diagnosed with conditions such as cystic fibrosis, Down Syndrome, spina bifida, Tay-Sachs disease and other genetic disorders and birth defects that can be detected prenatally.
• Opioid prescription lawsuits: The opioid epidemic is being fueled by unscrupulous doctors who overprescribe addictive opioid prescriptions. Physicians who overprescribe addictive painkillers can be sued and, in some cases, they can lose their license.
• Fatal medical malpractice: Death resulting from surgical errors, hospital errors, misdiagnosis, or medical mistakes.
• Hospital negligence: Proper and safe hospital procedures are a significant component of the level of medical care we have a right to expect. Every year, thousands of people are injured or die as a result of medical mistakes including surgical errors, incorrect files and charts, medication mistakes, or lack of communication between hospital physicians and the patient’s general practitioner.
• Misdiagnosis: General practitioners and specialists have a full array of tests available to them for the proper and timely diagnosis of cancers and other medical conditions. We represent victims who have suffered from a misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis.
• Nursing home negligence: Residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities have a right to expect proper health care and dignified treatment. If your elderly or infirmed loved one has suffered an injury or died because of negligence or improper diagnosis or medical care, you have the right to pursue justice through the courts.

The civil justice system provides a remedy for those who become injured because of someone else’s negligence. You can attempt to settle with the insurance company for the defendant, and if that does not yield the results you are looking for, you may file a personal injury lawsuit. If you pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit for injuries you or a loved one received because of medical negligence, there are several types of damages that you could recover depending on your case including the following:

• Medical costs, which includes everything from hospital bills to physical therapy and other medical expenses related to the injury
• Lost wages and benefits for time missed at work spent recovering from your injuries and doctor visits
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Diminished earning capacity (for disabling injuries)
• Punitive damages (intended to punish and deter the defendant for egregious, malicious acts)

Pursuing medical professionals for medical errors is complicated and it requires a legal team that is familiar with the complexities of investigating the incident, gathering medical evidence, and working with expert medical witnesses. There is a two-year statute of limitations for medical negligence cases in New Jersey, but the law also allows for a discovery rule, which does not begin tolling until the patient was reasonably aware that the injury occurred.

Before you can begin to pursue a medical malpractice case, the law required that within 60 days of the defendant filing his/her answer to your lawsuit, you must submit a document called an, “affidavit of merit.” An affidavit of merit is prepared by your expert medical witness, who is in the same area of specialty as the medical professional who is the defendant in the case, who must swear under oath regarding the reasonable probability that the medical professional’s actions deviated from the accepted standard of care.

There have been many complaints about frivolous lawsuits clogging up our judicial system. Submitting an affidavit of merit for each defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit assures the court that you have a valid case that will not waste the government’s resources. Another issue to consider when considering a medical malpractice case in New Jersey is that there is a cap on non-economic damages such as for pain and suffering, or emotional distress at $250,000, and a cap on punitive damages (which are rare in New Jersey) of $350,000 or five times the amount of compensatory or economic damages such as medical costs and lost wages, whichever is the greater amount.

Given how complex a medical malpractice claim can be, you would do well to work with an experienced team of New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers who have won impressive verdicts and settlements for many clients. We do not back down from pursuing the compensation you require to move on from your life whether the injury temporarily sidetracked you, or if it left you with permanent disabilities. When you work with Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP, you do not just get a team of skilled litigators, you also get access to a team that is fighting for you every step of the way. You will work with award-winning lawyers who are accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and who have been designated Certified Civil Trial Attorneys by the New Jersey Supreme Court.

What does “malpractice” mean? Malpractice is another way of saying that a medical professional acted negligently in providing care to a patient. To prove malpractice, a plaintiff must show that the medical professional provided care that was below the standard that other professionals in similar situations would provide.

How do you prove malpractice? Sometimes, the doctor’s mistakes are so egregious that the medical records speak for themselves. In most cases, though, plaintiffs will need to work with expert witnesses who can explain the appropriate standard of care and how the doctor deviated from it.

Do I have a claim if my surgery is not successful? Maybe. Generally speaking, there is no guarantee that a medical procedure will result in a particular outcome. However, if a mistake was made during your surgery, you may have a claim.

Do I have a claim if my doctor made the wrong diagnosis? Again, maybe. If your doctor should have noticed that you had a particular disease – for example, cancer or heart disease – but either failed to diagnose it or made a misdiagnosis, you may have a claim.

Did I ruin my claim by signing a consent form? No. Giving consent to have a procedure performed does not give your doctor permission to behave negligently. If you can prove malpractice, you have a claim.

Our NJ Medical malpractice lawyers advise and represent clients in medical malpractice and personal injury litigation matters throughout the state. You are welcome to call us at 732-217-4404 or contact us online to arrange a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer. With office locations in Edison and Toms River, we serve clients throughout New Jersey.