New Jersey Medical Malpractice Attorney
Every person who visits a doctor or hospital, or undergoes surgery, expects to receive a certain standard of care. If this standard of care is not met then the doctor or facility may be liable for any harm you have suffered as a result. The harm may include costs of the injuries, long term side effects that, and future medical care which resulted from their failure to provide the expected standard of care.
The four elements that must be proven in New Jersey Medical Malpractice claims are:
1) Establishing a duty of care to the injured person based upon a physician-patient relationship;
2) Breach of the applicable standard of care;
3) Causation between the violation of the standard of care and the harm complained of;
4) Damages in the form of an ascertainable and objectively proven injury.
The kinds of medical malpractice actions we typically handle are for failure to diagnose or inform the patient about the presence of a terminal illness, failure to test or diagnose birth injuries, and improperly performed surgeries.
If you are the victim of medical malpractice you may recover both economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses usually consist of medical bills, prescription costs, lost wages, and other out of pocket expenses. Non-economic losses consist of pain, suffering and the inconvenience which result from the injuries as a result of the medical malpractice. Under New Jersey law every lawsuit for medical malpractice requires an affidavit from a medical practitioner stating that they have reviewed the case and have determined that the doctor or medical provider deviated from the standard of care applicable based upon the area of medicine. Before any litigation begins we obtain our client’s medical records and submit them to an expert for review. Thus, due to the costs associated with obtaining the records and retaining an expert our firm only handles claims that involve serious and permanent injury.
Nursing Home Malpractice
With the improvement of medical care and medicine people are living longer and fuller lives. As people age they will typically require more assisted care which family members are unable to provide. Though it is often a difficult decision, financially, most people are not able to afford the standard of care they want to give their loved ones. Many of the residents of these institutions are vulnerable as they are elderly, frail and often may have cognitive problems caused by age and diseases. Because residents often do not have daily visitors they can be subjected to almost daily abuse and neglect.
Our attorneys are dedicated to representing victims who have suffered nursing home abuse or neglect. We have the experience, knowledge, and firm resources to help with filing lawsuits on behalf of residents and families for payment of medical bills and other costs associated with an injury caused by abusive or negligent actions.
However, not all law firms do. We have handled nursing home negligence cases involving issues such as:
- Unsanitary conditions, physical and verbal abuse
- Decubitus ulcers or bedsores
- Dehydration or malnutrition
- Failing to assist those with difficulty walking
- Failure to address medical needs
- Wrongful death of a resident
Nursing homes and other facilities often try to conceal their negligent conditions from family members, and in some instances, have attempted to alter records in order to hide proof of their negligence. When confronted during litigation many of the owners and staff will offer a defense centering on a lack of training or resources; none of these excuses will hold up, as the operator of the facility is duty-bound to provide the necessary standard of care. In a nursing home abuse case, lack of staff, poor instruction, or ignorance will lead to liability for the facility.
Wrongful death
One of the worst tragedies that a family can suffer is the wrongful death of a loved one. Nothing is quite as difficult as knowing that a family member died due to someone else’s negligence. Wrongful death claims are often part of medical malpractice actions, but are a separate claim that involve very differtn and distinct damages. Family members must take aggressive steps to obtain damages to cover the cost of medical and funeral expenses and other losses.
For example, if death results in any type of motor vehicle accident, industrial or work related accidents, pharmacy error, dangerous conditions, or even medical malpractice, these fatalities may be wrongful deaths. In the state of New Jersey the laws governing wrongful death have important differences than those in other states.
In New Jersey, unlike typical personal injury cases, families of victims of wrongful death are generally not entitled to compensation based upon pain and suffering, however they are entitled to reimbursement based upon the projected loss of future income of the victim. The decedent’s family may be able to recover for medical expenses incurred as a result of the negligence, funeral expenses, lost earnings, as well as for any future services normally provided by the decedent. The surviving spouse may recover for the loss of companionship, help and affection from the person who has died.
