Medical Malpractice

Anytime you go to the doctor for treatment, you run the risk of complications occurring. Sometimes a complication is an unfortunate reality that could not be avoided. Other times, however, the complication could be the result of careless medical practices. If the latter is true, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice case.

Within the medical profession, there are certain standards that are recognized as being acceptable treatments that reasonable medical professionals would prescribe under similar circumstances. Generally, this is known as the standard of care. As a patient, you have the right to expect to receive that standard and as long as that standard of care is met, you have no recourse against your doctor regardless of the outcome of your treatment. If, on the other hand, a doctor or other health care professional violates the standard of care, negligence may be proven, which could lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Several requirements must be met for a medical malpractice claim to be valid:

• The accepted standard of care must be violated. In other words, the doctor or health care professional must act in a way that is different from how most reasonable healthcare professionals would act under the same conditions.
  
  
• An injury must result from the negligence. An unfavorable outcome of a medical treatment alone is not sufficient for a malpractice lawsuit. You must prove that you suffered an injury that otherwise would not have occurred if the healthcare professional had not been negligent.
  
  
• The injury must result in significant damages. Those damages could include a permanent disability, unusual pain and suffering, significant medical bills, or loss of income. If the damages are not significant, the cost of pursuing the malpractice case could outweigh the amount you would recover if you were successful in your case.

Medical malpractice cases often require testimony of a number of medical experts and long hours of deposition testimony. These costs add up, making medical malpractice cases extremely expensive to litigate. In addition, laws regulating what technically constitutes medical malpractice vary from state to state, as does the statute of limitations in filing a medical malpractice claim. 

Victor Rotolo, certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney, and Anthony Kearns and the other experienced litigators at Kearns Rotolo Law are proficient in the malpractice laws of New Jersey, including the State’s statute of limitations. Additionally, they utilize efficient investigative techniques designed to minimize the time spent preparing their defense of your case and, as a result, the cost associated with your case. Once the validity of your claim has been determined, Kearns Rotolo Law will work to represent your case.