Long Island Hospital Negligence Lawyer

Patients who are receiving treatment in a hospital setting are vulnerable to negligence. When hospital personnel act negligently and cause injuries, they are liable for compensation.

If you or your loved one was hurt in a hospital, you can file a lawsuit. To recover fair damages, you must work with a skilled Long Island hospital negligence lawyer. An attorney could help you avoid mistakes and pursue justice properly.

At Duffy & Duffy, we have decades of experience fighting to protect the legal rights and personal safety of New Yorkers. We understand the law, and we know how to build cases to win. We won’t rest until we find justice for the clients we represent.

Suffered from negligence at a hospital in New York? You may be entitled to compensation. Speak with one of our medical malpractice attorneys today at no cost. We’re here to help you and your family.

What Is Hospital Negligence?

Hospital negligence occurs when medical professionals fail to meet the standard of care expected in a hospital setting. Common examples of such negligence are:

• Medication Errors: Administering the wrong dosage, providing the incorrect medication, or failing to check for drug allergies
• Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: A failure to properly diagnose a condition or a delay in diagnosing a serious illness.
• Surgical Mistakes: Operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical instruments inside a patient, and failing to prevent infections.
• Inadequate Monitoring: Failure to detect worsening symptoms or respond to medical emergencies promptly.
• Birth Injuries: Negligence during labor and delivery, such as improper use of forceps or failure to perform a timely C-section.
• Poor Sanitation: Failure to adhere to strict hygiene protocols to prevent the spread of infections.
• Failure to Obtain Informed Consent: Failing to inform a patient about medical procedures, risks, and alternatives before receiving treatment.

Hospitals have a legal obligation to ensure patient safety and provide proper medical treatment. When they fail to do so, an attorney experienced in hospital negligence in Long Island could help the patient file a claim.

How to Prove Hospital Negligence

To build a strong medical malpractice case in Long Island, an attorney has to prove a direct link between the hospital's negligence and the client's injuries. A valid malpractice claim must meet four criteria:

• Duty of Care: The hospital had a legal responsibility to treat the patient.
• Breach of Care: The treatment failed to meet medical standards.
• Causation: The hospital's negligence directly caused harm.
• Damages: The patient suffered medical complications as a result.

Proving these elements requires strong evidence. An attorney will investigate the situation and collect proper evidence. They will also confer with expert witnesses who can testify that the at-fault party breached their duty of care to the patient, causing the patient's injuries.

What Does Malpractice Inside a Hospital Look Like?

Somewhat similar to how every motor vehicle driver has a duty of care to obey traffic laws and pay attention behind the wheel, every licensed healthcare provider is expected to meet a certain standard of care with their patients. A doctor’s standard of care is based on what another equally qualified physician would likely do under the same working conditions when presented with the same information.

A breach of the standard of care occurs when a doctor does something so reckless or careless that no other physician with the same skills and experiences would have done the same thing in the same situation. If such a breach is the main and direct cause of significant physical harm to a patient, which likely would not otherwise have occurred, all the criteria for medical malpractice have been met, and that patient can potentially sue for compensation to cover all damages stemming from the harm they have suffered.

This can include, but is not strictly limited to, things like:

• Costs of additional medical care made necessary by malpractice
• Missed work wages and loss of long-term earning capacity
• Disability-related expenses for mobility aids, home modifications, in-home care, etc.
• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and trauma
• Lost enjoyment and quality of life

Fortunately, New York differs from many other states in that it does not impose artificial caps on maximum recovery through malpractice claims. We can help you demand comprehensive recovery for the full value of your losses after being the victim of hospital negligence.

That may sound simple and straightforward, but it is often anything but that in practice. Hospitals are often substantially more crowded and hectic workplaces than private practices. What might be considered irresponsible for a family physician might be accepted as an unfortunate but foreseeable error for an emergency room surgeon.

However, mistakes like misdiagnosing a patient’s illness as something else, failing to diagnose despite having enough information to do that, failure to maintain sanitary conditions, and especially egregious errors like wrong site surgery still may qualify as grounds for legal action. A Long Island hospital malpractice attorney can discuss your potential options in detail during a confidential consultation.

What to Think About When Choosing a Hospital Malpractice Lawyer

Choosing the right legal professional to help you through a hospital negligence lawsuit in Long Island can be a life-altering decision, especially if you are seeking compensation for the effects of a life-altering injury. Experience with handling similar claims successfully in the past is an important factor to conside, but you will also want representation from a team that focuses specifically on medical malpractice cases and has a reputation for always doing what best serves their clients.

That is exactly what you will get by working with Duffy & Duffy. In addition to our hard-fought record of successful case results, we also have a team that is not just ready but willing to go to trial on behalf of people injured by medical misconduct. Insurance companies know to negotiate fairly with us or risk a lawsuit. We also take a personalized approach to every case, which puts your unique needs and interests first. Our contingency retainer means you will not pay us anything unless we accept your case and get you the compensation you need first.

Hospitals with Known Medical Malpractice Cases

New York is home to many of the greatest medical care facilities in the world. Unfortunately, negligence can still lead to malpractice regardless of reputation. Whether the hospital you or your family member was injured at is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell, NYU Langone, Montefiore, Northwell, Mount Sinai, or another hospital system, our award-winning attorneys know how to seek justice.

Many of the hospitals our lawyers have won compensation for our clients include some of the following:

Discuss Your Hospital Negligence Claim with a Long Island Attorney

When you are admitted to a hospital, you expect to be in safe hands. In reality, many things can and too often do go wrong and could have been avoided. Our medical malpractice law firm specializes in helping clients who have endured pain and suffering due to many kinds of negligence.

We serve individuals throughout New York with the compassion and dedication that they deserve. Contact us online, or call (516) 394-4200 to speak with a New York hospital negligence attorney today.

Call (516) 394-4200 For a Free Consultation

Let our skilled injury lawyers help.