What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical Malpractice may occur when a healthcare provider fails to follow the accepted standard of care that healthcare providers in his field have adopted for a particular situation. In other words, Medical Malpractice may occur when a doctor does not follow the steps accepted by his peers as being appropriate for a particular treatment or procedure. In order to constitute Medical Malpractice, the doctor's breach of the standard of care must result in harm or injury. For example, if a doctor performs surgery and does everything the way his peers say is proper, but the patient's symptoms do not get better, then that is probably not Medical Malpractice since there is no guarantee of a good outcome even if surgery is performed in a textbook manner. If, however, a doctor performs surgery and does not follow all the proper steps and the patient is injured as a result, then he may be guilty of Medical Malpractice. Since this area of law is so complex it often requires the involvement of medical experts to explain the standard of care and how it was breached.

What kinds of compensation can a victim of Negligence or Medical Malpractice recover?
The law seeks to put a victim of Negligence or Medical Malpractice back in the position he or she was prior to the injury. Since we cannot turn back time, the most common way to try and do this is by awarding money damages. A victim may be entitled to damages such as lost wages (past and future), medical bills (past and future), compensation for disfigurement or scarring, emotional distress, and pain and suffering (past and future). In a wrongful death case, the victim's heirs may be entitled to recover damages.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit?
The law in New York limits the amount of time a victim has to file a lawsuit. These time limits are called the Statute of Limitations. The time for filing a claim varies from state-to-state and according to the type of case. For example, a medical malpractice claim involving wrongful death must be filed within two years after the injury. In almost all cases the failure to initiate a suit within the time limit may bar a claim forever. Therefore, it is very important to contact an attorney quickly if you feel you have a case.