Medical Malpractice Lawyer New York City — Surgical Error & Hospital Negligence Attorney Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan & All Five Boroughs
You trusted a doctor. A hospital. A surgeon. And something went wrong that should not have gone wrong. Now you are dealing with consequences that will follow you for years, maybe forever.
Medical malpractice cases are among the hardest personal injury claims to win in New York. They require medical experts, meticulous records review, and an attorney who will not back down when a hospital’s legal team shows up swinging.
We do not back down. Free consultation. English and Spanish. No fee unless we win.
A bad medical outcome is not automatically malpractice. But when a doctor, surgeon, hospital, or healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care and that failure causes you serious harm, that is malpractice. And it is something we fight hard.
We build every case with licensed medical experts from the start. We review every record. We find where the standard of care broke down and who is responsible for it. Then we fight for everything you are owed.
What Is Medical Malpractice in New York?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the standard of care that a reasonably competent provider would follow in the same situation. The bad result alone is not enough. You have to prove the provider did something wrong, or failed to do something they should have done, and that failure directly caused your injury.
Proving that connection requires expert testimony. It requires someone in the same medical field to review the records and say, on the record, that the standard of care was breached. We retain those experts. We build that case.
Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle
We fight for victims of all types of medical negligence across New York City:
- Surgical errors and wrong-site surgery
- Anaesthesia errors and complications
- Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose cancer
- Birth injuries and delivery room negligence
- Emergency room malpractice
- Medication errors and dangerous drug interactions
- Hospital negligence and infections
- Foreign objects left in the body after surgery
- Failure to monitor and failure to follow up
- Nursing home neglect and abuse
Surgical Errors — When the Operating Room Becomes the Danger Zone
Surgery carries risk and every patient accepts that before going in. What no patient agrees to is a surgeon operating on the wrong site, or leaving an instrument inside the body, or causing nerve damage through careless technique. Those outcomes have a name and it is failure. The surgeon, the hospital, and the anesthesiologist can all bear liability depending on what happened and who controlled it.
We investigate every layer and pursue every source of compensation available to you.
Misdiagnosis Dand Delayed Diagnosis
Some of the most devastating malpractice cases never involve a scalpel. A doctor who misreads imaging and sends a stroke patient home has caused harm just as real as any surgical mistake. A physician who dismisses chest pain without proper testing, and that patient suffers a heart attack hours later, has failed that person at the moment they needed care most. When a diagnostic failure causes a condition to worsen in ways that proper treatment would have prevented, we build the case that connects that failure to the full consequences and fight for everything those consequences are worth.
Failure to Diagnose Cancer — Lavern's Law
New York enacted Lavern’s Law in 2018 specifically for patients whose cancer was missed or misdiagnosed. Before this law, the 2.5-year filing deadline started on the date of the negligent act, which often expired before the patient even knew something had gone wrong. The law changed that clock. For failure-to-diagnose cancer cases, the deadline now starts when the patient discovers the error or reasonably should have discovered it. If you were told your results were clear and later found out they were not, the rules governing your deadline are different from the standard ones.
Call us and we will tell you exactly where you stand.
Birth Injuries — Fighting for Your Child's Future
Birth injuries are among the highest-value medical malpractice cases in New York because the damages can span an entire lifetime. When oxygen is cut off during delivery and a child develops cerebral palsy, or forceps are applied incorrectly and cause permanent nerve damage, the consequences follow that child into every school year, every medical appointment, every part of a life that was supposed to begin without that weight. When a delivery room mistake costs a child a normal life, the hospital and the delivering physician must answer for it fully.
We fight for the child and the family carrying that future alongside them.
Emergency Room Malpractice
Emergency rooms run at a brutal pace and nobody expects them to be perfect. What patients do have a right to expect is that the physician treating them will run the appropriate tests, read the results correctly, and make decisions based on what the evidence actually shows. When a doctor sends someone home without imaging that would have caught a stroke, or discharges a patient who needed to be admitted, the speed of the environment does not excuse what happened. Emergency room malpractice causes permanent disability and death in New York City hospitals every year.
We hold ER physicians and the hospitals employing them accountable when their failures cause serious harm.
Hospital Negligence — When the Institution Is Responsible
Doctors practice inside systems that hospitals design, staff, and control. When those systems run chronically short on staff, skip proper supervision, or allow sanitary protocols to slip until a patient develops a post-surgical infection, the harm that results is institutional. It did not come from one person having a bad day. It came from decisions made at the organizational level that put patients at risk. When a hospital’s own failures contributed to your injury, the institution is liable alongside whoever was directly involved in your care.
We pursue every responsible party.
New York Medical Malpractice Deadlines
New York’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice is 2 years and 6 months from the date of the alleged malpractice, not the standard 3 years that applies to other personal injury claims. That six-month difference has closed cases that people assumed were still open.
There are critical exceptions:
Foreign objects left in the body
The lawsuit may be filed within one year after the date of discovery of the foreign object, or within one year of learning facts that would reasonably lead to its discovery.
Cancer misdiagnosis under Lavern's Law
The clock starts when you discovered the error, not when it happened.
Children
For patients who were under 18 when the malpractice occurred, the statute of limitations is paused until the patient turns 18, though the lawsuit must typically be filed within 10 years of the original negligent act.
Public hospitals
If your malpractice occurred at a public hospital like Bellevue, you have 90 days to file a Notice of Claim, not 2.5 years. Miss that window and the case is gone.
Call us immediately. Do not assume you have time.
No Damages Cap in New York
New York has no statutory cap on medical malpractice damages. That means there is no artificial ceiling on what you can recover. Economic damages cover medical bills, lost income, and future care costs. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional harm. We pursue every category and fight for the full number
We hold ER physicians and the hospitals employing them accountable when their failures cause serious harm.
What the Certificate of Merit Means for Your Case
New York requires a Certificate of Merit in every medical malpractice case, where an attorney confirms that a qualified medical professional has reviewed the case and found it has a reasonable basis.
This means we cannot file your case without first having a licensed physician in the relevant specialty review the records and confirm the standard of care was breached. We build that expert record from the first consultation. It is part of how we prepare every case.
We hold ER physicians and the hospitals employing them accountable when their failures cause serious harm.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Medical malpractice damages in New York cover:
- All past and future medical expenses related to the malpractice
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Long-term care and rehabilitation costs
- Wrongful death damages if a loved one was killed
We evaluate every category and fight for what the case is actually worth. Not what the hospital’s insurer offers.
We pursue every responsible party.
We Fight Across All Five Boroughs and Long Island
Queens including Forest Hills, Flushing, and Jamaica. Brooklyn. The Bronx. Manhattan. Staten Island. Nassau County and Long Island. Wherever the negligence occurred in New York, we come for the people responsible.
How do I know if I have a medical malpractice case?
If a healthcare provider made an error that a reasonably competent provider would not have made, and that error caused you serious harm, you may have a case. Call us. We review the facts and tell you exactly where you stand.
How long do I have to file a medical malpractice claim in New York?
Two years and six months from the date of the malpractice in most cases. Public hospital cases require a Notice of Claim within 90 days. Cancer misdiagnosis cases follow different rules under Lavern’s Law. Call us immediately and do not assume you know which deadline applies.
Do I need a medical expert to file a case?
Yes. New York requires a Certificate of Merit filed with every medical malpractice complaint. We retain the expert, review the records, and build that foundation before we file anything.
What if the doctor says the outcome was just a known risk?
Known risks are not automatically malpractice. But if the risk materialized because of negligence, that is a different matter. We investigate what happened and whether the standard of care was followed. The doctor’s explanation is the beginning of the inquiry, not the end.
What if the malpractice happened at a city or public hospital?
A Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days of the malpractice. This is a hard deadline with very limited exceptions. Call us the same day you suspect negligence at a public hospital.
Is there a limit on how much I can recover?
No. New York has no cap on medical malpractice damages. We fight for the full amount your case is worth.
Do you charge anything upfront?
Nothing. Contingency fee only. No win, no fee.
Talk to Adam Before the Hospital's Legal Team Gets Further Ahead
Hospitals start building their defense the day something goes wrong. Before you sign any documents, give any recorded statement, or accept any explanation from the hospital, call us first.
The consultation is free. Adam is reachable from the first call.
Before you speak to anyone, call us. The consultation is free. No upfront fees. Adam is reachable from the first call.