Scott C. Gottlieb, Injury Law Attorney

Only accidents which result in a serious physical injury entitle the accident victim to compensation for pain and suffering. The NYS Insurance Law defines a serious physical injury as any one of the following:

· Death

· Dismemberment

· Significant Disfigurement

· One or More Fractures

· Loss of a Fetus

· Permanent Loss of Use of a Body Organ or Member

· Permanent Consequential Limitation of Use of a Body Organ or Member

· Significant Limitation of Use of a Body Function or System

· A Medically Determined Injury or Impairment of a Non-Permanent Nature which Prevents the Injured Person from Performing all of the Material Acts which Constitute such Person’s Usual and Customary Daily Activities for not Less than 90 Days During the 180 days Immediately Following the Occurrence of the Injury or Impairment


These definitions can be difficult to understand and often require the assistance of an attorney in order to determine whether the accident victim qualifies as having suffered a serious physical injury. It is best to consult with an attorney soon after the accident occurs in order to make certain that your treating doctor is properly documenting your diagnosis, symptoms and prognosis.

Labels: accidents, general, injury

During labor and delivery, medical complications can result in birth injuries. Cerebral palsy and Erbs palsy are the most common cases we handle. Doctors and health care professionals must exercise the utmost care to avoid injury to babies during the especially vulnerable times of labor induction, Cesarean section, and mechanically assisted (forceps) births. Babies who experience severe oxygen deprivation to the brain, or head trauma, during these delicate obstetrical procedures often die or face lifelong disabilities. Approximately 10,000 babies each year develop Cerebral palsy (a condition which impacts the ability to control movement) as a result of oxygen deprivation. Oxygen shortage also causes hypoxic-ischemic cephalopathy brain damage. Other types of traumatic obstetric birth injuries include prenatal asphyxia, Erbs Palsy or Brachial Plexus Palsy, Klumpke's Palsy, Torticollis, and Shoulder Dystocia. Fractures, spinal cord trauma, cephalohematoma and intracranial hemorrhage may be the result of preventable obstetrical damage. Common errors for which medical providers may be held responsible are as follows:

- Difficult or prolonged labor (often due to a large baby);

- Failing to detect the umbilical cord wrapped around a baby's neck;

- Unreasonable delay in performing an emergency Cesarean section;

- Failure to test and treat conditions during pregnancy, or misdiagnosis

- Failing to recognize negative fetal signs

Labels: injury, malpractice

Dog bites in many states are governed by statutes that hold dog owners liable in many cases. However, there are no such dog-bite statutes in New York state law. There are leash and restraint laws on the local level, which may differ from city to city. In New York, any owner, keeper or landlord may be held liable if proper steps are not taken to prevent injuries caused by a vicious dog. This makes them accountable for injuries sustained if the dog was not properly secured on their premises or on a leash.

Thousands of innocent people every year are bitten, seriously injured or killed due to dog-bite injuries or animal attacks. Each year there are more than 850,000 dog bites requiring medical attention and more than 4 million dog bites ranging from minor injuries to serious dog maulings.

Labels: accidents, injury

Damages resulting from physician error happen more often and can be more extensive than many realize. While doctors' improper diagnoses are seldom intentional, their lack of intent provides little comfort to those confronted with a life-altering judgment of cancer. Misdiagnosed patients are often subjected to unnecessary, harmful, painful and expensive treatments. Untreated cancer can kill, and innocent mistakes can cause curable cancers to remain untreated and dangerous. A cancer misdiagnosis also has the potential to cause victims to develop other physical and psychological conditions that require future treatment - contributing to financial hardship and severely inhibiting the victims' ability to sustain meaningful employment.

Cancer misdiagnosis can most frequently be attributed to:
· A cancerous (or malignant) tumor is identified as non-cancerous (or benign).
· A cancerous lesion is missed in the biopsy procedure.
· Failure to refer a patient to a specialist for further testing.
· A malignant tumor is misclassified as to type or misgraded as to aggressiveness.
· Specimens are mishandled by pathology, or improperly read or interpreted.
· Failure to follow up with a patient if cancer should have been suspected.
· Failure to adequately screen for increased risk patients (age/ethnicity/family or personal history/gender).
· Failure to understand or notice the nature of a patient's complaints.

Labels: injury, malpractice

Any person injured through the use or operation of a motor vehicle is entitled to be paid no fault benefits. These benefits are available to drivers, passengers, pedestrians or anyone else who is using or operating the vehicle. However, the driver or passenger of a motorcycle is NOT entitled to no fault benefits, but may be entitled to compensation if someone else was at fault in causing the accident.
No fault benefits may also be available to be paid even if the vehicle was involved in an accident outside the State of New York. There are strict time limits that apply to the application for no fault benefits as well as the submission of claims for same.

No fault benefits including payment for the following accident-related expenses:

- Lost Wages

- Medical Expenses

- Prescriptions

- Mileage reimbursement for transportation to and from all medical providers

- Reimbursement for private health insurance premiums that are paid by the injured
person

- Death benefits in the event of a fatality

Labels: accidents, injury

Each spring and summer, we receive many inquiries regarding injuries that occurred while playing sports. Most of these inquiries are from parents whose children have been injured during an in-school or after-school sporting activity. For the most part, most sports injuries are not actionable. In other words, playing a sport inherently has certain risks of physical harm. This means that the participant assumes the risk of getting hurt during normal play. For example, a child who breaks his ankle sliding into home plate will most likely not have a claim against the school, park or any members of the team. There may be exceptions where the injury results from a dangerous condition on the playing field or if the person in charge creates a dangerous situation that is outside the scope of normal sports activity. Each case is different, but a person cannot bring a successful legal action merely because he/she gets hurt playing sports at school, on a ball field or at a social event.

Labels: injury

MANY MALPRACTICE CASES ARE
NOT ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE

Often in our daily practice, we hear of incidents where medical providers have clearly made an error which has caused harm to a patient. These errors are a form of negligence which are commonly known as medical malpractice. However, many of these medical errors have not caused enough harm to the patient to warrant a medical malpractice legal action.

A medical malpractice case is very time-consuming and expensive to put together. It is necessary for us to hire other medical professionals who are willing and able to testify at trial. Additionally, we often need to hire economists and vocational rehabilitation experts to demonstrate how the medical malpractice has impacted the client’s ability to work or perform household duties.

Therefore, it is not unusual for us to spend anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 to prepare a medical malpractice lawsuit. Moreover, these cases may be complicated and therefore require many hours of office time.

Accordingly, we do not recommend medical malpractice actions unless the injury is so serious as to justify the many dollars and hours that it takes to bring it to a successful conclusion.

Labels: injury, malpractice