New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer - Long Island, Manhattan | Rappaport, Glass, Greene, & Levine, LLP

NY Accident Blog

How We Help New Yorkers:

Document Library

People place their health and their trust in medical professionals everyday. When that trust is violated by incompetence or negligence, the victims have the right to file suit for medical malpractice. Just as there is no limit to the suffering that a victim of malpractice must go through, there is no limit to punitive damages in the State of New York. The Law Firm of Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine have a team of attorneys that is dedicated to securing the highest possible compensation for victims. We have successfully represented clients with cases involving birth injuries, brain injuries, paralysis, blindness, organ failure, infection, coma and amputation.

Attorneys for New York City, Long Island and the Greater New York Area

Despite all of the clamor we hear today about the damage that ‘frivolous’ medical malpractice lawsuits inflict upon America’s healthcare system, no amount of propaganda or misinformation can gloss over the fact that our hospitals, clinics and medical centers can be dangerous places. Even modest estimates concede that at least 45,000 Americans die each year from preventable injuries and illnesses caused by the negligence and sub-standard care of healthcare professionals. Other estimates place the average annual mortality rate nearer to 100,000. And those are just the people who die. The number of those who survive incidents of medical malpractice and live lives forever defined by the limits of debilitating injuries or conditions is undoubtedly many fold more.

Medical malpractice injuries and illnesses are usually caused by delay of treatment, incorrect diagnosis, delays in diagnosis, performing incorrect procedures or performing procedures without a patient’s consent. These errors in judgment or performance can lead to conditions much more serious than those that led the patient to seek medical help in the first place. Some of the most common injuries that medical malpractice attorneys encounter in their work include brain injuries, paralysis, scarring, blindness, organ damage or organ failure, coma or severe infections that require amputation of one or more limbs.

The law firm of RGG&L offers the residents of New York aggressive representation and top results for medical malpractice injuries. In addition to cases of birth injuries, brain injuries and organ failure, our firm has represented clients in cases of anesthesia complications, aneurysms, appendicitis, bleeding, heart attacks, infections and medication errors.

The Medical Malpractice Crisis: The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it

Today, rates on medical malpractice insurance – the money doctors pay insurance companies to protect them in the event of a lawsuit - are soaring, despite any empirical evidence to justify the climb in rates. Plenty of anecdotes float through the media about doctors abandoning states en masse, of defensive medicine costing hospitals billions every year, and of potential medical students abandoning their dreams to heal and comfort people, all because lawyers are making it impossible to practice medicine in the United States. But not a single authoritative study has been released to substantiate these claims as fact.

Plenty of data exists to show the opposite; that cases of medical malpractice are not increasing, that verdicts are not on the rise, and that it is harder than ever for victims of medical malpractice to obtain compensation anywhere close to the injuries they endure. But as far as the version of the story that the insurance industry wants the American people to accept, the only consistent fact in all of their assertions is this: medical malpractice insurance rates are soaring.

Perhaps one day the insurance industry will face questions it doesn’t want to answer. Questions like:

If only 1 in 10 medical malpractice victims even file a claim, what would happen if 1 in 5 were making claims? Or 1 in 3? How would less accessibility to the courts and less lawyers to help them alleviate such a situation?
How will less accountability from doctors in the future reduce the extremely high rates of medical malpractice that currently exist today?
Is the insurance industry shouldering any of the burden that doctors and medical professionals must carry because of the alleged increase in medical malpractice cases? If not, then why not? Especially when 2004 was one of the industry’s most profitable years in recent memory in the areas of property and casualty insurance?

But chances are they won’t ever have to answer such troubling questions. The insurance industry has powerful political friends that are actively intervening on its behalf, and shielding insurance companies from any culpability in the medical malpractice insurance crisis. Indeed, the chief spokesman and proponent of the insurance industry’s agenda is also the President of the United States. George Bush has made it clear that the top domestic initiative of his second term is to institute tort reform across a wide range of legal areas, and overturn laws that offer ordinary citizens some measure of defense against the agendas of large companies and insurance companies with unlimited financial and political resources.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, medical malpractice victims still have many rights that the experienced medical malpractice attorneys of RGG&L can help them exercise, especially in New York. Unlike many state medical malpractice laws in the nation, New York lawyers know better than to rely on the medical establishment to police and enforce the standards necessary to offer New Yorkers safe and secure healthcare environments. New York law recognizes that some medical providers are by their nature reactive, not proactive, and that only the consequences of lawsuits can ensure that they change their ways and practice the diligence so necessary in safeguarding every patient’s health. This is why New York institutes no damage caps on medical malpractice verdicts, and offers no legal privilege or safeguards to medical providers in cases of medical malpractice.

For aggressive and honest legal help in your medical malpractice claim, contact RGG&L today.

Library for Medical Malpractice:

New York Medical Malpractice
Description: Medical malpractice comes in many forms and can significantly impact the lives of the patients and their families. Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine discuss New York medical malpractice lawsuits and compensation available for injured victims. Contact us at (800) 734-9445 if have been injured by medical malpractice in New York.
Errors in Surgery can Happen at Any Time
Description: Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine is a Manhattan based injury law firm that offers legal assistance to those who have been injured in accidents. That includes car accidents, slip and fall accidents, motorcycle or truck accidents and medical malpractice. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.
Medical Malpractice
Description: The definition of Medical Malpractice, according to the Pattern Jury Instructions, which are given to jurors in a trial.
Unforgivable Medical Errors
Description: While many medical errors are minor and can be fixed immediately with no side effects, there are some errors that are so grevious that they should never happen at all.
Health Care Providers Charging for Mistakes
Description: Doctors and hosptials have been charging patients for mistakes in treatment, even when the mistakes are deadly.
The Third Party in Health Care
Description: Why is it that whenever politicians talk about health care reform they never mention the insurance companies?
Product Liability By Way of Medical Malpractice: The Quaid Twins
Description: Bad packaging was just as much at fault in the case of Dennis Quaid's newborn twins.
The Checkered Carreer of Jan Adams
Description: Dr. Jan Adams was a tv star and hollywood celebrity. Unfortunately for Donde West, he just wasnt a very good doctor.
Should Doctors Go Thirty Hours Without Sleep?
Description: There is a culture of sleeplessness among doctors, which has been shown to be a direct cause of medical errors.
Medical Malpractice Insurers Make More Money In 2006
Description: 2006 was an extremely profitable year for medical malpractice insurers. The reason? Claiming that their businesses were at risk due to lawsuits and raising their rates, even as the amount of payouts for judgments and settlements dwindled.