Tag Archives: NJ medical Malpractice attorney

Medical Records

Complete and accurate medical records are essential to the just resolution of medical malpractice claims. New Jersey Courts have made this clear:

” [A] physician’s duty to a patient [includes] his affirmative obligation to maintain the integrity, accuracy, truth, and reliability of the patient’s medical record. His obligation in this regard is no less compelling than his duties respecting diagnosis and treatment of the patient since the medical community must, of necessity, be able to rely on those records in the continuing and future care of the patient.” In Re Jascalevich License Revocation, 182 N.J. Super 455, 471-472 ( App. Div. 1982)

If a patient pursuing a medical malpractice claim can prove to a New Jersey Court that her physician fraudulently concealed the truth about her care by withholding, altering, or destroying relevant records, the Court can instruct the jury to presume that the missing evidence would have helped her, and can also instruct the jury to consider awarding the patient “punitive damages” to punish the physician for his fraudulent conduct.

In addition, the New Jersey legislature has criminalized the intentional alteration of medical records:

” A person is guilty of a crime of the 4th degree if he purposefully destroys, alters or falsifies any record relating to the care of a medical or surgical or podiatric patient in order to deceive or mislead any person as to information, including, but no limited to, a diagnosis, test, medication, treatment or medical or psychological history concerning the patient.” N.J.S.A. 2C:21-4.1

When a patient asks an attorney to investigate the merits of her medical malpractice claim against a doctor or hospital, it quickly hits home that the attorney must work with medical records created and controlled by that doctor or hospital. This is just one of the many reasons its essential that the patient hire a highly experienced New Jersey Medical Malpractice Attorney to handle her case.

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Medical Malpractice NJ

Malpractice

How much is my malpractice case worth?

When you contact a New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your case, you might be surprised to learn how lawsuits work. The civil justice system isn’t set up to punish a doctor for faulty medical care, no matter how bad. Instead, the system is set up to help the wrongly treated patient recover compensation. Therefore, the monetary value of the patient’s case is not measured by how bad a job the doctor did. Instead, it is measured according to how much damage was done to the patient.

On the one hand, patient # 1 might call with a case where a doctor did something really stupid – like completely ignore the results of an important blood test. But then a second doctor eventually saw the test results and helped the patient avoid any permanent harm.

On the other hand, patient #2 might call with a case where a doctor performing a colonoscopy unknowingly poked a tiny hole in the patient’s colon, which went unnoticed until the next day when the patient started feeling sick. Long story short, the patient needed major surgery to clean out an infection, and wound up with a bad scar and some long term trouble with his bowels.

Patient # 1 doesn’t have a good case – even though the first doctor committed obvious medical malpractice – because the patient didn’t suffer any serious or lasting harm.

Patient # 2 could have a good case – even though the doctor made such a small mistake – because the patient suffered serious and lasting harm.

Who pays if I win my malpractice case?

For many patients, the prospect of suing their doctor for medical malpractice adds significant anxiety to an already stressful situation. They’ve been victimized by bad medical care and left to cope with serious disabilities and suffering. Does the patient now have to play the bad guy and go after the doctor’s bank account? Does the patient’s New Jersey medical malpractice attorney have to seize the doctor’s house?

The answer is no. In 2004, New Jersey passed a law requiring all New Jersey physicians to have at least $1,000,000 worth of malpractice insurance to cover one claimed occurrence, and at least $3,000,000 to cover more than one claimed occurrence in one year.

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Malpractice and Consent

Malpractice

Did I consent to medical malpractice?

So they made you sign that form saying you consented to the surgery. But the form listed all kinds of risks. The surgery could harm or even kill you. Now you’ve suffered serious permanent disabling injuries. Can you sue for medical malpractice?

The practice of good medicine is not without its imperfections. These imperfections are referred to as risks. Modern medicine has learned from experience that unfortunate outcomes can occur even with proper medical care. The purpose of the consent form is to alert the patient to these possibilities, even in the absence of malpractice.

Consent Forms protect doctors from lawsuits from bad outcome when known medical risks come to pass for unlucky patients. But consent forms do NOT protect the doctor if the bad outcome was actually caused by medical malpractice.

On the contrary, when bad care causes bad outcomes, the doctor can’t hide behind the consent form. The law prohibits doctors from having patients sign away their to sue if the doctor’s malpractice caused the patient harm.

Malpractice: But what if I didn’t consent to anything?

Suppose a doctor properly administers a generally accepted method of medical care to a patient. However, he or she did so without first alerting the patient to all available options and known risks. In such a case, the patient can sue for a bad medical outcome even though there was no malpractice. The law allows a patient to base his or her case on a lack of “informed consent.” However, the law does not assure the success of such cases.

First, it has to be proven that the doctor failed to fully inform the patient and obtain his or her consent. This can sometimes boil down to a “he said-she said” battle between witnesses, where the jury is left to decide which witness is more credible. In addition, the patient must also prove that he or she would have rejected the method of care administered by the doctor. Last but not least, the patient has to prove that the bad medical outcome would probably have been avoided by taking a different medical path.

For these reasons, an experienced medical malpractice attorney may be reluctant to recommend that a patient pursue this kind of case. This is especially true if the patient also has some basis for claiming the medical provider committed malpractice in the method of care. If the patient pursues both claims, the battle over the informed consent claim could weaken the malpractice claim.

In short, it’s essential to consult with an experienced New Jersey medical malpractice attorney to find out if you have a claim worth pursuing in a court of law.

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