Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice Lawyers Serving New York & New Jersey

If you believe a doctor, surgeon, nurse, or hospital made a mistake that caused you harm, the uncertainty can be paralyzing because you trusted a medical professional with your health and something went wrong. You may be dealing with additional injuries, more medical bills on top of the ones you already had, and the difficult question of whether the outcome you are living with was actually avoidable.

Medical malpractice cases are among the most complex in personal injury law, and they require both legal skill and deep understanding of medical standards. At Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C., our New York and New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer has been fighting for patients and families harmed by negligent healthcare providers since 1975. We offer free consultations and handle these cases on contingency.

Trusted medical malpractice lawyers with over 51 years of experience.

What constitutes medical malpractice under the law?

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted standard of care and that deviation causes injury to the patient. The standard of care refers to the level of treatment a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would deliver under similar circumstances, and a bad outcome alone is not malpractice because medicine inherently involves risk. Proving a medical malpractice claim requires demonstrating four elements: that a provider-patient relationship existed, that the provider breached the standard of care, that the breach directly caused injury, and that the injury resulted in measurable damages. In both New York, NY and New Jersey, NJ, these claims require extensive medical records and opinions from qualified physicians who can testify about what the standard of care required and how it was breached.

Types of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle in New York and New Jersey

Medical negligence takes many forms, and the consequences range from temporary complications to permanent disability or death. Our attorneys represent patients injured by a wide range of provider errors.

• Surgical errors. Wrong-site surgery, instruments or sponges left inside the body, nerve damage during procedures, and anesthesia mistakes are all preventable errors that can cause permanent harm and often indicate systemic failures in the operating room.
• Failure to diagnose. Misreading imaging studies, ignoring symptoms reported by the patient, or failing to order appropriate diagnostic tests can delay treatment for conditions like cancer where early detection dramatically improves survival rates.
• Medication errors. Prescribing the wrong drug, the wrong dosage, or failing to account for known drug interactions are errors that the FDA’s drug safety program has identified as a leading cause of preventable patient harm in the United States.
• Birth injuries. Failure to monitor fetal distress, delayed cesarean sections, and improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors can cause lifelong injuries to newborns, and our firm has secured significant recoveries in birth injury cases involving obstetric negligence.
• Hospital-acquired infections. When hospitals fail to follow proper sterilization protocols or infection control procedures, patients can contract MRSA, sepsis, or surgical site infections that significantly complicate recovery and sometimes prove fatal.
• Emergency room errors. Overcrowding, understaffing, and premature discharge from the ER lead to missed diagnoses and delayed treatment of conditions including heart attacks, strokes, and internal bleeding that require immediate intervention.
• Nursing home negligence. Medication errors, untreated bedsores, falls caused by inadequate supervision, and failure to monitor patient conditions are forms of malpractice that occur regularly in skilled nursing facilities across both states.

Why Choose Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C. for Medical Malpractice in New York and New Jersey?

Results That Reflect Our Commitment to Patients

Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for clients injured by medical negligence. We obtained a $1.1 million recovery against an obstetrician and hospital for failing to perform a timely C-section during fetal distress, a medical malpractice settlement exceeding $700,000 for a woman injured during surgery, and a $180,000 jury verdict against a hospital for improper surgical aftercare.

Kate Carballo concentrates her practice on personal injury and medical malpractice litigation and is a Certified Civil Trial Attorney designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court. She is a member of the American Association for Justice and the Bergen County Bar Association, and she was named to Super Lawyers in New Jersey from 2024 through 2026.

Barry S. Kantrowitz has over 40 years of trial experience and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He is a member of The National Trial Lawyers and earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1985.

Our personal injury lawyer in New York and New Jersey works with physicians and medical specialists to build cases that hold negligent providers accountable for the harm they caused.

“Barry and KGG are the best. Very responsive and great results. I highly recommend them. Friendly people to work with” — Jervis Granston

Understanding Medical Malpractice Cases

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Medical Malpractice Cases

Medical malpractice does not just cause the original injury. It creates a second round of medical expenses on top of the bills from the treatment that went wrong in the first place. A patient who went in for a routine gallbladder removal and came out with a severed bile duct now needs corrective surgery, potentially a drain, weeks of recovery that the original procedure would not have required, and follow-up monitoring that may continue for years. The original procedure might have cost $15,000. The corrective care could cost ten times that amount.

Lost wages compound the financial damage. If the botched procedure leaves you unable to work for four months instead of the two weeks your surgeon originally quoted, that is three and a half months of income you were never supposed to lose. And if the injury permanently limits your physical capacity or cognitive function, the lost earning potential stretches across your remaining career.

New York and New Jersey also recognize the less tangible costs. The anxiety of trusting another doctor after the first one harmed you, the chronic pain from a complication that should never have occurred, the disruption to your family life during a prolonged and unexpected recovery.

Liability can extend beyond the individual doctor. Hospitals may be responsible for the negligence of their employed physicians, and even when an independent contractor doctor makes the error, the hospital can be held accountable if you reasonably believed that doctor was part of the hospital’s staff. When multiple providers are involved in a patient’s care, determining exactly where the standard was breached requires careful analysis of every record, order, and note in the chart.

Important Aspects in Your Medical Malpractice Case

If you think a doctor or hospital made a mistake that harmed you, the first thing to do is request your complete medical records, do not wait. Hospitals and medical offices are required to provide your records, but the process takes time, and you want copies in hand before anything can be altered, misfiled, or purged from the system. Your attorney and a qualified physician reviewer will need those records to determine whether the care you received fell below the standard that a competent provider in that specialty would have delivered.

In New Jersey, the law requires something called an Affidavit of Merit. Within 60 days of the defendant physician filing an answer to your complaint, your attorney must submit a sworn statement from a board-certified doctor in the relevant field confirming that your claim has a reasonable basis in medicine. If the affidavit is not filed on time, the case is dismissed. This means the medical review has to begin early, and the reviewing physician has to be willing to put their name on the opinion.

Time limits for medical malpractice claims are shorter than for most other personal injury cases. In New York, you have two and a half years from the date of the malpractice. In New Jersey, it is two years, though a discovery rule may apply when the injury was not immediately apparent. Claims against government hospitals carry even shorter deadlines. Waiting too long to consult with an attorney can cost you your right to file.

Medical Malpractice Case Timeline

Medical malpractice cases tend to move more slowly than other injury claims because of the complexity of the medical evidence and the number of parties typically involved.

• The case begins with an initial screening during which an attorney and a qualified medical reviewer evaluate the records to determine whether the care fell below the standard and whether that failure caused the injury.
• If the review supports a claim, the attorney files the lawsuit and, in New Jersey, submits the required Affidavit of Merit within the statutory deadline.
• Discovery is typically the longest phase and includes the exchange of medical records, depositions of treating and defendant physicians, and retention of medical specialists to provide opinions on both liability and the full extent of the patient’s damages.
• Settlement negotiations often intensify after the medical opinions have been exchanged and both sides have a clearer picture of the strengths of each other’s positions.
• Trial follows if the parties cannot reach a fair resolution, and our firm prepares every medical malpractice case for trial from the outset because defendants in these cases frequently refuse to offer adequate compensation without the pressure of an approaching trial date.

What to Bring to Your Medical Malpractice Consultation

Before your consultation, gather these materials to help us evaluate your claim.

• Medical records from the provider or facility you believe caused your injury, including admission records, operative notes, and nursing charts
• Records from all subsequent treatment related to the injury
• A list of all medications prescribed before and after the incident, along with dosages and prescribing physicians
• Any correspondence from the healthcare provider or their insurance company

Our consultation is free, and we will give you an honest assessment of whether your case has merit and what the next steps would be.

New York and New Jersey Legal Resources for Medical Malpractice

New York

These resources can help you research New York laws and procedures related to medical malpractice claims:

• New York State Unified Court System provides information on filing deadlines, court procedures, and the specific statute of limitations for medical malpractice actions
• New York State Department of Health publishes information on hospital quality, patient safety reporting, and provider licensing that can be relevant when evaluating a potential malpractice claim
• New York State Legislature allows you to search the Civil Practice Law and Rules and the Public Health Law governing malpractice claims

New Jersey

These resources cover New Jersey medical malpractice law and healthcare regulation:

• New Jersey Courts provides guidance on statutes of limitations and the Affidavit of Merit requirement for malpractice claims
• New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs oversees medical licensing and disciplinary actions against healthcare providers
• New Jersey Legislature maintains searchable access to the statutes governing malpractice litigation and healthcare provider obligations

Reach Out to Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C. to Schedule a Consultation

If you believe you or a loved one was harmed by a medical provider’s negligence in New York or New Jersey, Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C. can help. We have served patients and families for over five decades. Contact us for a free case evaluation.