NEW JERSEY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWYERS

Do I Have A Medical Malpractice Case in New Jersey?

Most states have somewhat similar medical malpractice laws. In New Jersey, the basic tenets of those legal standards are echoed. Medical malpractice occurs when your doctor, surgeon, or medical team fails to meet the accepted standard of care, which are the generally accepted procedures that a comparatively trained medical provider in the geographic area would follow in treating a patient with a particular condition.

These standards vary based on factors such as age, medical history, overall health, etc., but are still considered to be a legal threshold that your medical providers must meet.
A medical provider who fails to meet the standard of care and causes harm to the patient through their actions could be liable in a medical malpractice suit. This could include:

1. An incorrect treatment
2. A failure to timely treat a condition or illness
3. Failure to diagnose a condition or illness
4. A misdiagnosis
5. Unreasonable delays in treatment
6. Surgical errors
7. Birth errors

If you’ve experienced an injury or illness during or following treatment, surgery, or general care, you may have a medical malpractice lawsuit on your hands.

What Do I Need To Prove a Medical Malpractice Case in New Jersey?

In the state of New Jersey, you must file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations, which is two years. However, New Jersey law also states that since a patient may not be aware of any harm caused by a medical provider until well after the fact, in these cases the two-year statute of limitations begins when the patient would have become reasonably aware of their injury or illness. This provides an extra cushion of time to build your case and ensure that you receive the compensation that you deserve.

You will also need to prove a few key points in your case. This includes:

1. That the accepted standard of care was breached by your doctor, surgeon, or medical team
2. That an injury or illness was caused as a direct result of that breach of standards
1. In New Jersey, this requires an “affidavit of merit”, which must be filed within 60 days from when your healthcare provider responds to your claim against them.
3. That significant physical, lasting harm and suffering was caused as a result of this negligence
4. Damages – that you suffered measurable damage through now-necessary expenses such as further treatment or future care, losing wages due to lost work, disability, disfigurement, and pain/suffering.

What is an Affidavit of Merit?

An affidavit of merit is required in medical malpractice cases in New Jersey, which states a reasonable probability that your injury was caused by negligent medical treatment. This must be provided from a qualified medical expert in the same area of practice as the condition for which you were being treated for would fall under, who has declared under oath that “the care, skill or knowledge exercised or exhibited in the treatment, practice or work that is the subject of the complaint, fell outside acceptable professional or occupational standards or treatment practices.”

What Should I Do If I Think I Have A Medical Malpractice Case?

If you think you or a loved one have been a victim of medical negligence after treatment, surgery, or during general care, you deserve to have your case examined and, if evidence of malpractice is found, pursued in court. Since 2001, Richard Hollawell has handled countless medical malpractice cases involving physician and hospital errors that caused patients to suffer catastrophic injury or death, securing maximum compensation for the families of those harmed.

As a patient, you have the legal right to hold all healthcare providers and healthcare facilities liable for the injuries you sustained due to their negligence. If you or a loved one were harmed due to a healthcare provider or hospital’s poor care or medical mistakes, the sooner the investigation can begin, the better our odds are of success in getting you maximum compensation.

Contact us today at 800-681-3550 or fill out our contact form for a free consultation.