We Sue Doctors. We Sue Hospitals.

A man travels to Africa, comes home to the US, ends up in a hospital with a fever. Yes, of course we believe he should be checked for Ebola. Is the failure to do so malpractice? Seems pretty obvious to me that it is, but the real question is what is the standard of care in a hospital setting. It is not what I think but what other similarly situated medical care providers would say is normally done. That is the standard – medical professionals must provide reasonable care when compared to what other professionals do. It does not have to be the best, it just has to be reasonable.

Should Melissa Rivers sue Joan River's doctors for Medical Malpractice?

Well they are still talking about it. Should Joan Rivers daughter (really Joan's estate) sue River's doctors for Medical Malpractice? No surprise, but I say yes if it is clear negligence with clear damages.

My bottom line is that if a professional commits malpractice then their insurance company should pay reasonable (real) damages. Malpractice is simply negligence. We are not surprised when reasonable real damages are paid by the driver's insurance company after a car accident. If a driver screws up and someone is damaged, then insurance pays. If a doctor screws up, then insurance should pay.

We sue professionals for real damages caused by negligence. We sue lawyers. We sue accountants. We sue dentists. We sue hospitals. We sue doctors. We sue nursing homes. And we are proud of the work we do in demanding compensation for victims of professions malpractice.

Joan Rivers’ Doctor Faced a Past Malpractice Suit

We sue professionals. We sue doctors. We sue lawyers. It was recently reported that one of Joan Rivers doctors had faced a prior malpractice suit. Although we clearly believe professionals (including doctors) should be held responsible for negligent conduct, most prior claims of malpractice are not relevant to a different claim of negligence. Unless the prior claim of malpractice involved the same error it is of little value and many courts will say it is entirely irrelevant.

Why?

If I ran a stop sign 4 years ago it does not indicate a propensity to speed. I am not sure it even indicates a propensity to run stop signs. I made a mistake once. I should be liable for damages caused by my negligence (mistake) but it does not mean in a case involving speeding that it is at all relevant to say 10 years ago I ran a stop sign. Yes of course if I ran a stop sign at 4pm telling the officer I was late for a 5 pm meeting. If I then was speeding and caused an accident to happen, it would be relevant. But not if it happened many hours earlier or many years earlier.

So bottom line is that although it may be interesting to lay people to hear more about the players in a current story about a star, it is of no significance in a claim of malpractice.

Celebrating 13 Years

13 years ago in August it was me plus one lawyer and one assistant. Today we are 6 lawyers and 3 assistants plus a team of consultants and offsite workers. Technology now allows us to work from anywhere, our phones are desktops, and we are organized in ways I never imagined when I started practicing law 37 years ago. Feels like real progress as we stay on the cutting edge. I am proud of what we accomplish with our clients, where we are today, of our incredible team and I look forward to many tomorrows. 

Bruce STANGER Managing Member and Founder

Conflicts of Interest

It's the cover up not the deed that get so many in trouble.

Lawyers have a general obligation to stay on the correct side of conflicts of interest. From the attached article it appears to be the lack of a frank and open disclosure that got this lawyer in trouble. If your attorney appears to have a conflict of interest, or somehow not making your interests the most important expect a full and frank disclosure. Ask your lawyer if you have any concerns. It may simply be a misunderstanding. A client can even waive certain conflicts, but the waiver has to be based on complete knowledge and often should include advice from your lawyer to consult with an independent lawyer. You are not expected to know the difference between a conflict that can be waived and one that cant.

Call us if we can help. We don't mind going after another lawyer, it is only fair that the public have lawyers who are willing to call another lawyer on the carpet if they screwed up.

Email Best Practices for Lawyers to Avoid Malpractice Exposure

In this fast paced world of text and e mail expect your lawyer to be careful. But beware a fast pace makes for errors. One area of malpractice by lawyers is the use of e mail or text which when sent without thinking or double checking can go to the wrong person, not include someone that should be included or not get where it was intended.

Sending something that is confidential over e mail is accepted in most circumstances but if sent to the wrong person it can do serious damage. When a lawyer represents the wife, an e mail intended for the lawyers client which is accidently copied to the husband’s lawyer about those pictures of the husband or of the wife in a compromised situation will be used by the other side. There are rules about giving back that which was accidently sent to the other lawyer, but those rules may not save the day.

So expect your lawyer to double check before sending and to be careful generally with your confidential information. If he or she screws up and you are damaged give us a call we will fight to set things right.

How Long Do You Have to Sue a Lawyer in Connecticut?

As with much in life there is no simple answer. It depends!

The general rule is that a suit against a lawyer should be brought within three years of:
When the lawyer screwed up or
The last time the lawyer was working on your case or
The last time the lawyer tried to fix the screw up or
The first time you spoke to another lawyer about the negligence of your lawyer.

If the law suit is not brought in time you loose all of your rights but there are always exceptions. One of which is if the lawyer fraudulently hid the screw up it is three years from when you figured it out or should have figured it out.

BUT don't rely on this and figure it out on your own. It really is much more complicated then what I have told you here. Don't try and analyze this your self. Sorry but if you have been damaged by a lawyer you still should have a lawyer you can trust help you. Can We Help You? I hope so. Call us if you think you have been damaged by the screw up (malpractice) of a lawyer.