Verdicts & Settlements

We represented an infant who was diagnosed with Erb's Palsy after the delivering obstetrician pulled on the infant's head when the shoulder was stuck. The defendant obstetrician denied that the shoulder was stuck and that she pulled on the infant's head. At trial, however, the jury found for our client and awarded a verdict in excess of a million dollars. Post-verdict settlement resulted in a structured settlement worth several million dollars over the infant plaintiff's lifetime.

A successful businessman who suffered a minor heart attack was not properly monitored, resulting in his condition deteriorating and major complications leading to a heart transplant. We were able to obtain a multimillion dollar settlement for him.

Our client suffered extensive liver damage when her physician improperly cut the common bile duct. Because the physician did not check to make sure it was intact after gallbladder surgery, blood supply to her organs was cut off. As a result, she faces a lifetime of constant medical supervision and potential liver failure. She received a multimillion dollar recovery.

We represented the mother of an infant diagnosed with Erb’s Palsy which resulted from the doctors' failure to recognize that a Caesarian birth was necessary, perform a proper episiotomy, or perform the maneuvers required to deliver the baby. We obtained a structured settlement and upfront cash which will result in a guaranteed payout of over a million dollars and a projected payment of several million dollars.

Eye surgeries were improperly performed on our client related to a glaucoma condition she had. Rather than the surgical procedure that she was supposed to have, the doctors instead performed different surgery, did not give her sufficient anesthesia to deaden the pain while the surgery was taking place. She recovered a settlement of almost a million dollars.

While undergoing surgery for a shoulder replacement because of osteoarthritis, our client suffered a brachial plexus injury which resulted in injury to his left shoulder and arm. We were able to obtain a settlement on his behalf of over half a million dollars.

After what was supposed to be a routine arthroscopic knee surgery, our client suffered a serious infection which was ignored by his physician, resulting in the destruction of cartilage in his knee. After trial, we obtained a seven figure verdict.

New York and New Jersey Medical Malpractice Lawyers

New York and New Jersey

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice cases — including doctor malpractice, surgical malpractice, and hospital malpractice— cover a wide range of conditions and situations. Whenever the outcome of medical care, treatment or surgery results in harm caused by any form of negligence, there may have been medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice cases require experience, attention to detail and a substantial financial investment for a variety of reasons:

  • It is often very difficult to determine exactly who was responsible for the malpractice, whether the hospital, one or more doctors, nursing staff, administrative staff, etc.
  • This is particularly difficult in the case of surgical malpractice where there is almost always a team of doctors and other professionals involved in the procedure.
  • Medical malpractice is an expert-intensive area of the law. Not only are experts required, but they are often reluctant experts, because medical professionals generally do not like to testify against each other.
  • A thorough understanding of hospital and medical chain of command and chain of authority is critical.
  • Medical records are often hard to decipher and the attorneys conducting the discovery process must be able to interpret the records and notations and fully understand what took place and who was in charge at various stages.
  • The matters at issue are often quite technical involving intricate medical and or procedural issues. Trial expertise is critical in these cases, which often require quite complex litigation skills in order to prevail.
  • Medical malpractice cases are also difficult because often severe damages result, dramatically impacting quality of life, and sometimes resulting in death.

Our firm is well experienced in complex medical malpractice cases. We handle a wide variety of cases, with special expertise in these areas:

  • Improperly performed Laparoscopic abdominal or gallbladder surgery. Trief & Olk represents clients whose surgeons have cut the wrong duct during laparoscopic gallbladder removal, resulting in a severed connection between the liver and the intestines. This error and its consequences may not be noticed immediately, but untreated will result in certain death. Despite the seriousness of this error, it is all too common, due in large part to the very thin and small ducts that need to be ligated and the ducts’ close proximity to each other. However, if the bile duct is mistakenly cut or nicked during the surgery, bile will seep into the abdominal cavity and poison the patient. Patients usually notice only that they are not feeling well, but eventually the patient will become jaundiced and the liver will eventually stop functioning. Laparoscopic surgery must be performed expertly, slowly and carefully or terrible consequences can result. Click here for our special page on Laparoscopic surgery.
  • Failure to diagnose cancer timely or properly. We represent clients whose doctors have not recognized the existence of cancer or who have failed to order the tests necessary to determine the existence of cancer. These failures have resulted in the spread of cancers, which would otherwise have been easily treatable, and devastating consequences have resulted.
  • Birth Injuries: Shoulder Dystocia and Erb’s Palsy
    Please click here for our special page on these birth injuries.
  • Improperly performed cataract surgery resulting in blindness. We represented a woman who suffered retinal detachment and consequent blindness as a result of improperly performed cataract surgery and follow-up care. The doctor did not recognize the signs of impending retinal detachment until too late.
  • Failure to properly treat eye conditions. Loss of vision is a horrendous price to pay for a doctor's mistake. We have represented clients who became blind because the doctor used the incorrect surgical procedures or improperly treated their condition.
  • Failure to properly and promptly treat heart attack. It is critical when a heart attack occurs for doctors to diagnose the condition correctly and treat the condition promptly. Trief & Olk represented clients who as a result of improper care suffered devastating consequences.
  • Improperly performed replacement surgery. Our client suffered a brachial plexus injury as a result of improper shoulder replacement surgery. The doctor should never have been conducting surgery affecting this area.

Trief & Olk has successfully represented numerous clients injured by physicians who failed to diagnose and treat their clients properly. Examples of our ability to obtain verdicts or settlements which help them live with the consequences of the doctors' mistakes are the following:

  • We represented an infant who was diagnosed with Erb's Palsy after the delivering obstetrician pulled on the infant's head when the shoulder was stuck. The defendant obstetrician denied that the shoulder was stuck and that she pulled on the infant's head. At trial, however, the jury found for our client and awarded a verdict in excess of a million dollars. Post-verdict settlement resulted in a structured settlement worth several million dollars over the infant plaintiff's lifetime.
  • A successful businessman who suffered a minor heart attack was not properly monitored, resulting in his condition deteriorating and major complications leading to a heart transplant. We were able to obtain a multimillion dollar settlement for him.
  • Our client suffered extensive liver damage when her physician improperly cut the common bile duct. Because the physician did not check to make sure it was intact after gallbladder surgery, blood supply to her organs was cut off. As a result, she faces a lifetime of constant medical supervision and potential liver failure. She received a multimillion dollar recovery.
  • We represented the mother of an infant diagnosed with Erb's Palsy, which resulted from the doctors' failure to recognize that a Caesarian birth was necessary, perform a proper episiotomy, or perform the maneuvers required to deliver the baby. We obtained a structured settlement and upfront cash which will result in a guaranteed payout of over a million dollars and a projected payment of several million dollars.
  • Eye surgeries were improperly performed on our client related to a glaucoma condition she had. Rather than the surgical procedure that she was supposed to have, the doctors instead performed different surgery, and did not give her sufficient anesthesia to deaden the pain. She recovered a settlement of almost a million dollars.
  • While undergoing surgery for a shoulder replacement because of osteoarthritis, our client suffered a brachial plexus injury which resulted in injury to his left shoulder and arm. We were able to obtain a settlement on his behalf of over half a million dollars.
  • After what was supposed to be a routine arthroscopic knee surgery, our client suffered a serious infection that was ignored by his physician, resulting in the destruction of cartilage in his knee. After trial, we obtained a seven figure verdict.

The above are just a few examples of the kinds of medical malpractice cases we represent. If you or a loved one has suffered injury or damage as a result of improper medical care, please call or e-mail us to discuss your case with one of our experienced New York or New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys.

New York City Law Firm: Trief & Olk

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