Medical malpractice can be one of the most devastating forms of negligence. It can kill or cause severe injuries that take a lifelong toll, and it betrays patients' trust in their medical professionals. Patients can secure justice through the courts, but medical malpractice is one of the most involved, highly specialized areas of personal injury law.

MUST SHOW A DEPARTURE FROM THE STANDARD OF CARE To be compensated fairly, it is not enough for a patient to prove that he or she is suffering. The patient must also show that a physician failed to meet what is called "the standards of medical care in the community." This can be a difficult challenge, unless a patient works with experienced medical malpractice attorneys who can draw on physicians and other experts on modern medicine.

SHORT STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS In Medical Malpractice cases, the period of time in which to bring a claim has been reduced. While almost all other personal injury cases have a three-year period from the date of accident to commence a lawsuit, in Medial Malpractice cases, the plaintiff has only two years and six months. This will be even shorter if a Municipality runs the hospital or the case involves the death of the plaintiff.

WE HAVE THE MEDICAL KNOW-HOW The Pillersdorf Law Firm has been helping patients succeed in medical malpractice cases for over three decades. A nationally known authority, Gary Pillersdorf teaches Medical School for Lawyers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine each spring, provided expert legal analysis on WOR's Bernard Meltzer's Radio talk show, and gives lectures on medical malpractice to attorneys around the nation. Each member of the firm receives special training every year at leading medical institutes to ensure we know the latest developments in medical care. The malpractice team also includes physician-consultants in all specialties who help determine the merits of cases and support patients as their cases move forward.

WE HAVE A HISTORY OF PROVEN SUCCESS Over the years, we have handled medical malpractice claims involving each and every specialty of medicine. In the field of:

Obstetrics and Gynecology, we have handled birth trauma resulting in brain damage and cases in which children have developed Cerebral Palsy from anoxia caused by a violent delivery.

Orthopedics, we have handled everything from improperly performed knee and hip replacements, to the amputation of the wrong limb. We have also done cases where a fracture was either missed or set improperly and where the hardware that was inserted failed.

Surgery, we have handled failed appendectomies, surgically tied ureters, perforated bowels and every surgical mishap imaginable. Neurology, we have handled cerebral aneurisms and cases where nerve damage was not diagnosed.

Pediatrics, we have handled failures to diagnose appendicitis, failure to treat meningitis, improper circumcisions and failure to treat measles and chicken pox.

Pharmacology, we have handled unsafe drugs such as Halcion where we were the national lead firm, and are reviewing current drug cases involving Vioxx and other Cox 2 inhibitors. We have worked on overdoses of steroids and the failure to prescribe proper antibiotic cases.