Law Office

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. QUESTION:
My mother in law is 52 years old. She went to her physician about a year ago complaining GI problems. He told her it was IBS and not to worry. She suffered with "IBS" for about 6 months before going back when problems became worse. He then told her again not to worry, and she should wait until the fall (about 6 months) to have a colonoscopy. About 3 months after that she went to the ER one night with severe bleeding, and following numerous tests/scans and a colonoscopy was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer, also now in her liver and lungs.

We are all horrified that the doctor did not recommend a colonoscopy as a screening immediately when she came to him about a year ago, especially when she is over the 50 age mark. Do we have a case for a malpractice suit?

ANSWER:
The definition of medical malpractice is an act or omission by a health care provider that deviates from what is the accepted standards of practice in the medical community. This act or omission then causes injury to the patient. Medical malpractice is basically professional negligence by a health care professional that leads to an injury or complications on the part of the patient.

In a medical malpractice suit there is the plaintiff and the defendant. The plaintiff is the patient or the family of the patient while the defendant is the health care provider. For a case to meet the medical malpractice definition the plaintiff must be able to prove their case. Some of the things that the plaintiff will need to prove include:

* A duty was owed by the hospital or health care provider.
* The duty was not acted upon. In short, the provider failed to provide the standard of care.
* The breach of duty caused an injury to the patient
* Losses. The plaintiff must be able to prove that there were damages, otherwise a medical malpractice suit is not applicable even if the provider was negligent.

From the facts you have given, it is difficult to determine whether the doctors/hospitals did anything negligent, although it certainly sounds like it is potentially a strong case. You should consult with an attorney in your area who has previously handled these types of cases. The attorney will look at the medical records and go over them with a medical expert to determine whether there were any departures from what is normally accepted practice in your area for this type of medical situation.

Using the search functions on this website at www.avvo.com for a malpractice attorney is a good approach to finding an attorney. However, if you feel more comfortable, you can contact me directly at jaffelaw1@aol.com or at my telephone number which is shown on my Avvo profile. You can also review my website at www.lcjLawFirm.com which has a section devoted to Medical Malpractice in New York.

I encourage you to act quickly, so that you can relate your recollection of what had occurred does not fade. I would also want you to be sure that time deadlines for filing such a case are met.

Thanks.
-rich

Richard S. Jaffe, Esq.
Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP
www.lcjLawFirm.com

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. needed to write this letter to commend our attorney, Richard Jaffe, for all that he has done for my husband and myself. This will be long, but my hope is that it will help anyone who is facing the reality of having to declare bankruptcy and encourage them to run, not walk, to see Richard Jaffe should they relate to my story.

Three months ago, my newlywed husband and I walked into the Cohen-Jaffe law firm. My husband had massive growing debt that we knew we would never be able to repay while being able to keep up with our monthly household bills. We were devastated. Scared. Humiliated. Uninformed. And STRESSED. The stress of debt was taking a tremendous toll on our relationship and we had no idea how to get a handle on things. We were taking about having to declare bankruptcy for months, but neither one of us had the courage to take the first step, which was to go and speak to an attorney. We found Richards law firm by chance, on line. We sat and read his website, which we found incredibly informative and comforting. We were ready to face the music.

Within minutes of meeting Rich, we felt something we had not felt in a very long time. Hope. Hope that we could resolve our growing debt problem and put this nightmare behind us. Things happen in life that we don't expect. My husband relocated to another state, found a job and 3 months later, was laid off. He had credit card bills that he could no longer keep up with. Missing just one month of payments on several cards and loans is devastating and before you know it, you are drowning. You lose sleep. You grow depressed. You take out your frustrations on your partner. You keep telling yourself, "we'll catch up, we'll get a handle on this, our sitation will get better." Little did we know, there was really only one way for us to be able to "breathe" again and start over with a clean slate. That was to declare bankruptcy.

Richard had the patience of a SAINT with us, especially me, who must have asked the same questions at least 1,000 times. He never grew frustrated with us, or made us feel ashamed. He spoke to us frankly, in clear terms that we understood. He guided us through the entire process and he got the ball rolling super fast for us. He was there for us 24-7. Having to declare bankruptcy is not an easy thing to face, and you go through many emotions. I will never forget how at our first meeting with him, we sat in his office and cried. Rich was compassionate, kind and was able to make us see that while no, this is not an easy thing, it does not mean that it's the end of the world. He showed us that this was actually a new beginning. Which is all that we wanted. A second chance.

The day of my husbands meeting with the creditors, we sat nervously in a room waiting for his time to go before the trustee. Again, we were upset- terrified really. We knew what to expect because Rich had prepped us, but still- the day of the meeting, we were naturally nervous. There were many others in the same boat, in the waiting area with us. I sat there, observing client-attorney interactions. All my life, I will never forget one gentleman who was there for his hearing with his attorney. This attorney was so incredibly condescending, rude and cruel to his client, that I had to get up and walk out of the waiting area because his verbage was so disturbing to me that I started to sob. My husband came out to see if I was okay and I said "we are so lucky that we have the attorney we have. Not all attorneys are like Rich"

Before we met Rich, we thought that our financial life was doomed forever. Rich spoke to us about post bankruptcy and that we will have to work hard to rebuild our credit, but that it can be done. My husband and I feel so much stronger and able now. Rich gave us inspiring knowledge and belief in ourselves again. We are determined to walk away from this experience and make it a success story. He gave us hope that one day, we will be in good credit standing again.

You deserve to have an attorney who will make the process as quick and painless as possible. Richard Jaffe was a blessing to us. If going bankrupt is something you are facing, I strongly urge you to call him now. Please don't put yourself through the stress one more day! Debt needs to be addressed. I cannot recommend him enough. Richard Jaffe is a good man, a man who genuinely cares about what your story is and not someone who is out to make a quick dollar and treat you like you don't matter. He is compassionate, understanding, intelligent, funny (and let me tell you that a sense of humor eases a lot of stress!) personally "available" and as far as I'm concerned, the BEST attorney out there. I can only imagine how proud his family is of him. I am willing to personally speak to anyone who is considering using his services. He is a class act all the way and we are forever in HIS debt! (Pun intended!)