Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLPNorth Jersey Medical Malpractice Attorneys | Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP2026-02-02T09:17:45Zhttps://www.goldsmithlegal.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1201315/2019/07/cropped-goldsmith-favicon-2-32x32.jpgOn Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[When a doctor overlooks a well-known contraindication for a drug]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491802025-12-30T02:47:14Z2026-01-03T02:46:36ZWhat are contraindications?
The research process required to make drugs available for mass production and distribution may identify risk factors that make the administration of a medication dangerous. Contraindications are characteristics that make a specific medication inappropriate.
For example, there are many medications that are demonstrably unsafe for women to use while they are pregnant. There are also drugs that can be dangerous for people with certain genetic conditions or other underlying medical issues.
Physicians should review a patient's medical history carefully to validate that a specific medication is likely to be safe and effective. If there are contraindications, they may need to explore alternative treatment options.
When are prescribing errors malpractice?
Ignoring well-known contraindications could easily constitute medical malpractice. Medical malpractice essentially consists of mistakes that other physicians with a similar educational background and the same information about a patient could avoid. Contraindications are usually well-known and publicized.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes contraindications in the literature for approved medications. Continuing education requirements also help ensure that doctors learn about new discoveries regarding popular drugs and new medications brought to the market. If another physician could have identified a contraindication and avoided making a significant prescribing error, then the patient who received the medication may have experienced medical malpractice.
Ignoring contraindications or being unaware of them is a form of malpractice that can lead to dangerous medication errors. Successful medical malpractice lawsuits can help people cover increased medical expenses and any other economic impacts of preventable medical mistakes.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[3 examples of medication errors]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491792025-12-12T08:44:55Z2025-12-12T08:44:55ZMedication errors can cause serious harm to a patient in a hospital. These mistakes could be made by a variety of medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses or pharmacists.
But what exactly does a medication error look like? There are many different ways that this can take place, so let us look at three common examples below.
Administering the wrong medication
In some situations, the error could be that the doctor prescribes the wrong medication or that the patient is given the wrong prescription drug. For instance, say that a nurse has to give different medications to two patients and accidentally mixes up the orders, giving each person the wrong one.
Administering the wrong dose
Even when someone does get the medication that was intended for them, if they get the wrong dose, that could have a serious impact on their care. An overdose on some medications, such as prescription painkillers, can actually be fatal.
Failing to consider the patient’s specific needs
Finally, some medication errors happen when the doctor makes a mistake, such as giving the patient a medication that they are actually allergic to. Their file should reflect the allergy, but if the doctor overlooks it, the patient could be inadvertently given a drug that will harm them. A similar mistake is when a patient is given two drugs that can have a dangerous interaction with one another.
Your legal rights
These are just a few examples of potential medical malpractice due to medication errors. If you or a family member has suffered harm, be sure you know what legal rights you have.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[3 reasons surgical errors can be costly for patients]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491772025-12-01T16:03:24Z2025-12-01T16:03:24ZSome surgical issues are outside of a professional’s control. Unusual anatomical features, issues with equipment and other unanticipated complications can cause surgical issues. Even the most experienced surgeon may not be able to prevent certain types of issues in the operating theater.
Sadly, many of the worst surgical complications are actually the result of preventable errors. Health care professionals can make major mistakes, such as operating on the wrong person or leaving items inside a patient. Those mistakes can have devastating financial consequences for patients. Why are surgical errors so costly?
1. They increase recovery timelines
Most adults require between one and three weeks of recovery time after surgery. When there are complications, the recovery timeline may increase substantially. Patients may miss far more work because health care professionals made mistakes on the job.
2. They require revision procedures
Major surgical mistakes may not improve on their own. Instead, medical professionals may need to perform a second procedure to address the errors during the first operation. The cost of a second surgery can drastically increase the patient’s treatment costs.
3. They become ineligible for treatment
In cases where surgeons perform the wrong procedure or operate on the wrong body part, a patient may become permanently ineligible for the treatment that they required. They may only be able to undergo different medical care that is more expensive or less effective. They may have to accept increased medical expenses, reduced income and increased accommodation costs. All of that combined can produce financial hardship for affected patients. Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in response to surgical errors can help people limit the harm caused by a surgeon’s mistakes.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[When birth interventions cause preventable injuries]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491762025-11-19T15:34:40Z2025-11-19T15:34:40ZInterventions can cause real damage
Some drugs administered during labor and delivery have dangerous side effects. There are even doctors who administer drugs not approved for use by pregnant women during labor.
Physical interventions can also be dangerous for the mother and the unborn child. The use of forceps may have a slightly lower risk of causing long-term developmental setbacks than vacuum-assisted deliveries, but the potential for injury is still there.
Doctors can damage the child's facial muscles, injure the infant’s eyes or even cause damage to the neck and spine. Those injuries may necessitate more medical support during a child's development.
In cases where inappropriate or poorly-administered interventions cause serious birth injuries, affected families may have the right to take legal action. Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can provide compensation for those harmed by inappropriate obstetric care.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[EHR copy-paste: The hidden malpractice danger]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491732025-11-04T04:33:42Z2025-11-08T04:33:08ZThe 'cloning' of data
This easy-to-use function quickly clones old information into your current health record. A doctor can copy your past medical history or symptoms from weeks ago with a single click, which can create something called "note bloat."
Important new data often gets buried beneath pages of irrelevant, copied text. The cloned data may be inaccurate in medical emergencies or for upcoming appointments, resulting in vital records that guide your care with outdated information.
Direct patient harm
Relying on these copied errors can lead directly to patient injury in New York and New Jersey facilities. The inaccurate record can become a threat to safety and treatment in cases involving:
Medication errors: Your doctor might miss a recent medication change or drug allergy because they relied on an old, copied list. An outdated drug history can lead to a dangerous new prescription.
Diagnostic delays: A medical professional might copy an old line that says "patient denies fever" from a past visit. They may then overlook a new, subtle complaint signaling a serious infection like sepsis.
The medical record exists to guide safe treatment decisions, communicate information among providers, provide a basis for billing and serve as legal evidence. When it contains inaccurate or outdated information, your risk of suffering serious harm increases significantly.
When does an EHR mistake rise to malpractice?
When errors from copied data cause a patient to suffer an injury, they can be evidence of a breach of the standard of care, which is a necessary element of a medical malpractice claim. An attorney must look closely at the timeline of EHR entries. Experienced lawyers investigate whether the provider's breach of the accepted standard of care—such as by failing to verify information from a copied record—caused the injury that you suffered.
Pursuing complex medical malpractice claims that hinge on electronic records requires skilled legal representation to analyze the evidence and advocate for the injured patient effectively, due to the complexity of electronic discovery, including the analysis of EHR audit trails and metadata. The efficiency gained by a single click must never outweigh the necessity of a careful review. You rely on accurate, up-to-date documentation to receive safe and proper medical care.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[Missed diagnosis vs. misdiagnosis: What you should know]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491752025-10-28T02:09:28Z2025-10-28T02:09:28ZIdentifying the wrong medical condition
Doctors often have to consider the various symptoms a patient is experiencing and run tests before diagnosing someone with a specific medical condition. Because some illnesses have similar symptoms, doctors may misdiagnose someone.
A misdiagnosis could also happen if a doctor overlooks a patient’s symptoms. When a medical condition is misdiagnosed, a patient may be given the wrong type of prescription or surgery, which can delay treatment and worsen conditions.
Failure to identify a medical condition
A missed diagnosis or failure to diagnose happens if a patient tells a doctor about their medical symptoms and the doctor dismisses a patient’s worries or fails to do any kind of examination. A missed diagnosis can cause a serious medical condition to get worse if it is not treated.
If a doctor fails to make a diagnosis or misdiagnoses a medical condition, a victim can file a medical malpractice case and seek damages. These can be challenging cases for plaintiffs, so getting experienced legal guidance is crucial.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[3 items surgeons too commonly leave behind after operations]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491722025-10-20T01:24:44Z2025-10-20T01:24:44Z1. Pieces of medical balloons or catheters
Gaining access to certain parts of the body can be a challenge. Surgical balloons and catheters can assist with surgical procedures. However, especially if they rupture or tear, medical professionals might leave part of these tools inside a patient at the end of a procedure.
2. Surgical gauze and sponges
The use of gauze and sponges to keep an incision clean and tissue visible is common practice. Surgical professionals should account for all sterile gauze and sponges before closing an incision. When left behind, they can cause inflammatory responses and could increase the risk of infection even if they were sterile initially.
3. Rigid implements
There are many rigid tools ranging from scalpels and forceps to clamps and needles that surgeons and support professionals use during operations. These items can be particularly dangerous if left behind inside a patient after an operation. They can cause traumatic internal injuries.
Proper adherence to standard surgical procedures should all but eliminate the risk of retained foreign bodies. Patients with additional medical expenses and lost wages due to surgical errors may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Leaving something behind in a patient is a mistake that should never happen in a well-managed operating room.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[Some birth injuries may not be immediately obvious]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491712025-10-03T10:45:40Z2025-10-03T10:45:40ZWhen your child suffers a birth injury, it may be obvious right away. Perhaps the doctor was using forceps to assist with the birth, but your child suffered a shoulder injury or an arm injury. They needed treatment for a broken bone and it was very clear that this was not an optimal delivery from the moment that it happened.
That said, it is important for parents to remember that some birth injuries can be relatively hidden. Mistakes made during the delivery could harm the child, but the consequences of those mistakes will not be clear for a significant amount of time. One example of this is cerebral palsy, which is often diagnosed months or even years later.
Why is there a delay?
It just depends on the type of injury the child suffers. Cerebral palsy, in particular, is a brain injury. It happens because the child’s brain does not get the correct oxygen levels during the birth. But this injury is going to hinder brain development, and that only becomes clear when the child starts to miss milestones or fails to develop expected skills and abilities.For instance, some children with cerebral palsy struggle with balance issues and have trouble walking. But parents of an infant may not realize that there are any balance issues because the child has not developed this ability to walk in the first place. Parents may start to notice that the child has trouble rolling over, sitting up, or even crawling, but they may not realize how serious it is until the child should be able to walk.This is just one example, as cerebral palsy can have a wide range of potential symptoms. But it helps to show why parents need to understand all their legal rights to seek compensation, even if the medical mistake is not apparent until a later date.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[Why do doctors often reach the wrong diagnosis?]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491702025-09-21T13:10:00Z2025-09-21T13:10:00ZDoctors may make assumptions
The diagnostic process should be incredibly thorough. By asking patients specific questions, ordering appropriate tests and ruling out various potential causes, doctors can arrive at appropriate diagnostic conclusions.
Many conditions are eligible for affirmative diagnoses. There is a test that affirms the presence of certain pathogens or cancer tissue developing. Other times, doctors arrive at a diagnosis of exclusion. They must rule out every potential cause of the patient's symptoms before determining the patient has a condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome, which does not have a test available to affirm its presence.
If doctors make assumptions and rush through the diagnostic process instead of verifying the presence of the specific malady or ruling out potential issues, their diagnostic error could very well be a preventable mistake. When a physician makes an error that other doctors could avoid and it has a negative impact on their patient, what occurred could constitute medical malpractice.
Recognizing when diagnostic errors may constitute malpractice may help people hold health care professionals accountable for causing them preventable harm. Seeking legal guidance can help.]]>On Behalf of Goldsmith & Goldsmith, LLP<![CDATA[Be wary of a quick medical malpractice settlement]]>https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/?p=491692025-09-09T22:51:48Z2025-09-09T22:51:48Zoffers a quick settlement, it can be tempting. However, what seems like a simple solution can come with serious consequences. Here’s why you should be wary of quick settlement offers as a victim of medical malpractice.
You may not understand the full extent of your injuries
Medical malpractice injuries are unpredictable. Even if your initial treatment seems complete, future procedures, rehabilitation or unforeseen complications can significantly increase your expenses. Accepting a settlement before such outcomes are clear could leave you responsible for expenses you never anticipated.
Losing legal leverage
Once you accept a settlement, you release the liable healthcare provider from any future liability related to your claim. In other words, you give up the right to pursue further compensation from their insurer or even in court should your condition deteriorate.
Don’t cave in to pressure tactics and limited-time offers
Insurance adjusters are trained negotiators, and they know you’re in a difficult position. They may create a sense of urgency, suggesting that the settlement offer is only available for a short time and that it’s the best they can give. This pressure can push you into settling your claim only to regret the decision when it’s too late to undo everything.
You have the right to fair compensation
You deserve a settlement that reflects the damages you’ve suffered, now and in the future. This includes treatment costs, lost wages and the emotional toll of your injuries. There’s no need to rush into a raw deal just to get it over with.
Take time to evaluate your claim and assess your damages before accepting a settlement. If you’re unsure about whether an offer is fair and comprehensive, seek informed legal guidance to make the right call and understand your options.]]>