What are my rights regarding my late wife’s undiagnosed heart condition?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What are my rights regarding my late wife’s undiagnosed heart condition?
My wife died 5 days after an appointment with her primary care physician. The Medical Examiner’s report found the cause of death to be hypertensive heart disease; and stated that there was no clinical diagnosis of hypertensive heart disease. In the previous 10 months, my wife lost 1/3 rd of her body weight due to cachechsia — yet the doctor never referred her to a cardiologist. There were 4 local who attorneys declined to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. I eventually learned that at least 2 of them did so because the doctor’s husband is a clerk to a local judge and they did not want to adversely influence their working relationship. The statue of limitations will expire in about 3 months. Can I file a complaint with no attorney?
Asked on October 27, 2015 under Malpractice Law, New York
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Sorry to hear about your wife.
Medical malpractice is negligence. Negligence is the failure to execise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable medical practitioner in the community would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
Since the statute of limitations is approaching, you should file the complaint (lawsuit) as soon as possible. You can file the (complaint) lawsuit without an attorney.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.