By Edward P. Milstein, Partner Summary judgment motions are almost always the bailiwick ofdefense firms in the area of medical malpractice litigation. We have seenthe use of this litigation tool surge in recent years. Fortunately, we atDANKNER MILSTEIN, PC., have been able to successfully defeat thistactic. The use of the summary judgment motion (after discovery has beencompleted and the case has been placed on the court’s calendar by filing theNote of Issue) by the defendants can provide certain benefits to theplaintiff’s attorney. First, the defendant’s motion papers will contain detailed affidavitsfrom their experts outlining the complete defense to the case and to theclaims of liability. (The liability experts’ identities will also be revealed.)Obviously, this can be very helpful in that it will eliminate surprise andprovide substantially more information than a typical 3 101(d) expertdisclosure. Additionally, if the same expert is produced as a witness attrial,the sworn affidavit will usually provide fodder for cross examination.In addition, the motion compels the plaintiff’s attorney to take a hardand careful look at the case. The success of a medical malpractice casegenerally relies upon minute details which the summary judgment motionwill flesh out. The plaintiff’s attorney must respond to the motion by seeking out thebest experts available to oppose the motion in affidavit form. Thepreparation of the opposition papers provides an excellent opportunity toget “into the weeds” and deal with issues inherent to every medicalmalpractice case by identifying problematic aspects of the case.Recently, we at DANKNERMILSTEIN, PC., have turned the tableson the defense by making motions for summary judgment in 4 speciallyselected medical

THOROUGH INVESTIGATIVE EFFORT AND IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF COMPLICATED SUBJECT MATTER ARE OFTEN KEYS TO WINNING LAWSUITS ACCORDING TO TOP NEW YORK MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWYER Diagnosing the underlying causes in patients who show up at emergency rooms complaining of neurological symptoms like dizziness, back pain, headaches, weakness in limbs or seizure-like disorders can be a very elusive, tricky business. And, when mistakes happen, little is known even among medical experts as to the reasons why emergency

Misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer What is breast cancer? The Basic Facts (Facts for this article were provided by The American Cancer Society, Inc, Surveillance Research 2015)Cancer is not one disease, but rather it is a complex group of diseases that cause otherwise once normal cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most types of cancer cells eventually grow and form a lump, or mass, in the body called a tumor. These

The New York City Comptroller’s Office published a report recently revealing how hospitals in the city compare with respect to the number of medical malpractice claims filed against them from 2009 to 2013.  (See chart below). While one bright spot shows an overall reduction in medical malpractice claims over the past decade, the Comptroller’s hospital-by-hospital analysis reveals that some facilities are faring better than others at reducing the number of injuries and deaths to patients caused by

…TO AFFECT CHANGES IN EFFORTS BY GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO DETECT AND DETER HAZARDOUS MEDICATION PRESCRIBING PRACTICES BY DOCTORS WHO TREAT MEDICARE RECIPIENTS AND THE DISABLED Propublica.com, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, announced today that two years after the watchdog group initially reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had “done little to detect or deter hazardous prescribing of medication to Medicare recipients and the disabled,” CMS