When you need a Buffalo medical malpractice lawyer
Most Buffalo medical malpractice intakes happen weeks to months after the bad event — after the family has processed what happened, looked at the medical records, talked to other doctors, and realized something doesn't add up. The lawyers know to expect this. They also know that the deadline is short and the case can take 3 to 4 years to resolve, so the sooner the records are pulled and the expert reviews are run, the better.
Call a Buffalo medical malpractice lawyer if any of the following describes what happened.
- A baby was injured during labor or delivery — shoulder dystocia, brachial plexus injury (Erb's palsy), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, brain damage from delayed C-section, NICU complication from delayed treatment.
- A surgery had a complication that should not have happened — wrong site, wrong patient, retained sponge or instrument, anesthesia error, sterility breach causing post-op infection.
- A diagnosis was missed or delayed — cancer (especially breast, colon, lung), stroke, sepsis, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, meningitis, ectopic pregnancy.
- A medication error — wrong drug dispensed, wrong dose administered, dangerous drug-drug interaction missed, allergy ignored.
- Post-operative monitoring failed and the patient deteriorated unnoticed.
- A nursing home resident developed pressure ulcers, dehydration, malnutrition, or unexplained injuries.
- An emergency room sent a patient home with a serious condition undiagnosed.
- A loved one died from what looks like preventable medical error.
Where Buffalo med-mal cases come from
The major Buffalo healthcare systems generate most of the med-mal docket: Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) on Grider Street, Buffalo General Medical Center on High Street, Oishei Children's Hospital, Mercy Hospital and the Catholic Health System (Sisters of Charity, Kenmore Mercy, Mount St. Mary's), and the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Public hospitals like ECMC have shorter notice-of-claim and statute-of-limitations rules (Notice of Claim due within 90 days), which is one of several reasons not to wait.
What this typically costs in Buffalo
30% / 25%
First $250K / next $250K
20% / 15% / 10%
Sliding above $500K
$50K–$250K
Case expenses advanced
NY Judiciary Law 474-a sets a sliding contingency for medical malpractice cases: 30 percent on the first $250,000, 25 percent on the next $250,000, 20 percent on the next $500,000, 15 percent on the next $250,000, and 10 percent on any recovery above $1.25 million. The firm advances case expenses — medical records, expert review reports, deposition transcripts, expert trial fees, exhibit preparation — that can run $50,000 to $250,000 in a fully developed case. If the case loses, the client owes nothing for either fees or expenses.
How long a Buffalo med-mal case takes
- Initial case review and expert consultation: 2 to 4 months.
- Filing of Summons and Complaint plus Certificate of Merit: month 3 to 5 of representation.
- Bill of Particulars and initial discovery: month 6 to 12.
- Depositions of parties and witnesses: month 9 to 18.
- Expert disclosure and depositions: month 15 to 24.
- Note of Issue and trial calendar placement: month 18 to 28.
- Mediation or settlement conference: month 18 to 30.
- Trial (if the case does not settle): month 24 to 42.
- Total: filing to resolution: typically 2 to 4 years.