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$2.7M Nassau County Verdict Against Pulmonologist Vacated By Appellate Court-New Trial Ordered

On July 6, 2022, the Appellate Division, Second Department vacated a Nassau County jury verdict of $2,717,303 awarded to a family suing a pulmonologist for wrongful death of a 63 year old woman. The pulmonologist had performed a bronchoscopy on the patient which was negative for any cancer. Approximately two years later the patient underwent surgery to remove her right lung and the biopsy found lymphoma from which she died one year later. The jury found that the pulmonologist failed to further investigate conflicting CT scan results at the time of the bronchoscopy; and, that the one year delay in diagnosis of cancer diminished the chances of a better outcome than death.

The verdict was set aside and a new trial ordered because the trial Judge prevented the defense attorney from cross-examining plaintiff's expert on whether other consulting physician's were also at fault for failing to recommend additional investigative procedures. Plaintiff's counsel successfully objected to this line of questioning asserting it was beyond the scope of the direct exam and that the defense did not provide expert disclosure in support of this theory. But this line of inquiry is relevant, as explained by the appellate court, because any allocation of a percentage of fault found by the jury, attributable to an unnamed physician may serve to decrease the amount of damages that may be collected from the named defendant physician. Schuster v Dr. Magdi S. Sourour, 2022 WL 2443819

Ronald C. Burke, Esq

Trial Attorney with 30+ Years of Experience Attorney Ronald C. Burke, Esq. has more than 30 years of experience and has focused his career on representing clients in cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and legal malpractice. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and has won many seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients over the years, including many case victories listed among the largest in the history of the New York State. He has been featured in the news and is a regular lecturer for the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as having lectured before the New York State Bar Association. Ron is also an attorney with Kelner & Kelner, a New York personal injury law firm. Awards and Accolades Mr. Burke's awards and accolades are many. Among them, he has been included in New York Super Lawyers® each year since 2010, and he has received the highest-possible AV® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Verdict Search, a part of the New York Law Journal, frequently recognizes his notable successes after winning some of the highest settlements and verdicts in past years. He was also featured in their list of the "Top New York Verdicts " and "Top New York Settlements." He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as before the United States Supreme Court. When Attorney Burke is not handling legal malpractice cases, he is highly involved in the local community. He was a member of the Village of Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, has served on the local school board and as Chairman of the local Zoning Board. Learn more about Attorney Burke and how he can skillfully handle your malpractice case by contacting the Law Offices of Ronald C. Burke, Esq. right away to schedule your complimentary case evaluation. Our firm is here to help! Contact a New York Legal Malpractice Attorney Our firm provides each client's case with thorough preparation and aggressive representation, ensuring that you win the best possible results for your case whether it is settled or goes to trial. As a seasoned trial lawyer, Mr. Burke can provide the strong and relentless representation you need to establish negligence in a legal malpractice case and to recover any damages you may have suffered. Our firm can recover compensation for pre-trial and trial malpractice, violations of fee arrangements, loss of income, pain and suffering, and much more. Contact us today!

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