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Knowledge, experience, and dedication have brought the lawyers of The Epstein Law Firm to the forefront of their profession. From personal injury to civil litigation, they have built a strong record of success in achieving justice for their clients.
Our practice is diverse and well-established. Recognizing that every case is unique, we always begin by listening to you.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has been successfully representing clients throughout New Jersey since 1973
When a patient’s condition worsens, the question is not simply who was on duty. A nursing malpractice review asks what care the patient needed, what the care team knew, how they responded and whether a departure from proper care caused harm. The sequence matters, especially when several professionals were involved.
The Epstein Law Firm helps patients and families investigate concerns about negligent nursing care in New Jersey. We examine the records and the circumstances surrounding the injury, identify the people and organizations whose roles need review, and assess the legal steps available. You do not need to arrive with a completed explanation of what went wrong.
Start with the dates, the facility or home-care provider, and what changed in the patient’s condition. Tell us what you observed yourself and what you were told. Those details can help us identify the records and professional review needed to evaluate the concern.
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A serious complication is a reason to ask questions, but it does not establish negligence by itself. A claim requires attention to the applicable standard of care and the relationship between the alleged failure and the injury. New Jersey’s model civil charge on medical duty and negligence explains the distinction between an unfavorable outcome and care that falls below the required standard.
The relevant sequence might involve observations, medication administration, a change in vital signs, communication with another clinician or a response to a request for help. Records from different parts of the same admission can describe different pieces of that sequence. Looking only at the discharge summary may leave important questions unanswered.
Our review begins with the particular concern. Explain whether a symptom went unreported, an instruction appeared to be missed or the treatment record differs from what you remember. Avoid assuming that a missing entry proves an event did not happen, or that every error caused the eventual injury. Those are matters for investigation and appropriate expert analysis.
Care at home raises questions about the care plan, who was assigned to provide services and what instructions were communicated. A problem involving a ventilator or tracheostomy may require review of equipment-related instructions and the response to a change in condition. Assistance from a home health aide should be distinguished from licensed nursing care when identifying responsibilities.
In a hospital or another facility, it may be necessary to reconstruct handoffs and determine who performed a particular task. A travel assignment adds another relationship to investigate; it does not by itself establish who is legally responsible. Our related practice pages below address home care, different nursing roles and equipment-related concerns while keeping the focus on the patient’s particular experience.
Preserve the documents already available to you: discharge instructions, medication lists, appointment records, messages and relevant photographs. Keep originals and retain the context of electronic communications. A dated account of what you saw can help distinguish your observations from later explanations.
Patients generally have a right under HIPAA to request their health information from covered providers, subject to defined exceptions. The HHS guide to accessing health information explains that the right extends beyond a single summary document. Ask the provider’s records office how to make a request and keep a copy of the request and response.
If you are helping someone else, identify your authority to act. Being a close relative does not automatically give unrestricted access to the patient’s records. An authorized personal representative’s rights depend on the scope of the representation and applicable law. Bring the relevant authorization or representative documents when discussing the matter with counsel.
Nursing care can involve different credentials, responsibilities and employment arrangements. The label used in conversation may not establish a person’s legal role. Identify the names and job titles you know, and let the records clarify who provided which part of the care.
New Jersey’s affidavit-of-merit statute imposes a preliminary professional-review requirement in covered malpractice actions. Its application and the qualifications of the person providing the affidavit require case-specific analysis. Do not assume that the same procedural rule applies to every person described as a nurse or aide.
The Epstein Law Firm can assess those requirements as part of reviewing the claim. A preliminary affidavit, where required, does not itself establish every element of liability. The treatment records, appropriate professional opinions and evidence of harm still need to support the case.
An immediate health concern should be addressed with appropriate medical professionals. A legal consultation or regulatory complaint cannot provide treatment or substitute for an urgent clinical response.
For a concern about care at a licensed New Jersey healthcare facility, the Department of Health’s complaint guide provides an online route and a complaint hotline. Gather the facility name, dates and a clear description of the concern. The same guide directs complaints about nursing staff to the New Jersey Board of Nursing, which handles professional oversight.
A regulatory complaint and a civil damages claim serve different purposes. Discuss the civil claim separately rather than waiting for an agency process to explain all your legal options. Keep copies of submissions and responses for counsel, and follow the agency’s current instructions about supporting records and personal information.
New Jersey generally requires personal-injury actions within two years after accrual, subject to exceptions. The limitations statute also addresses certain birth-injury malpractice claims involving minors. Have the dates and circumstances reviewed rather than assuming that discharge, an agency response or a later medical appointment supplies the correct starting point.
Bring any correspondence from the provider, insurer or agency to the consultation. A hospital’s internal review may address your concerns, but it is not the same process as pursuing a civil claim. Keep track of what was submitted, to whom and when, while obtaining advice about the separate legal requirements.
An injury can create additional treatment needs beyond the condition that originally brought the patient into care. Keep medical bills, follow-up recommendations and a record of practical changes at home. Explain what assistance was needed before the incident and what changed afterward.
New Jersey’s medical-expense instructions address reasonable and necessary expenses tied to the wrongdoing. Future medical costs require evidence that they are reasonably probable. Our team can review the available information and identify what further documentation or professional input is needed. There is no single case value that applies to every patient or nursing error.
The Epstein Law Firm reports a $10 million settlement concerning failures in training and oversight in home healthcare. That experience is relevant to examining how care was organized as well as what happened during an individual encounter. The firm’s published results also describe medical-treatment cases; their public summaries do not identify every claim as nursing negligence. Prior results do not predict another patient’s outcome.
At a consultation, tell us about the patient’s care needs, the event that raised concern and the effect on daily life. We can discuss the records, professional review and legal issues that need attention. Contact The Epstein Law Firm for an initial evaluation of your New Jersey nursing malpractice concern.
Tell our team where the care occurred, what raised your concern and how the patient was affected. Bring the records you have so we can discuss the information and professional review needed to evaluate the matter.
Selected results reported by The Epstein Law Firm.
These examples concern home healthcare and medical treatment; the public descriptions do not attribute every claim specifically to a nurse.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case depends on its own facts, evidence, and applicable law.
These excerpts describe experiences with the firm. They are not identified as cases in this practice area and do not predict another outcome.
“They took the time to explain everything clearly, making sure I understood my options and felt comfortable with each step of the process.”
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“Michael and his team were incredibly responsive, always keeping us informed and addressing any questions or concerns promptly.”
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These answers provide general information. The care setting, professional roles, records and circumstances of the injury can change the legal analysis.
No. A poor outcome alone does not establish that the care fell below the applicable professional standard. The review must address what should have been done under the circumstances and whether a departure from that standard caused harm. New Jersey’s medical negligence instructions distinguish the quality of the care from the outcome by itself.
Preserve the treatment records and make a timeline of the concern. Include what you personally observed, what you reported and what response you received. Expert review may be needed to interpret those events. A preliminary affidavit of merit, where required, addresses whether there is a reasonable basis for alleging a professional departure; it does not replace the evidence needed to establish the complete claim.
Sources: New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.50A — duty and negligence; N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-27 — affidavit of merit requirements.
New Jersey generally gives personal-injury claimants two years after a claim accrues, subject to exceptions. That is not a safe deadline to calculate from a discharge date without legal review. The circumstances of the injury, when the claim accrued and the parties involved must be assessed. The statute also contains a distinct rule for certain birth-injury malpractice claims involving minors.
Gather the treatment dates and any records showing when concerns first arose, and seek a case-specific review promptly. Filing a lawsuit also does not end the procedural requirements: covered professional-negligence cases have a separate affidavit-of-merit requirement tied to the defendant’s answer. Have counsel evaluate both the filing deadline and the requirements that follow, rather than assuming one date governs the entire case.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 — personal-injury limitation period and birth-injury provision; N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-27 — separate affidavit-of-merit procedure.
Patients generally may request their health information from HIPAA-covered providers, with defined exceptions. The right is broader than receiving a discharge summary and can include records used to make decisions about the patient. Ask the provider’s medical-records office how to submit a request and identify the relevant dates and locations of care.
Keep a copy of the request and any response. If someone is making the request for you, the provider may need an authorization or evidence of that person’s authority. Family involvement in care is not itself proof of unrestricted access. Records access can help you understand the treatment history, but receiving records does not establish that negligence occurred or determine whether a legal claim is timely.
Sources: HHS — individuals’ right to access health information; HHS — when a family member may access a patient’s information.
New Jersey directs complaints about nursing staff to the Board of Nursing and complaints about care at licensed healthcare facilities to the Department of Health. Which route fits depends on whether the concern involves professional conduct, the facility’s care or both. The Department’s current complaint guide links to the appropriate submission options.
Prepare the provider or facility name, dates and a concise description of what occurred. Follow the submission instructions for supporting documents and sensitive information, and retain copies. A professional or facility complaint is separate from pursuing a civil claim for damages. Have any potential lawsuit deadline reviewed independently; do not assume that submitting an agency complaint fulfills the steps required to bring a malpractice action.
Sources: New Jersey Department of Health — how to file healthcare complaints; N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 — time limit for personal-injury actions.
An affidavit of merit is a preliminary statement from an appropriately qualified professional that a covered malpractice allegation has a reasonable basis under the applicable professional standards. New Jersey’s statute ties the requirement to the type of defendant and claim. Counsel must determine whether it applies and who is qualified to provide it; the word “nurse” alone does not resolve those questions.
The statute sets a period following the defendant’s answer, with a limited extension available on a showing of good cause. Do not wait until that stage to begin gathering records. The affidavit is different from proving the entire lawsuit: the standard of care, departure and connection to the injury still require appropriate evidence. A completed affidavit is not a finding that malpractice occurred.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-27 — preliminary professional affidavit; New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.50A — negligence and causation.
A family member may have access through the patient’s authorization or appropriate legal authority, but family status alone does not establish an unrestricted right. HHS explains that a personal representative’s access depends on authority under applicable law and the scope of the representation. For a deceased patient, that may involve an executor, administrator or another legally authorized representative.
Ask the records office what documentation it needs and explain the capacity in which you are making the request. Keep the authorization or appointment documents with your correspondence. The patient’s records may be needed to investigate the care, but records-access authority and authority to bring a lawsuit are separate questions. Discuss both with counsel rather than assuming that one automatically establishes the other.
Sources: HHS — family members and personal representatives; HHS — scope and verification of health-record access.
No. A concern about a nurse’s professional care and a concern about conditions or care in a nursing home can overlap, but they are not identical. New Jersey’s complaint guidance distinguishes oversight of nursing professionals from oversight of licensed healthcare facilities. The actual conduct and responsibilities involved matter more than the name of the setting.
Describe who provided the care, where it occurred and what you believe went wrong. A facility complaint does not establish every element of a professional-negligence claim, and a complication does not by itself prove a departure from the standard of care. Counsel can assess whether the concern involves individual treatment, facility practices or more than one issue, then identify the records and professional review needed.
Sources: New Jersey Department of Health — facility and nurse complaint routes; New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.50A — professional standard of care.
Yes, when the evidence establishes the required connection to the defendant’s wrongdoing and the expenses meet the applicable standards. New Jersey’s non-auto medical-expense charge addresses reasonably necessary treatment and fair and reasonable costs. It does not mean that every bill incurred during an admission is automatically recoverable from every provider involved.
Keep bills, insurance statements and treatment records so the additional care can be evaluated in context. Identify the original condition as well as the injury or complication you believe negligent care caused. Counsel and appropriate experts can assess that distinction. Proving an expense and proving responsibility for it are related but separate tasks, and neither an unexpected bill nor a poor outcome establishes malpractice on its own.
Sources: New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11A — medical expenses in non-auto cases; New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.50A — duty, departure and injury.
Future medical expenses may be considered when the evidence supports that they are reasonably probable and result from the injury at issue. New Jersey’s model charge calls for consideration of the injury, the patient’s prior health and how long the expenses are expected to continue. A general fear of future problems is different from a supported future-care need.
Keep follow-up recommendations and discuss anticipated treatment with qualified clinicians. Those records can help counsel assess what additional evidence is needed, including professional opinions about the nature and duration of care. Do not select a settlement figure by adding an arbitrary estimate to existing bills. Past and future expenses require evidence, and the appropriate analysis depends on the individual patient’s circumstances and the proven effects of the alleged negligence.
Sources: New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11I — future medical expenses; New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11A — reasonable and necessary medical expenses.
No. You can explain the concern and identify the records you already have without first assembling a complete legal case. The Epstein Law Firm offers an initial evaluation of nursing-malpractice concerns. Bring the provider names, treatment dates, documents available to you and any communications about what happened, and explain which information is still missing.
Patients’ rights to request records can assist that process, but obtaining records should not be treated as a substitute for reviewing the filing deadline. Ask what additional documents or authorization may be needed and who will obtain them. A consultation is an opportunity to discuss investigation and next steps; it does not establish that a claim is viable or guarantee that the firm will accept representation.
Sources: The Epstein Law Firm — nursing malpractice representation; HHS — requesting health information; N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 — personal-injury filing period.
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