Best Medical Malpractice Attorneys in the United States

Medical malpractice lawyers represent patients harmed by errors in diagnosis, surgery, childbirth, medication, and hospital care. An attorney can gather the medical records and hire physicians to review them. The job is to show the care fell below the accepted standard and caused real injury. Cases seek money for further treatment, lost income, and long-term care. Most firms review a claim at no cost.

We research each listing using public records, verified reviews, and direct evaluation. Our rankings reflect reputation, reliability, and results.

  • Bar standing and public disciplinary history review
  • Documented case results and courtroom trial experience
  • Peer recognition within the legal community
  • Client reviews, communication, and responsiveness
  • Overall online reputation and verified user feedback

Rankings are determined independently based on public information and editorial research.

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Leading Medical Malpractice Law Firms for Birth Injury and Misdiagnosis Claims

Screenshot of the Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath Website

Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath is a team of South Florida medical malpractice lawyers with an office in Boca Raton. The team has pursued negligence claims for more than 40 years and won billions for injured clients.

Attorneys here take on hospitals, care facilities, and insurance carriers across Palm Beach and Broward counties. Recent results include a $52 million recovery and an $8 million wrongful death settlement.

The practice also covers nursing home abuse, catastrophic crashes, and product liability. Consultations cost nothing, and Spanish-speaking staff answers the phones.

Board-certified civil trial lawyer William S. Williams handles much of the courtroom work. Offices in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, and Melbourne serve the rest of the region.

Screenshot of the Block O'Toole & Murphy Website
1 Penn Plaza Suite 4850, New York, NY 10119, USA

More than $2 billion recovered puts Block O'Toole & Murphy among New York's strongest injury practices. The Manhattan firm has logged over 300 case results above $1 million since 2012.

Its record includes a $110 million verdict for a paralyzed cyclist and a $53.5 million construction verdict. Medical malpractice sits alongside vehicle, work injury, and wrongful death claims as a core practice area.

The firm limits how many cases it accepts, so clients deal directly with a trial attorney. Several of those lawyers are former prosecutors.

Staff work in English, Spanish, and Polish. Cases come from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and the rest of New York State.

Screenshot of the Sackstein Sackstein & Lee, LLP Website
1140 Franklin Ave #210, Garden City, NY 11530, USA

Three generations have run this Long Island practice since Harvey A. Sackstein opened it in 1952.

The Garden City office handles medical negligence, auto collisions, construction injuries, and elder neglect. Reported outcomes include a $12 million construction settlement and a $10 million motor vehicle settlement.

Attorneys answer calls around the clock and will travel to meet people who cannot travel themselves. Fees come out of the recovery, never up front.

Staff speaks English, Spanish, Korean, and Mandarin, which matters across Queens and Nassau County. Additional offices sit in Flushing and downtown Brooklyn.

Screenshot of the The Rizzuto Law Firm Website
50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd #501, Uniondale, NY 11553, USA

Philip J. Rizzuto built this Long Island firm around claims other lawyers find hard to prove. Attorney Rizzuto has litigated missed lung cancer, undiagnosed kidney disease, and funeral home negligence.

Settlements include $1.3 million for a failure to diagnose and $435,000 against a Brooklyn nursing home over stage IV bedsores.

Case evaluations are free. Practice areas run from cosmetic surgery injuries to negligent security and construction accidents.

The team covers Nassau and Suffolk counties, all five boroughs, and Westchester from offices in Uniondale, the Bronx, and New Rochelle.

Screenshot of the Duffy & Duffy, PLLC Website
1370 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556, USA

Duffy & Duffy is a medical malpractice firm in Uniondale that takes on almost nothing else. Recoveries approach $1 billion, including a $109 million brain injury verdict and $80 million for an infant hurt at birth.

A separate $60 million result followed a surgical error that injured a 26-year-old woman. The firm counts more than 250 malpractice cases settled and over 100 multi-million dollar outcomes.

Birth injury work covers cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, and oxygen deprivation. Hospital negligence and care facility claims fill out the docket.

Michael, Sean, and Mary Ellen Duffy lead a team serving the five boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester County.

Screenshot of the Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP Website

Few firms have shaped drug and device litigation the way this one has. Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman has worked from Fifth Avenue for over 50 years and recovered more than $2 billion.

Its medical negligence docket runs to anesthesia errors, cancer misdiagnosis, obstetrical mistakes, and hospital-acquired infections.

The firm also litigates IVC filters, surgical staplers, and hip implants nationwide. Partners have been quoted by Reuters, the Associated Press, and NBC.

Screenshot of the KDLM Website
217 Broadway 10th Floor, Manhattan, NY 10007, USA

Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore has tried New York's largest malpractice cases for 74 years, and $3 billion in recoveries follows from that.

The Broadway firm won $130 million for a child brain-damaged at birth, the second-largest verdict of its kind in state history. Other results include $121 million and $108 million against city hospitals.

Senior partners Judith Livingston and Thomas Moore belong to the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group capped at 100 trial lawyers nationwide.

Screenshot of the The Small Firm Website
424 Main St # 1904, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA

Buffalo's Liberty Building houses a practice that stays deliberately small. Craig Z. Small takes fewer files, so the attorney a client hires is the one who works the case.

The work spans medical negligence, care facility bedsores and falls, auto collisions, dog bites, and skiing injuries.

Coverage runs across Western and Central New York. Civil litigation and business disputes round out the practice.

Screenshot of the Kramer & Pollack Website
15 Maiden Ln # 1400, New York, NY 10038, USA

Larry J. Kramer spent more than eight years inside Liberty Mutual before switching sides, and that insight shapes how this Maiden Lane firm builds a claim.

Thirty years of practice has produced a $28.5 million placental abruption result and $16.7 million for a brain-damaged baby.

Attorney Joshua Pollack handles serious injury cases alongside malpractice cases. Cases come from all five boroughs plus Nassau and Suffolk, with a second office in Mineola and Spanish-speaking staff.

Screenshot of the Neumann Law Group Website
400 Renaissance Center, Suite 2600, Detroit, MI 48243, USA

From the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Neumann Law Group represents patients harmed by medical errors across Michigan and well beyond it.

Principal Kelly Neumann is an award-winning trial lawyer, and the group carries over 200 years of combined experience.

Michigan requires expert testimony on the standard of care, which shapes how each claim gets built. The firm also takes elder care negligence, defective product, and vehicle crash matters. Offices run from Grand Rapids and Traverse City to Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Denver.

Screenshot of the Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC Website
15 Maiden Ln Suite 2005, New York, NY 10038, USA

Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik takes fewer cases so each one reaches a partner rather than a call center. Jonathan Ratchik and his colleagues work from 15 Maiden Lane in lower Manhattan.

A $4 million recovery went to a woman whose uterine cancer spread undetected after a hysterectomy. Another $5 million followed a fall on an oily staircase.

The practice covers Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens.

Screenshot of the Gunn Law Group, P.A. Website

Lee D. Gunn IV defended hospitals, insurers, and corporations for 17 years before moving to the patient's side in 2000. He has been a Florida Bar board-certified civil trial lawyer since 1990.

His Tampa team brings 75 years of combined experience to malpractice and insurance bad faith claims. Results include $10.5 million for an improper surgery and $6.8 million after a bariatric procedure went wrong.

Roughly 90% of the firm's insurance work arrives as referrals from other Florida attorneys.

Screenshot of the Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm, PLLC. Website

The 64th floor of the Empire State Building holds a practice that has recovered over $250 million in 30 years.

Jonathan C. Reiter won $22.97 million for one malpractice victim and $7 million after an ophthalmologist's error.

Attorney Reiter also handles aviation disasters, including claims from Flight 587, Lockerbie, and 9/11. Satellite offices operate in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, with site pages in Spanish, Chinese, and Russian.

Screenshot of the Napoli Shkolnik PLLC Website
400 Broadhollow Road, Melville, NY 11747

Over $20 billion in verdicts and settlements sits behind this Long Island headquarters in Melville.

Napoli Shkolnik built its name on mass torts: 9/11 victim compensation, the opioid crisis, mesothelioma, and pharmaceutical injury litigation.

Medical negligence claims run alongside that work. The firm's 150 years of collective experience reaches from New York into Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and North Carolina, with client materials in six languages.

Screenshot of the Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC Website
100 Park Ave 16th Floor, New York, NY 10017

Stephen Bilkis & Associates pairs hospital negligence and birth injury work with an unusual civil rights practice.

The firm has recovered millions for Rikers Island detainees denied medical care, including $3 million in one wrongful death case.

Park Avenue is the main office, backed by five more across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk. Someone answers the phone at any hour.

Screenshot of the Wagar Hickman, LLC Website
1401 W Causeway Approach, Mandeville, LA 70471, USA

Louisiana caps general damages in malpractice suits at $500,000, which makes case selection everything.

Chip Wagar and Sarah Wagar Hickman have worked inside that system for over 40 years from Mandeville, just north of New Orleans. Their reported total reaches roughly $40 million, including an $8 million verdict over a child's fatal medication error.

They take referrals from attorneys across Louisiana, Texas, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Screenshot of the Scaffidi & Associates Website
777 3rd Ave #27-A, New York, NY 10017, USA

Roy F. Scaffidi spent nearly a decade defending physicians at a Manhattan firm before opening his own practice in 1985.

Three-quarters of a billion dollars has gone back to clients since. A Queens jury returned $27.6 million for a newborn injured when doctors delayed a cesarean section.

The Third Avenue office also handles real estate closings, estate litigation, and commercial disputes.

Screenshot of the Schmidt Kramer - Injury Lawyers Website

Central Pennsylvania patients bring malpractice claims to Schmidt Kramer's State Street office in Harrisburg.

Forty years of work has returned over $100 million. One $1.2 million Dauphin County verdict went to a five-year-old left with an anoxic brain injury after a tonsillectomy.

The firm also covers workers' compensation, Social Security disability, and asbestos claims from offices in Carlisle, Lancaster, Hanover, and York.

Screenshot of the Coates & Johnson PLLC Website

One founding partner here is both a physician and a trial lawyer, so the firm reads the charts itself instead of hiring that skill out.

Coates & Johnson handles only medical negligence cases in southern New Mexico. Colonoscopy perforations, gallbladder surgery injuries, anesthesia mistakes, and sepsis claims fill the docket.

Fees are based solely on what the firm recovers.

Screenshot of the DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, LLP Website

A $10.5 million verdict for a missed cancer diagnosis and two separate $10 million malpractice awards mark this Upstate New York practice.

Jeff DeFrancisco and Charles Falgiatano also secured $8.2 million after doctors waited too long to perform a cesarean.

Ten offices stretch from East Syracuse to Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, and Binghamton. New York's malpractice statute of limitations runs two and a half years, so timing matters.

Screenshot of the Michaels Bersani Kalabanka Website
17 E Genesee St #401, Auburn, NY 13021

This Auburn practice dates to 1935. Mike Bersani was named Professional Malpractice Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in 2022 and again in 2024. Over half the caseload arrives as referrals from other attorneys, with offices in Syracuse and Geneva.

Screenshot of the Ross Mann Nursing Home and Medical Negligence Lawyers Website

Jury verdicts of $28.55 million, $21.9 million, and $18 million came out of Kentucky nursing home cases tried by Ross F. Mann. The Lexington firm also takes surgical error and delayed diagnosis claims, with settlements passing $100 million.

Screenshot of the Bottar Law, PLLC Website
7078 E Genesee St, Fayetteville, NY 13066

Since 1983 Bottar Law has recovered more than $500 million and taken nothing but malpractice, birth injury, and catastrophic injury cases. A $16 million Onondaga County verdict sits among its results. Clients meet the team at the historic Fairfield Estate outside Syracuse.

Screenshot of the Military Medical Malpractice Website
10107 McAllister Fwy, San Antonio, TX 78216, USA

Jeffrey C. Anderson has spent 35 years on Federal Tort Claims Act cases for veterans and their families. His San Antonio office pursues VA hospital negligence, misdiagnosis, and surgical error claims for service members stationed anywhere in the world.

Screenshot of the Cardaro & Peek, LLC Website
1300 I Street Northwest suite 400e, Downtown, Washington D.C., DC 20005, USA

Thomas Cardaro and Jeffrey Peek both began their careers defending hospitals and insurers. They now sue them, with over $150 million recovered and nursing staff in-house. Offices in Baltimore and downtown Washington handle medical negligence and nothing else.

Screenshot of the Charnas Law Firm, P.C. Website
45 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 2000, New York, NY 10111, USA

Rockefeller Plaza is home to a practice that has recovered more than $50 million across 30 years. Scott Charnas took an early lead on AGGA dental device claims and MRI acoustic trauma cases, corners of malpractice most injury lawyers skip. A Boston office covers New England.

Screenshot of the Siegel & Coonerty LLP Website
22 W 48th St, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036

A $43 million jury verdict in a malpractice case involving traumatic brain injury stands as this Midtown firm's largest result. Andrew Siegel and Sean Coonerty have handled brain injury litigation for more than 25 years and lecture on the subject nationally.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a medical malpractice lawyer cost?

Nothing up front. Almost all of these firms work on a contingent fee, taking a share of the recovery. Some states cap that share by statute. Expert and filing costs are usually advanced by the firm.

How long do I have to file a medical malpractice claim?

Usually two or three years. A few states allow only one. The clock often starts when the patient learns of the injury, not when it happened. A separate statute of repose can bar old claims for good.

Do I need a medical expert just to file?

In most states, yes. More than half require a certificate or affidavit of merit signed by a qualified physician. File without one and the court can dismiss the case outright.

Is there a limit on what I can recover?

It depends on the state. About half cap noneconomic damages, which covers pain and suffering. California allows $470,000 in 2026, or $650,000 in a death case. Courts in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and Washington struck their state caps down.

How long does a medical malpractice case take?

Two to four years is common. These claims need expert review, depositions of treating physicians, and usually a trial date. Insurers rarely make a serious offer until that date is close.

What if a government hospital or the VA was involved?

Different rules apply. Claims against federal facilities run through the Federal Tort Claims Act. You must file an administrative claim within two years before any lawsuit.

Types of Medical Malpractice Cases

Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. Missed cancer, stroke, heart attack, and sepsis claims dominate this group. The question is whether a competent physician would have caught it in time.

Surgical errors. Wrong-site procedures, perforated organs, and retained instruments fall here. Colon and gallbladder operations generate a large share of these claims.

Birth injuries. A delayed cesarean or untreated fetal distress can cause cerebral palsy or permanent brain damage. Lifetime care costs make these among the highest-value cases in the country.

Medication errors. Wrong drug, wrong dose, or a known allergy ignored. Pharmacists, nurses, and prescribing doctors can all share liability.

Anesthesia mistakes. Dosing errors and failed airway management cause oxygen loss within minutes. The damage is often permanent.

Emergency room negligence. Crowded ERs miss time-critical conditions. Discharging a patient who should have been admitted is a frequent claim.

Hospital and nursing negligence. Understaffing, infection control failures, and poor monitoring make the facility itself the defendant.

Defective medical devices. Mesh, implants, and filters usually become product liability claims against the manufacturer rather than malpractice suits.

How to Choose a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Check whether they try cases. Malpractice insurers settle for more when the other side has a trial record. Ask how many of these claims the firm has taken to a jury.

Ask who reviews the records. Some firms keep nurses or physicians on staff. Others hire outside reviewers for every case.

Confirm they know your state's rules. Merit affidavit deadlines, notice periods, and damage caps differ everywhere. A firm licensed in your state handles this routinely.

Ask about case volume. These claims are expensive to build, so most firms carry only a handful at a time. Fewer files usually means more attorney attention.

Read the fee agreement. Find out who pays expert and filing costs if the case loses. That answer varies from firm to firm.

What Affects a Medical Malpractice Settlement

Values swing widely, and no one can quote a reliable average. Injury severity drives most of it, especially lifetime medical and attendant care needs. Lost earning capacity matters when a working-age plaintiff cannot return to a job. State damage caps limit the pain and suffering portion in about half the country. Insurance policy limits and the number of liable providers set a practical ceiling. Cases against federal facilities are tried without a jury, which changes the math again.