Doctors are human. Known complications can occur even when a provider does everything right, and mistakes can go unnoticed until another provider takes a second look. If you are feeling unwell after a procedure, it can be hard to figure out whether you are suffering from a medical mistake, or simply a complication. That’s where we come in.
The New Hampshire medical malpractice lawyers at Shaheen & Gordon represent patients and families throughout New Hampshire who have been seriously harmed by medical negligence. We investigate the care you received and work with qualified medical experts to determine whether a doctor, hospital, or other provider fell below the required standard of care, and whether that failure supports a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Call (800) 451-1002 to request a free consultation with a New Hampshire medical malpractice attorney.
Why choose Shaheen & Gordon for your medical malpractice case?
Medical malpractice claims are among the most complex personal injury cases. Figuring out what should have happened usually means reviewing medical records and consulting an expert in the same field of medicine. There’s no shortage of New Hampshire personal injury lawyers; what matters more is whether the firm has the resources for complex litigation.
As one of New Hampshire’s largest law firms, and with more than 70 attorneys, we have a history of representing clients since 1981. That gives us the resources to investigate complicated cases without losing the personal attention you need. When you work with us, you have:
- Access to medical experts who review records, treatment decisions, and what caused your injury
- Attorneys who prepare every case for trial instead of counting on the insurance company or medical provider to accept responsibility
- Direct communication about what we’re investigating, what we’ve learned, and what comes next
Learn more about why we’re different.
Case results
Shaheen & Gordon has recovered more than $500 million in compensation for injury clients. View our case results to learn more about the outcomes we’ve obtained.
- $1,050,000 in a dangerous drug case
- $240,000 in a medical malpractice case
- $6 million in a fatal auto accident case
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is different, and case results referred to on this website are not intended to be, nor should they be understood as, a representation that equivalent results will be achieved in any given case.
What our clients say
“Our attorney Alex and his assistant Judy did an excellent job helping both my wife and me with a personal injury incident. They persisted and gave us excellent support and advice through a lengthy process. Hope we never need them again, but if we do, we know where to go.”
“Our team at Shaheen & Gordon helped me through a personal injury case with clear communication, timely updates, and a successful settlement. Highly recommend!”
“I cannot say enough positive things about Shaheen & Gordon Law Firm. During one of the most emotional and difficult times in my life, their team provided not only exceptional legal representation but also genuine compassion and support.”
When does a medical error become malpractice?
A bad outcome is not the same as malpractice. A claim arises when a provider fails to meet the standard of care, and that failure causes an injury you wouldn’t otherwise have.
Under New Hampshire law, if you bring a medical malpractice claim, you generally have to prove three things, backed by expert testimony:
- What a reasonably skilled provider would have done in the same situation
- That your provider didn’t meet that standard
- That the failure caused an injury you wouldn’t otherwise have
Causation is usually the toughest of the three elements to prove, but it’s exactly what a qualified medical expert is trained to sort out. A provider may argue an underlying illness or a known complication caused the harm, not their mistake, which is why the right expert opinion often makes the difference.
If your condition unexpectedly worsened, a diagnosis was significantly delayed, or another provider suggested something should have been done differently, a medical negligence attorney in New Hampshire can review what happened and tell you whether it’s worth investigating further.
Common medical errors that lead to lawsuits in New Hampshire
A 2023 Johns Hopkins study found that diagnostic errors, like a missed stroke, sepsis, or cancer diagnosis, cause an estimated 371,000 deaths and 424,000 cases of permanent disability in the United States every year. In our experience, the cases that lead to lawsuits in New Hampshire tend to fall into a few recognizable categories. Medical negligence can occur during diagnosis, treatment, surgery, medication management, childbirth, or follow-up care. Cases we evaluate can involve:
- Failure to diagnose: a doctor does not identify cancer, an infection, a heart condition, or another illness that should have been caught.
- Delayed diagnosis: a condition is eventually identified, but an unreasonable delay allows it to progress or limits treatment options.
- Surgical errors: a preventable mistake during surgery or during preoperative or postoperative care.
- Medication errors: the wrong medication, an incorrect dosage, or a dangerous drug combination.
- Birth injuries: negligence during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or neonatal care that seriously injures a mother or child.
- Failure to monitor: a provider does not notice or respond to a dangerous change in a patient’s condition.
- Hospital-acquired infections: a patient develops a preventable infection because of poor sterilization or hygiene.
- Lack of informed consent: a patient undergoes non-emergency treatment without the information they need to decide whether to go ahead.
None of these events proves malpractice on its own. What matters is whether the provider’s care fell below the standard that applied and caused the injury, which is exactly what a medical expert helps establish.
What compensation can you recover for medical malpractice in New Hampshire?
A medical error can create losses that continue long after the initial treatment. Depending on the case, recoverable damages can include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Lost wages and reduced future earning capacity
- Costs of future care or assistance
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
When malpractice results in a loved one’s death, their estate can pursue a wrongful death claim under New Hampshire law.
New Hampshire has no cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The state’s old damages cap was struck down as unconstitutional by the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1980 (Carson v. Maurer).
Who can be held liable for medical malpractice?
New Hampshire law defines “medical care provider” broadly, so a malpractice claim can involve one person, a facility, or both:
- Doctors and other practitioners: physicians can be held responsible when their treatment falls below the standard of care and causes injury, including primary care doctors, surgeons, specialists, emergency physicians, and anesthesiologists.
- Nurses and other medical staff: registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, physician associates, and other professionals can be involved in negligent care, including mistakes with monitoring, medication, or communication.
- Hospitals and clinics: a hospital or other health care agency can be involved in a claim, whether through its employees’ actions or its own mistakes.
Figuring out who is responsible means looking at who worked for whom, what role each provider played, and how the injury happened.
That last part isn’t hypothetical. A Boston Globe investigation found that a Manchester heart surgeon settled 21 malpractice claims over about 25 years at Catholic Medical Center, the worst record reporters could find among heart surgeons nationwide. Hospital leaders were warned about him for years before he retired. Almost every settlement came with a confidentiality agreement, which is part of what allowed that pattern to stay hidden for years before someone dug into it.
What to do if you suspect malpractice
Your health comes first. If you think something went wrong during treatment, get appropriate follow-up care, whether that means going back to your provider, seeking emergency treatment, or getting a second opinion. From there:
- Request your complete medical records, including imaging, lab results, medication records, and discharge instructions from every provider who treated you. Your case depends on having them.
- Write down important dates, conversations, and symptoms while the details are fresh, and keep medical bills, insurance correspondence, and records of missed work, since you may need them to show the financial impact later.
- Don’t assume your records tell the whole story. A test result, treatment decision, or delay often doesn’t reveal its significance until someone with the right medical background reviews it.
- Speak with an attorney before the filing deadline approaches. Investigating a claim takes time, since attorneys need to gather records and consult experts before they know whether you have a case. Legal representation early on tends to help, since evidence only gets harder to find the longer you wait.
When you work with us, we review your records, consult medical experts about what happened and why, identify everyone who may be responsible, and document the injury’s impact on your life. Some claims settle through negotiation; others go to trial.
How long do you have to file a medical malpractice claim in New Hampshire?
Under New Hampshire’s statute of limitations, you generally have three years from the act that caused the injury to file a claim. There are certain exceptions to this, however. Minors have a longer statute, which can make all the difference in birth injury cases. Additionally, malpractice at federal facilities only has a two year statute as governed by the Federal Tort Claims Act. If you couldn’t reasonably have known about the injury right away, the clock can start later, from whenever it became discoverable.
The statute of limitations for non-federal cases was previously only two years, but the New Hampshire Supreme Court struck that down as unconstitutional, so the three-year deadline under RSA 508:4 now applies. Other rules can still affect your deadline, so it’s worth having an attorney confirm an acceptable timeline rather than guess at one.
Frequently asked questions about medical malpractice in New Hampshire
How do I know if I have a medical malpractice case?
A bad result alone does not guarantee a viable case. Medical malpractice lawyers in NH generally need to review your records and get an opinion from a medical expert before they can say whether your provider fell below the standard of care and caused your injury. That said, you do not need to know whether malpractice occurred before contacting a medical malpractice attorney.
Is a bad outcome always malpractice?
No. Some procedures carry known risks, diseases can get worse despite good treatment, and complications can happen without anyone doing anything wrong. Malpractice requires evidence that the provider’s care fell below the standard and caused the injury.
Why are medical malpractice cases difficult to prove?
Healthcare rarely offers a simple cause-and-effect answer. A provider may argue that an injury resulted from an underlying illness or an unavoidable complication rather than a mistake. New Hampshire law also requires expert testimony to establish the standard of care, show how the provider departed from it, and connect that departure to your injury, which is why working with the right medical experts early on makes such a difference in building a strong case.
Do I have to pay anything to talk to an attorney about a possible claim?
Shaheen & Gordon offers a free consultation for personal injury matters, including medical malpractice. As personal injury attorneys, we can discuss what happened and give you a clear read on your situation.
What factors can affect the value of a medical malpractice case?
There’s no set formula, but a few things tend to make a significant impact: how severe and permanent the injury is, how much treatment it required, how it affects your ability to work, and how clearly the evidence ties the provider’s conduct to the harm. Insurance companies weigh these same factors, which is part of why strong medical records and a solid expert opinion can make such a large difference.
Can I sue a hospital if my doctor made the mistake?
Possibly, depending on the relationship between the hospital and the provider who made the mistake, and whether the hospital’s own actions played a role in the injury. Some doctors who practice at hospitals aren’t hospital employees, so an attorney needs to look closely at how everyone is connected.
Do New Hampshire medical malpractice cases still go through a screening panel?
No. New Hampshire repealed RSA Chapter 519-B, which established medical injury screening panels, effective July 1, 2023. Medical malpractice claims no longer go through that process.
Talk to a New Hampshire medical malpractice lawyer
If you suspect medical negligence, you do not need to know exactly what went wrong, or even whether you have a case, before speaking with an attorney. We can review what happened, gather the relevant records, and tell you whether the evidence supports a claim.
Call (800) 451-1002 or contact us online to request a free consultation with a New Hampshire medical malpractice attorney.
