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The Importance of Timely Physician Profile Updating

An increasing number of prosecutions have been filed against physicians for failing to timely update their New York State Physician Profile information on the State DOH website. The Department of Health maintains this website to allow the public to access information on all licensed physicians including their education, legal actions taken, and services provided. The State requires every physician as a condition of their licensure to accurately provide required information and to update it regularly (within six months before the registration period ends). The information required includes malpractice actions; settlements and judgments; hospital restrictions; practice limitations; out-of-state actions; and criminal convictions. A full listing of these requirements can be found online at www.nydoctorprofile.com.

We have seen an increase in actions by the Office of Professional Medical Conduct, the prosecutorial arm of the Health Department, to investigate and bring charges against physicians for professional misconduct due to non-compliance with reporting requirements. This has particularly led to problems for physicians at the time licensure, re-registration and re-credentialing at their affiliate hospitals. Some physicians overlook or do not accurately revise the information posted or submitted. This can result in a variety of potential sanctions with potentially serious consequences.

Minimize Professional Uncertainty

If a physician is contacted by the Department of Health, which is usually done by a Nurse Investigator who may not reveal their position, we strongly suggest you do not speak with them but seek immediate legal counsel from attorneys experienced in disciplinary matters. In fact, most of the policies issued by professional liability insurance carriers and risk retention groups provide fee allowances for such services.

Noteworthy Verdicts

Defense Verdict on Queens Retrial of Case

In Queens County, February 2025, Michael Morris obtained a defense verdict on a case that was a retrial of a plaintiff’s verdict that exceeded one million dollars.

Defense Verdict in Bowel Perforation Case

In February 2025, Louis Jakub prevailed at trial in Morris County New Jersey, defending a gynecologist who performed a dilation and curettage procedure on a 54 year-old female.

Defense Verdict in Manhattan Plastic Surgery Case

In December 2024, Louis Jakub obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a Manhattan plastic surgeon.

Defense Verdict in General Surgeon Injury Case

At trial, Michael Morris successfully defended a general surgeon who performed a cervical lymph node resection resulting in an alleged injury to the patient’s spinal accessory nerve.

Fentanyl Intoxication Wrongful Death Trial

Andrew Garson continued his record of successful trial results, obtaining a directed verdict and dismissal of a complex medical malpractice-wrongful death case before Justice Carmen St. George in Suffolk County Supreme Court on September 20, 2023.

Defense Verdict In Brooklyn Brain Damaged Baby Case

On August 2, 2023, Louis Jakub obtained a unanimous defense verdict on behalf of a maternal fetal medicine specialist who plaintiff claimed failed to properly interpret fetal heart tracings, failed to perform a biophysical profile and other testing, and failed to recommend or timely perform a cesarean section.

Defense Verdict in New York

Michael Morris obtained a defense verdict in New York County on June 9, 2023, on behalf of a dermatologist who performed MOHS micrographic surgery on a patient with a cancerous skin lesion on his leg.

Rockland County Verdict

In Rockland County, Michael Morris represented a plastic/reconstructive surgeon who performed a complex post mastectomy reconstruction procedure of a women’s breast. The procedure involved taking tissue from the abdomen to microsurgically reconstruct the breast. Post operatively the patient developed wound healing complications to her abdomen and breast resulting in several surgical procedures and unwanted scarring. On May 2, 2023 the jury found that our client adequately informed the patient of the accepted risks associated with the surgery and did not depart from good and accepted surgical practice.

Two Obstetricians Successfully Defended in a Maternal Death Case

Andrew Garson continued his string of courtroom achievements with a unanimous defense verdict on June 22, 2023, successfully defending two obstetricians and a local hospital center in a maternal death case.

The patient had undergone a Cesarean section due to labor difficulties. She died later that day, due to a cardiopulmonary arrest caused by a blood clot which developed in her legs, then traveled to her heart and lungs, leading to her death. The patient’s attorney contended that defendants had failed to properly evaluate and recognize she was at “extremely high risk’ for fatal clotting. Counsel maintained she was in extremely poor health due to morbid obesity, nutritional deficiencies, suspected cardiovascular problems, as well as the increased risk of clotting due to pregnancy, hormonal changes, and related conditions. Additionally, it was argued that the admission evaluation for clotting problems in pregnant patients was improperly performed, and that defendants violated the hospital’s protocol in this assessment. Plaintiffs’ highly credentialed obstetrical expert testified that the simple measure of prescribing a safe, effective blood thinner medication would have prevented this disastrous outcome. Instead, the patient experienced considerable suffering, comparing her collapse and death to slowly drowning at the bottom of a swimming pool. During closing argument, Counsel asked the jurors to return a minimum of 12 million dollars for the patient’s daughter in a wrongful death claim, and at least 2 million dollars for the patient’s pain and suffering as she recognized her death was imminent.

Surgeon Exonerated in Neurologic Injury Case

Mr. Jakub successfully defended an orthopedic surgeon before a Queens County jury against claims that he caused permanent paralysis and neurologic dysfunction while performing a total hip replacement surgery.

Mr. Jakub’s client performed a right total hip replacement surgery on his patient in July 2012, following which the patient was diagnosed with a “foot drop” and subsequent EMG and nerve conduction studies revealed damage to the popliteal and tibial branches of the patient’s sciatic nerve. The plaintiff, a 68 year old married female is required to ambulate with a brace and cane and her condition was conceded to be permanent.

The case was tried for two weeks before a Queens County jury which unanimously concluded, after only 20 minutes of deliberations, that the surgeon did not depart from accepted standards of practice in the surgery and determined that the nerve damage was in fact attributable to a known risk of properly performed surgery.