The doctor you were going to caused you significant harm because of carelessness and wrongdoing. You decide you're going to bring a lawsuit against him in New York. Without telling your attorney, you decide to continue treating with the same doctor who caused your injuries. You still trust him. You still like him.

It's not until many months later when you're talking to your attorney do you disclose to him that you are still treating with the doctor who caused you harm. This is shocking news to him. This is a revelation. This is devastating.

Here's why.

When you bring a lawsuit claiming that your doctor misdiagnosed you or mistreated you and as a result suffered significant injury, it is likely that you are not going to return back to the doctor and that you have lost all trust in him.

There have been instances however where injured victims have turned around and continued to be treated by the same doctor for other conditions. They feel bad that they are suing the doctor. They don't want the doctor to hate them. They actually like the doctor. But there's a big problem.

The first problem is that it is highly unusual and unlikely that the doctor you are suing will permit you to continue being a patient in his office. If by some chance that small fact escapes his office staff, you can imagine how shocked and surprised he will be when you see him for your next office visit. I would not be surprised if after that visit the doctor tells you he can no longer care for you since you have decided to bring a lawsuit against him.

Most injured victims who bring a lawsuit against a physician that they once trusted, will no longer continue to see and treat with that particular doctor. Instead, they recognize how awkward it would be to try and return back to the original doctor who caused the harm. It's time to begin a new doctor-patient relationship at that point.

If you fail to tell your attorney about the fact that you are still treating with this doctor, it could have significant repercussions that could hurt you later on at trial.

Here's why.

The defense attorney is going to use the fact that you are still treating with this doctor as evidence that you still trust him. He's going to use this point to show to the jury that the doctor couldn't be that bad if the patient has still continued to treat with him on a regular basis.

The defense attorney will likely ridicule the fact that here you are bringing a lawsuit against this well-respected doctor and that you still continue to see him for your ongoing problems. That will be a huge challenge for you to overcome and explain to the jury why you are doing that and why you deserve compensation because of this doctor you still trust.

Gerry Oginski
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NY Medical Malpractice & Personal Injury Trial Lawyer