A negligence lawyer’s gaffe has a New York urologist breathing easier these days. He’s off the hook in a malpractice suit while the attorney is being sued.
According to newspaper reports, the case involves a former construction worker, now 32 years old, whose penile implant shattered in a fall. He claimed that the urologist failed to remove an implant reservoir during surgery to replace the implant in 2004.
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The resulting adhesions and damaged tissue made erections difficult and painful to achieve, the patient charged. Subsequent treatment, including another surgery, failed to fix the problem. The patient then retained a plaintiff’s attorney to sue the urologist for malpractice. That lawyer decided the patient’s case was too weak to pursue, but by the time he sent a letter of refusal to the patient, the filing deadline had passed.
Because of the statute of limitations, the man lost any chance to find another lawyer in time to take the case or to ever recover damages from the doctor. He had, however, plenty of time to sue the attorney who turned him down. That lawyer now faces a $10 million claim for legal malpractice.
