New York Medical Malpractice & Injury Lawyers

The firm of Rheingold, Valet, Rheingold, Shkolnik & McCartney LLP was founded in 1971 by its senior partner, Paul D. Rheingold. Our office is in a brownstone in midtown Manhattan located at 113 East 37th Street. Visit our Attorneys page to see the profiles of our current lawyers and learn about their recent accomplishments and distinguished associations. In addition to our attorneys, we have a large staff of highly-skilled paralegals, registered nurses and highly skilled secretaries and assistants that have helped to make our firm one of New York's most recognized in serious injury, medical negligence and products liability.

Our firm handles all types of personal injury cases, and you can find lists of these in the Areas of Practice page and also in the Current Hazards page which covers some of our most recent litigations.

One of our specializations is mass torts, a type of litigation commonly associates with defective products and harmful prescription drugs.  Paul Rheingold is the author of the leading work on mass tort litigation, first published in l996. Members of our firm have been active nationally in the litigation of such products as the diet drug (fen phen), Baycol, L-tryptophan, albuterol, breast implants and ephedra and defibrillators. We have also worked on the l993 World Trade Center explosion cases.

Some evidence of our ability and achievements can be seen on our Recent Verdicts and Settlements page.

Our firm has also been active in bar association and pro bono work. We have volunteered for families making claims in the Victims Compensation Fund. Paul has taught at Stanford and Harvard Law Schools, and has been a national officer of the American Association for Justice or AAJ, (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). Members have lectured at AAJ programs, state bar meetings, and educational programs run by Mealeys and other groups. We have also authored a considerable number of articles on trial practice.

Our Philosophy: Representing Injured Persons

We strive to represent our clients professionally, individually, and personally. Our lawyers keep our clients informed of the progress of their cases. You can speak with a lawyer if you call and if they are unavailable they will promptly return your call. Attorneys who refer cases to us are kept fully informed.

We put the time and money necessary into the full preparation of a case, but at the same time we try to avoid unnecessary expenses. We do not charge secretarial or overhead expenses to the clients. We work on the contingent fee system which is explained below.

We have found that we can achieve the best settlements for our clients by not trying to work with the insurance company on a claims basis. Rather, generally, we place your case into suit and press it on for trial. We have found that the best settlement arises when your case is coming up for trial and it has been fully prepared. The insurance company or defendant can then see that you have the proof necessary to win and can see their exposure. We are also not hesitant about going to trial, if that is what you want and if doing so is likely to be better than any settlement which is offered. On the other hand, we do not try cases that should be settled just to add to our reputation, since that practice risks the client losing everything.

Fees & Investigation

Almost all law firms, ours included, handle personal injury cases on a "contingent fee" basis, meaning that we only get paid at the end of the case (in the form of either a settlement or a verdict). We get a percentage of your recovery, based upon the statute that applies in your state. You are not liable for our time, however, if we do not achieve a recovery for you. As examples, if we investigate your case and then decide not to proceed with it, or if we try your case and lose, you do not owe us for our time. The fee we earn is contingent on a successful outcome, which is why this type of payment is called "contingency fee."

Our firm also routinely advances expenses incurred in the preparation and trial of a case. We do not ask for the deposit of money to cover expenses. If there is a successful outcome, we deduct the expenses off the top of the recovery, and apply the percentages to the net sum (in that way we share part of the expenses). If there is no recovery, we are obligated by state rules to seek reimbursement for expenses, but most of our clients are unable to help out.

Because there is a considerable amount of time and expense involved in handling a personal injury case, we are of course cautious in accepting cases. We do a thorough investigation of the merits of a case before we accept it. This often involves:

• Interviewing the client
• Gathering pertinent records, including medical records
• Having investigators speak to witnesses, visit the scene, obtain accident reports, or anything else required to understand the case
• Having a nurse on our staff and an outside expert (physician, engineer or whatever is required) review the case and give us an analysis.

If your case is similar to others also pending, we can spread the costs of preparation across all of the cases. This greatly reduces the amounts chargeable to one particular case. Further, on occasion, our fees are reduced by judicial order or paid by the defendant.

At some early stage in your relationship you will be asked to sign a retainer. This is a written form which is a contract between you and the law firm. Its primary purpose is to set forth the fee arrangement so that there will be no disputes later about what you and the law firm agreed to. You should read it carefully and feel free to ask questions.

To learn more about your case, contact us today, your consultation is free.