You pay nothing unless we secure compensation for you
Clients ask us this question often: if they try to go back to work, return to school, or resume an activity they used to enjoy, will it hurt their case? Attorney Laurence Deutsch answers this directly in a 2026 client PSA video. His answer: keep trying to rebuild your life, within what your doctor clears. That effort becomes part of the record a strong medical malpractice case is built on.
If a case is significant enough for us to take it, some kind of life-altering injury has occurred. We represent that injury honestly, at its true severity. The same honesty runs the other direction: within the limits your own treating physician sets, do your best to get back to your normal level of life. That effort works in your favor when the case is evaluated.
This is general guidance. What you can safely attempt depends on your own medical restrictions and the facts of your case — talk to your doctor about what is safe, and talk to us about how it fits your case.
We build cases on records, testimony, and a credible account of what happened and what it cost you. Claiming a limitation you do not actually have, or exaggerating an injury, damages that credibility. Honest effort to get back to what you could do before builds it. That honesty is what juries and insurance adjusters actually respond to.
The question comes up in a few recurring forms. A client wants to return to work after a disabling injury, but worries a paycheck will make the case look weaker. A client wants to go back to school and finish a degree that was interrupted by a hospital error. A client used to run, play a sport, or take part in a hobby, and wants to know if trying it again will be used against them. In each case, our answer is the same, so long as a doctor has cleared it: try. We want clients to keep living their lives while a case moves forward.
Returning to work and earning income again works in your favor — it means recovered wages. Your claim for loss of earning capacity and non-economic damages for the injury’s lasting impact on your life is measured by your actual, honest condition, including real improvement if that happens. Trying to get better, or succeeding at it, counts in your favor. Tell us the truth about where you stand, and we bring in a vocational expert when the numbers need that level of detail.
This applies even to clients who were not working before the malpractice occurred. Retired clients, homemakers, and others who were not employed still have real, compensable losses when an injury takes away their ability to do the things they did before. That loss is valued by the injury itself. Trying to recover that ability is simply an honest account of where things stand. For more on how a case moves toward resolution, see how long a medical malpractice lawsuit takes.
One practical habit matters most: keep us in the loop. If you went back to work, resumed a hobby, or tried something and it did not go well, tell us. That keeps the record accurate, including what you had to stop or scale back, and an accurate record makes for a stronger case.
We represent clients to help them get back to their best level of function, or the compensation they deserve, not to stand between them and their recovery.
No, as long as it is within what your treating physician clears. Insurance adjusters and juries respond well to genuine effort to recover. What hurts a case is dishonesty about your condition.
No. Within whatever limits your treating physician sets, trying to resume an activity strengthens your case. Honesty with us and with yourself about what you can and cannot do is what protects you.
Overstating your injuries, or claiming limitations you do not actually have, hurts your case. Insurance adjusters look for that dishonesty. Genuine, honest effort to recover strengthens your credibility.
Your compensation reflects your actual, honest condition. Going back to work and earning income again is good for you. Tell us the truth about where you stand.
Ask your treating physician first — that is a medical call. Then tell us directly what you tried and how it went, so nothing gets left to guesswork.
If you or a loved one has questions about a medical malpractice case in New York, contact us for a free consultation.
Laurence M. Deutsch is the managing partner of Deutsch Law PC, focusing on medical malpractice and personal injury litigation. Over his 20-year career, he has secured leading New York verdicts, serves as a legal analyst for ABC World News Tonight, and is an invited member of the NYC Bar Association’s Medical Malpractice Committee.
Education: J.D., University of Chicago Law School
Recognitions: “Super Lawyer” and “Preeminent” attorney
Media & Service: Legal analyst, ABC World News Tonight; NYC Bar Association Medical Malpractice Committee
Author: Medical Records for Attorneys (ABA, ISBN 0-8318-0817-9)
Selected publications:
1) “Preparing for Trial,” Medical Malpractice in New York (4th ed., 2017, NYS Bar Association)
2) “Damages,” NY State Trial Lawyers Association Annual Update (2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014)
3) “Medical Malpractice,” The Personal Injury Action in New York (2011, 2014, NYS Bar Association)
Laurence M. Deutsch is the managing partner of Deutsch Law PC, focusing on medical malpractice and personal injury litigation. Over his 20-year career, he has secured leading New York verdicts, serves as a legal analyst for ABC World News Tonight, and is an invited member of the NYC Bar Association’s Medical Malpractice Committee.
Education: J.D., University of Chicago Law School
Recognitions: “Super Lawyer” and “Preeminent” attorney
Media & Service: Legal analyst, ABC World News Tonight; NYC Bar Association Medical Malpractice Committee
Author: Medical Records for Attorneys (ABA, ISBN 0-8318-0817-9)
Selected publications:
1) “Preparing for Trial,” Medical Malpractice in New York (4th ed., 2017, NYS Bar Association)
2) “Damages,” NY State Trial Lawyers Association Annual Update (2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014)
3) “Medical Malpractice,” The Personal Injury Action in New York (2011, 2014, NYS Bar Association)
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