Paul Karp focuses his legal practice in the area of medical malpractice litigation. He defends hospitals, attending physicians, residents, nurses, physician assistants and other health care professionals in complex malpractice cases spanning all medical and surgical fields, from cardiology to obstetrics to emergency room services. Paul handles all aspects of litigation from inception through trial, and has taken verdicts in a wide range of medical malpractice cases.

Relying on the investigative skills and attention to detail honed during his five years as an assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, New York, Paul has maintained an active trial practice throughout his career. After leaving the District Attorney’s office, Paul gained extensive experience as a plaintiffs’ attorney in the areas of general liability, product liability and medical malpractice, taking in excess of 25 verdicts in automobile, premises liability and Labor Law cases before joining Wilson Elser as a partner. This experience helps inform his strategies and approaches as defense counsel.

As an added service to his hospital clients, Paul regularly lectures and presents mock trials to their attending physicians, residents, nurses and other personnel to educate them about the litigation process. These programs cover issues that can arise in medical malpractice cases with an emphasis on best practices for documentation in medical records.

    Education

    • University at Buffalo School of Law (J.D., 1987)
    • State University of New York at Oneonta (B.A., 1984)

    Bar Admissions

    • New York

    Court Admissions

    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York

    Awards & Honors

    • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2023-2026

Events

Paul Karp focuses his legal practice in the area of medical malpractice litigation. He defends hospitals, attending physicians, residents, nurses, physician assistants and other health care professionals in complex malpractice cases spanning all medical and surgical fields, from cardiology to obstetrics to emergency room services. Paul handles all aspects of litigation from inception through trial, and has taken verdicts in a wide range of medical malpractice cases.

Relying on the investigative skills and attention to detail honed during his five years as an assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, New York, Paul has maintained an active trial practice throughout his career. After leaving the District Attorney’s office, Paul gained extensive experience as a plaintiffs’ attorney in the areas of general liability, product liability and medical malpractice, taking in excess of 25 verdicts in automobile, premises liability and Labor Law cases before joining Wilson Elser as a partner. This experience helps inform his strategies and approaches as defense counsel.

As an added service to his hospital clients, Paul regularly lectures and presents mock trials to their attending physicians, residents, nurses and other personnel to educate them about the litigation process. These programs cover issues that can arise in medical malpractice cases with an emphasis on best practices for documentation in medical records.

Paul Karp

Karp & Howell Obtain Discontinuance at Trial During Plaintiff’s Case-in-Chief

Paul Karp (Partner-New York, NY) and Francis Howell (Associate-White Plains, NY) defended a hospital, treating neurosurgeon, and treating neuro-intensivist (an internationally recognized expert in the field of Neuro Critical Care Medicine) in a case venued in Westchester County Supreme Court that involved claims of pain and suffering as well as wrongful death after the decedent suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage. The plaintiff claimed that the decedent was suffering from life-threatening intracranial pressure, which put her in danger of an imminent brain stem herniation, and that surgery should have been performed to place an extra-ventricular drain and intracranial pressure monitor. Paul was able to prove through his witnesses that the decedent had significant preexisting cerebral atrophy with enlarged Sulci, which provided the room within her brain to accommodate the edema caused by her severe stroke. Paul’s witnesses, using the evidence graphics we created, were able to definitively show that even without the placement of the intracranial pressure monitor, the pressure within her skull was stable and she was never in danger of developing the life-threatening brainstem herniation. Therefore, no surgical intervention, nor the administration of last-ditch effort pharmacological interventions (Hypertonic Saline or Mannitol) to reduce brain edema were warranted. Frank filed a motion in limine to preclude the plaintiff from offering testimony analogous to that of an expert and the motion was granted by the court. After a week of trial, the co-defendant, a skilled nursing center, settled out with the plaintiff. Rather than continue the case, the plaintiff discontinued the action as to the hospital and the two named physicians. 

Paul Karp and Francis A. Howell III

Unanimous Defense Verdict for Vascular Surgery Team in Aortic Tear Death

Paul Karp (Partner-New York), assisted by Rosa Ruiz (Associate-White Plains), obtained a unanimous defense verdict on behalf of a vascular surgery team in Westchester County Court. Plaintiff’s father (a 71-year-old) was diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in 2013, and instructed to return in six months for a follow-up CT scan, but did not return until 2017. The AAA had grown to 5.8 cm, and open surgical intervention was indicated. The surgeons performed an elective open repair of the AAA, which was complicated by a tear in the aorta intraoperatively, and he died after a 44-day hospital course, during which he underwent nine additional surgeries. Paul cross-examined the plaintiff’s expert based on the fact that they do not perform either open AAA repairs or the experimental endovascular repairs plaintiff suggested as an alternative. Paul retained an internationally recognized expert in endovascular and open repair of aortic aneurysms. The defense expert vascular surgeon (who also does in fact perform advanced endovascular repairs of the kind that plaintiff claimed should have been considered) opined that the procedure performed in this case was appropriate and that a CT scan cannot be used as a “crystal ball” to predict the integrity of aortic tissue before an operation. He further opined that the decedent was not a candidate for the “experimental” non-FDA approved endovascular stents that plaintiff argued the deceased should have had the option to consider. The jury that presided over this three-week trial deliberated for under four hours. The team expressed appreciation to paralegal Frank Howell for his assistance in this matter.

Paul Karp

Vascular body
Privacy Settings
Your Privacy Choices
We value your privacy. Under privacy laws in your jurisdiction, you have the right to control how your personal information is used, including the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You may also limit the use of your sensitive personal information.

Below, you can review and adjust your cookie and data sharing preferences. For more information about how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

Your Rights and Choices

Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: You may opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for advertising and analytics purposes by turning off Advertising & Targeting Cookies. We will honor your choice and will not sell or share your personal information for these purposes unless you enable these cookies again. Wilson Elser does not sell or share personal information in any other manner.

Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: If we collect sensitive personal information, you may limit its use to only what is necessary to provide requested services by adjusting your preferences here. Please contact privacy@wilsonelser.com with any questions.

Global Privacy Control: We honor browser-based opt-out signals, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC). If we detect such a signal, your opt-out preference will be automatically applied.
These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions made by you, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They may be set through our site by us or our analytics partners to understand your interests and deliver more relevant content to you. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site