Medical Malpractice

Malpractice Resulting from Failure to Communicate in Syracuse

Published on: March 22, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

A simple communication error can have devastating consequences for a patient’s health. If you or someone close to you has been injured due to a physician’s communication error, you need to speak to a skilled Syracuse medical malpractice attorney who can evaluate the facts of your case. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand how to represent victims who have been harmed by medical malpractice. Time is of the essence in these cases, so it is important to act quickly if you suspect malpractice could have played a role in your harm.

Sadly, medical mistakes are the third-leading cause of preventable injuries and death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer. One mistake that is all too common is the failure of health care professionals to properly communicate with either each other or the patient. This often happens when multiple doctors are involved in a patient’s care. What happens is a doctor will hand a patient off to the next doctor when their shift ends, the nurses who administer care also change shifts, and sometimes clinical information about the patient does not get communicated from the departing medical professional to the new one.

An estimated 80 percent of serious medical mistakes involve some form of miscommunication. In fact, communication failures in health care settings can be linked to 1,744 deaths in five years, according to Malpractice Risks in Communication Failures. The study also found that medical errors could be reduced by about 30 percent if communication improved between medical professionals and patients. Communication errors can include but are not limited to:

Allergic Reaction Malpractice in Syracuse

Published on: March 15, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

If you believe you or someone close to you has been injured due to medical malpractice involving a drug allergy, you may be able to take legal action against the at-fault party. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our hard-working and diligent Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys are committed to pursuing the compensation you deserve for your harm.

A drug or medication allergy takes place when the immune system reacts to a medication. Drug allergies can result from virtually any type of drug, from over the counter medications to prescriptions. Patients given medications to which they are allergic can suffer a variety of consequences, including but not limited to rash or hives, itching, swelling, diarrhea, respiratory problems, dizziness, light headedness, and even loss of consciousness. In some cases, allergies can be life-threatening because they can send the patient into anaphylaxis, which is an acute allergic reaction that sends the body into shock. Anaphylaxis can take place within seconds or moments of being exposed to the drug to which the individual is allergic.

Patients who see a doctor for a medical condition expect competent care. Medical professionals have a duty to adhere to a standard of care when treating patients. The standard of care refers to the level of care and caution that a reasonably prudent medical professional in the same specialty would have used under the same or similar circumstances. When a medical professional causes injuries or death by failing to adhere to the standard of care, that medical professional will likely be liable for malpractice. For example, if a doctor administers a drug to a patient, to which the patient is known to be allergic (i.e., it is listed in the patient’s chart), the doctor will likely be liable for malpractice if the drug ends up causing injuries to the patient. This is because a doctor using the appropriate level of care would not miss an allergy clearly listed on a patient’s chart.

Cataract Surgery Malpractice in Syracuse

Published on: March 8, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

While cataract surgery is very common, it is not risk-free. If you have experienced complications after cataract surgery, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can examine the specifics of your injury and determine whether malpractice occurred. You can rest assured that we can fight to protect your rights at every step of the way.

A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye that adversely affects a person’s vision. Typically, cataracts affect older people. In fact, by the age of 80, more than half of all Americans have had a surgery to correct a cataract in either one eye or both eyes. While a cataract can happen in both eyes, it is not contagious.

Cataract surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in the country. According to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, approximately 3 million people in the United States receive cataract surgery annually. Cataract surgery is a procedure to remove the lens of your eye, in most cases replacing it with an artificial lens. An ophthalmologist performs cataract surgery on an outpatient basis. While the procedure has an extremely high success rate, there are always risks associated with any surgical procedure, and cataract surgery is no exception. Risks associated with cataract surgery include the following:

Amputation Malpractice in Syracuse and Across New York

Published on: March 1, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

The loss of a limb is undoubtedly one of the most devastating things any human being can experience. If you or someone close to you underwent an amputation when it was not medically necessary, you may have been a victim of medical malpractice. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our diligent Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys are committed to representing New York residents who have required an amputation due to a medical professional’s negligence.

An amputation refers to the surgical removal of all or part of a limb or extremity, such as an arm, leg, foot, or other body part. The amputation of any body part is a life-altering experience that can lead to serious health problems and psychological issues for a patient. According to The National Loss Limb Information Center, approximately 1.7 million people currently living in the United States can trace their loss of limb to an accident caused by someone else. Unfortunately, in some cases, an amputation is a result of medical malpractice. Common examples of medical malpractice resulting in a need for an amputation include but are not limited to:

Surgery on the wrong body part, resulting in amputating the wrong limb;

Orthopedist Malpractice in Syracuse

Published on: February 26, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

We rely on orthopedists to treat injuries to the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, including the spine. While the majority of orthopedists treat patients competently, some make mistakes that can seriously injure a patient. If you or a loved one has been injured due to an orthopedist’s error, you may be entitled to compensation. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Syracuse orthopedic malpractice lawyers are committed to holding negligent medical professionals accountable for the harm that they cause.

An orthopedist is a doctor who specializes in the branch of medicine concerned with the correction or prevention of deformities of the bones. Typically, an orthopedist will address functional abnormalities of the bones with surgery, casting, and bracing. A 2015 medical malpractice report conducted by Medscape surveyed nearly 4,000 physicians, including orthopedists, to find out why they were sued for malpractice. The report found that orthopedists are among the most likely physicians to be sued, just behind OBGYNs and general surgeons. In fact, 79 percent of orthopedists have been sued. The top three reasons orthopedists were sued included the following: the patient suffered an abnormal injury; failure to diagnose; and failure to treat. Other examples of orthopedist errors include but are not limited to:

Placing a cast on too tightly and causing nerve injuries;

Blood Transfusion Injuries in Syracuse

Published on: February 16, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

Blood transfusions are a necessary part of many medical procedures in which the patient is losing or has lost a large quantity of blood that needs to be replaced. While blood transfusions help many patients, they can also be a dangerous procedure. If you or a loved one has been injured by a blood transfusion mistake, you should speak to a skilled Syracuse hospital malpractice attorney without delay. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we are committed to holding negligent medical professionals accountable for the harm that they cause. We will stop at nothing to make sure your medical malpractice claim is resolved efficiently and effectively.

Blood transfusion is generally the process of receiving blood or blood products into one’s circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Blood transfusions are performed by using donated blood. Both the patient and the donor are tested to ensure that the blood types match. Examples of blood transfusion mistakes include but are not limited to:

Multiple blood samples being cross-matched;

Overtreatment of Patients in Syracuse and Elsewhere in New York

Published on: February 9, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

When we visit a doctor, we expect to receive competent care. While it is important for medical professionals to be diligent, the reality is that overtreatment of patients is a serious problem in New York and throughout the United States. If you believe that you or someone close to you suffered an injury caused by unnecessary treatment or care, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can examine what happened in your case and help you determine your legal rights and options.

A study released by PLOS One exposed the issue of overtreatment in the United States. The study found that at least 15 to 30 percent of overall medical care is unnecessary. About 21,000 doctors participated in the survey, administered by researchers from Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School. The data revealed that about 22 percent of prescription medication, 25 percent of tests, and 11 percent of procedures that are given are not necessary. For instance, not every patient with back pain needs an x-ray, but an x-ray is ordered a lot of the time.

Nearly 85 percent of the doctors in the study said the reason for overtreatment was fear of malpractice lawsuits, while nearly 60 percent of doctors said patients demand unnecessary treatment. More than 70 percent of doctors conceded that physicians are more likely to perform unnecessary procedures when they profit from them, while only 9.2 percent admitted that their own financial security was a factor.

Syracuse Gastric Bypass Malpractice

Published on: January 25, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

Weight loss surgeries such as gastric bypass surgery have gained immense popularity in recent years. If it is not performed properly, gastric bypass surgery can have devastating effects on patients and their families. If you or a loved one has been injured during or as a result of a gastric bypass procedure, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can scrutinize the facts of your case and determine the viability of your claim. You can rest assured that we are here to protect your rights at every step of the way.

Gastric bypass surgery refers to a procedure that helps an individual lose weight by changing how the stomach and intestine handle the food that a person eats. The surgery generally involves making a small stomach and removing the rest of the stomach. The small intestine is then attached to the new stomach, permitting the lower part of the stomach to be bypassed. After the surgery, the stomach is smaller, and individuals feel full with less food.

Unfortunately, injuries and deaths associated with gastric bypass procedures are more common than you may think. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2 percent or one in every 50 gastric bypass surgery patients died within 30 days of their operations. The report also found that 5 percent or one in 20 died within a year – the complications ranging from infection and incisional hernia to ulcers and blood clots in the lungs.

“Res Ipsa Loquitur” in Syracuse Malpractice Cases

Published on: January 16, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

If you or someone close to you has been injured in what seems like a clear case of medical malpractice, we can help. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our experienced Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can help you seek the compensation you need to put your life back together. We understand that these cases can be daunting, but you can rest assured we will try to make the process as seamless as possible for you.

“Res ipsa loquitur” is Latin for “the thing that speaks for itself.” When a case is tried on the legal theory of res ipsa loquitur, the circumstantial evidence in the case is so convincing that it removes possible causes of the patient’s injury other than the doctor’s negligence. Put another way, in situations in which a specific cause of an injury is unknown, res ipsa loquitur permits negligence to be inferred from the circumstances under which a injury took place, if the injury would not normally occur in the absence of negligence.

The doctrine may be applicable to certain medical malpractice cases, especially cases involving injuries during surgical procedures. For example, if an injury to an anesthetized patient occurs during surgery in an area remote from the operating site, res ipsa loquitur may be appropriate to establish malpractice. In such a scenario, the plaintiff would have to show that the surgeon can be presumed negligent because he or she had exclusive access to the patient’s body at that time, the injury would not have occurred in the absence of negligence, and the plaintiff did not contribute to the injury in any way. It is important to note that to rely on res ipsa loquitur, the plaintiff need not conclusively eliminate the possibility of all other causes of injury.

Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack in Syracuse and Across New York

Published on: January 9, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

If you have been injured or your loved one has died due to a medical professional’s failure to correctly diagnose a heart attack, you may be able to recover compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys understand how to navigate these complex claims and can put our knowledge to use in your case.

A heart attack happens when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle itself is seriously reduced or stopped. Put another way, a heart attack takes place when there is inadequate blood supply to the heart. When blood flow is restricted, the heart muscle starts to fail, resulting in severe chest pain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone dies from a heart attack every 40 seconds in the United States. About 20 percent of cardiac events are characterized as “silent,” meaning the victim is unaware that the heart attack occurred, even though the body is dealing with the detrimental effects.

In most cases, a patient will experience certain things before the onset of a heart attack, such as chest pain, left shoulder pain, nausea, fainting or light-headedness, cold sweats, and having difficulty breathing. In addition to these signs, certain patients often have higher risk factors for heart attacks, some of which include high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, lack of physical activity, and diabetes.