Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

Healthcare providers accused of committing malpractice are typically reluctant to admit liability. In medical malpractice cases in which it is clear that the plaintiff suffered harm due to inadequate medical care, the defendant may attempt to shift blame to a third party to avoid liability. Whether a defendant should be permitted to offer evidence of third-party negligence at trial is typically within the discretion of the trial court, as discussed in a recent New York ruling. If you were harmed by a negligent healthcare provider, it is wise to meet with a trusted Syracuse medical malpractice attorney to determine what claims you might be able to pursue.

The Plaintiff’s Claims and Defendants’ Affirmative Defenses

It is reported that the plaintiff underwent treatment at hospitals owned by the defendants. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant’s employee’s negligence in diagnosing and treating his spinal infection caused him to become a quadriplegic. Prior to trial, the plaintiff filed motions in limine asking the court to preclude the defendants from presenting certain evidence relating to the negligence of non-parties and to strike supplemental bills of particulars submitted by the defendants, which supported their affirmative defenses that third parties caused or contributed to the plaintiff’s harm. The court granted the plaintiff’s motions, and the defendants appealed.

Appealability of Motions in Limine

On appeal, the court agreed with the defendants that the pretrial orders in question were appealable as of right. The court explained that while orders ruling on motions in limine are generally not immediately appealable, there is a distinction between orders limiting the admissibility of evidence and those limiting legal theories of liability or trial scope, which are appealable. Here, the subject limited the theories of liability, preventing defendants from presenting evidence or arguments based on CPLR article 16 defenses related to nonparty providers’ negligence, making them appealable. Continue Reading ›

Mononucleosis (mono) is also known as the kissing disease and the Epstein-Barr virus.  It is spread through saliva. You can get it from kissing, but you can also get it from sharing a glass or food utensils with someone who has it. Mononucleosis, on the other hand, is not as contagious as some infections, such as the common cold. If you’re a teen or young adult, you’re more likely to get mononucleosis with all of the symptoms. Young children typically have few symptoms, and the infection is frequently undiagnosed.

This viral infection can cause symptoms all over the body, such as drowsiness, aching muscles, an irritated throat, and general fatigue. Other clinical manifestations have included a skin rash, decreased appetite, and fever. Most cases of mononucleosis resolve within a few weeks of diagnosis.  This illness, however, can occasionally result in serious medical complications such as a ruptured spleen, meningitis, and death. It is critical that physicians correctly identify the symptoms of mono and treat the illness in its early stages.

Early and accurate diagnosis is the foundation of effective medical treatment, and it is critical to saving lives. The importance of the diagnostic process cannot be overstated, and failure to diagnose a condition on time or correctly can result in preventable death or serious injury to patients. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano’s experienced medical malpractice attorneys have obtained significant jury verdicts and settlements for clients who have suffered needlessly as a result of a failure to identify an otherwise treatable medical condition. We serve clients throughout Upstate New York and have offices in several convenient locations. Our extensive experience in the field of medical malpractice is reflected in the results we have obtained for our clients.

Crowding in emergency departments (EDs) across the country and around the world has had an impact on care quality. There have been documented increases in patient mortality, medication errors, pain, length of hospital stay, and other negative effects. When an ED is overcrowded, all licensed beds may be occupied, and overflow patients are frequently treated in hallways. In such cases, emergency physicians (EP) are forced to provide care to patients with inadequate nursing support and a lack of privacy, which precludes a thorough history and physical examination. Placing new patients in the waiting room until a licensed ED bed becomes available introduces an additional risk because there is no way to directly observe or monitor patients. Some hospital administrators insist on providing care in the hallways but fail to provide the logistical support required to do so. By emphasizing metrics such as the number of patients seen per hour, some ED staffing groups indirectly force physicians to see patients in unlicensed areas. Patient care in ED hallways is fraught with delays and difficulties in initiating laboratory testing, providing medication, supervising intravenous lines, recording vital signs, monitoring cardiac activity, or responding to new patient symptoms, regardless of the cause. The problem is exacerbated when a physician must simultaneously care for an excess of patients in the hallway and in official ED beds, and extra physicians are frequently unavailable to share the burden. In addition to the risk of poor patient outcomes, physicians are at risk.

In most emergency rooms across the country, patients must wait for several hours before being evaluated, treated, and admitted to the hospital. Far too often, patients end up “boarding” in emergency room hallways while waiting for a hospital bed to become available. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds of American hospitals boarded patients in the ED for more than two hours while waiting for an inpatient bed, affecting approximately 1 in every 5 patients.  If you were injured because of medical malpractice or lost a loved one as a result of a preventable medical error, call our office today. Allow an experienced medical malpractice attorney to fight for your rights. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, our highly experienced medical malpractice attorneys may be able to help you collect the compensation you deserve.  We help clients throughout Upstate New York, with offices in multiple convenient locations. Our extensive experience in the medical malpractice field is reflected in the results we have achieved for our clients.

Boarding has been identified as one of the most serious consequences of ED overcrowding by the American College of Emergency Physicians.  Aside from the frustration of seeing a loved one waiting for care in a hallway, patients who are left in the hallways can become confused and disoriented, which are symptoms of delirium.

Every waking minute, we use our eyes. They make us aware of our surroundings and provide us with the information we require to remain safe. As a result, one of the most important things we value in our daily lives is our vision. We cannot fully connect to the world around us, work, or even enjoy life to the fullest without proper vision. To say the least, losing one’s vision can be devastating and life-changing.

While some types of vision loss are the result of traumatic accidents or unavoidable illnesses, other cases of vision impairment and blindness are the result of medical malpractice. Although ophthalmologists are doctors who specialize in treating eye problems, they occasionally make mistakes when providing vision care, which can endanger their patients’ eyes. Unfortunately, the doctors that patients entrust with their eye health can also cause them harm. If you or a loved one suffers from partial or complete blindness or any other type of vision impairment as a result of improper or negligent medical care, you may be entitled to compensation under New York State law.  Our highly experienced medical malpractice attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to assist you in obtaining the compensation you deserve.  We serve clients throughout Upstate New York and have offices in several convenient locations. Our extensive experience in the field of medical malpractice is reflected in the results we have obtained for our clients.

The cornea is the front part of the eye; it is a transparent layer that covers the rest of the eye and is essential for the eye to focus. A damaged cornea is one of the most common causes of blindness after glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and cataracts.

Antibiotics are drugs that are used to kill or slow the growth of bacteria and certain fungi. Antibiotics are ineffective in treating viral infections. Antibiotic resistance is defined as a change in bacteria that allows them to grow in the presence of a drug that would normally slow or kill them. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi become more difficult to treat, increasing morbidity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 2 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year. Antibiotic-resistant infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), can result in longer hospital stays, higher treatment costs, and more deaths.

Antibiotics are used to kill bacteria that cause illness and disease. They have made significant contributions to human health. Many diseases that used to kill people can now be effectively treated with antibiotics. Some bacteria, however, have developed resistance to commonly used antibiotics. In the presence of an antibiotic, they can survive and even multiply. Most pathogenic bacteria can develop resistance to at least some antibiotics. Multi-resistant organisms (MRO) are bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics.

Ablation is a medical procedure in which doctors use radio-wave frequency to reduce or remove tissue. Although ablation is a common procedure used to treat a variety of medical problems, it is most commonly used to treat heart arrhythmia, which occurs when tissue within the heart is improperly built up, causing a type of short circuit that blocks the electrical signals transmitted by the heart. Tissue buildup is frequently a negative side effect of previous coronary surgery or procedures. Ablation procedures are also commonly used to treat endometrial issues, surface tissues, and liver tumor removal.

Thermal injuries to organs and tissues surrounding the tissues to be removed are examples of medical injuries that can occur as a result of ablation. Ablation therapy is a highly specialized medical field that necessitates extensive training and proficiency. If you or a loved one suffered thermal injuries or other medical issues as a result of ablation treatment, contact our office right away. Our highly experienced medical malpractice attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to assist you in obtaining the compensation you deserve.  We serve clients throughout Upstate New York and have offices in several convenient locations. Our extensive experience in the field of medical malpractice is reflected in the results we have obtained for our clients.

A large number of people have heart surgery. However, a small percentage of these people are affected by errors made by the surgeon, doctor, or other members of the medical team. A misdiagnosis or a cut in the wrong place can result in severe injury, disability, or even death for the patient.  If the error was caused by the medical team’s negligence, the patient may be able to sue the medical professional for malpractice.

Cluster headaches are a neurological condition that affects one side of the head and causes excruciating pain, affecting approximately one in every 1,000 people in the United States. Patients may have cluster headache attacks several times per day, with each attack lasting between 15 minutes and 3 hours.  It is not a rare disease; in fact, it is as common as Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. Cluster headache, unlike these two well-known neurological disorders, is prone to misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis because so many doctors are simply unaware of its existence. Males are twice as likely as females to suffer from cluster headaches. Symptoms typically appear between the ages of 20 and 40, with a mean age of onset of 30.

Headaches vary in pain levels, pain type, and frequency, and these details can indicate not only the types of headaches one is experiencing but also any issues a patient may be dealing with as well as the proper treatment plan they require. Some headaches, however, can be difficult to identify. According to a recent study, cluster headaches are frequently misdiagnosed or take much longer to diagnose. Because cluster headache patients are known to develop mental health issues, timely diagnoses and treatments are critical. The study discovered that a patient’s mental health suffered significantly because of a delay in diagnosis and treatment. Participants in the study were more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and attempts. Cluster headaches are sometimes referred to as “suicide headaches” due to the suicidal thoughts that patients experience during an attack. Furthermore, a cluster headache misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis results in unnecessary procedures. This includes extractions of teeth and sinus washouts. Even pain relievers, which are commonly used to treat most types of headaches, are ineffective against cluster headaches. Injections of a drug called triptans and oxygen inhalation treatments are the most effective. Nonetheless, many doctors will not prescribe them. They may prescribe triptans, but only in an ineffective oral form. Finally, it was discovered that general practitioners will disregard a specialist’s advice by prescribing less expensive drugs instead of the injectable or nasal triptans prescribed by the specialist. As a result, mishandling a cluster headache diagnosis could endanger a patient.

Medical errors can occur at any point during the diagnosis and treatment process. As a result, it is critical that patients understand this and what they can do if medical malpractice is suspected. Filing a medical malpractice suit could be a wise decision. It not only holds a negligent medical professional accountable, but it also assists the patient in addressing the harms and losses caused by it.  Call our office if you or someone you care about was misdiagnosed or failed to be diagnosed with cluster headaches by a healthcare provider.  Our highly experienced medical malpractice attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to help you collect the compensation you deserve.  We serve clients throughout Upstate New York and have offices in several convenient locations. Our extensive experience in the field of medical malpractice is reflected in the results we have obtained for our clients.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a serious disease that causes irreversible lung scarring. This scarring makes breathing difficult, and eventually, the lungs are unable to inhale enough oxygen for the body to function properly. In many cases, a doctor is unable to determine the cause of pulmonary fibrosis. When there is no known cause of the disease, the fibrosis (scarring) is referred to as “idiopathic.” IPF causes progressive lung scarring that worsens over time. This is sometimes referred to as worsening fibrosis. Because IPF progresses at different rates, it’s critical to act early.

Over 250,000 Americans suffer from IPF. The prevalence of IPF is increasing, with over 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year. More than half of IPF patients are initially misdiagnosed with other types of cardiovascular or respiratory disease, such as COPD or asthma.  A diagnosis of IPF has serious consequences for the affected individuals, who have a 50% chance of dying within 2-3 years, which is worse than the outcome of many cancers.

A prompt and accurate diagnosis is critical, especially because starting treatment at an early disease stage may have the greatest impact on slowing disease progression.  The high likelihood that those with IPF will undergo a series of incorrect diagnoses may expose them to ineffective treatments. A misdiagnosis could cause the application of potentially effective therapies to be delayed. Early detection of this means patients have a chance of living longer lives.