Medical malpractice is a very general term used to describe a treatment, lack of treatment, or deviation from generally accepted standards of medical care resulting in injury.

In New York a person cannot pursue a medical malpractice case unless they first obtain a Certificate of Merit.  A Certificate of Merit means that all of your relevant records have been reviewed by a physician and that physician has confirmed the case is meritorious.  The purpose of this legislation, which we agree with, is to prevent frivilous claims from being filed.  In strict accordance with the law, our firm will not pursue a medical malpractice case unless first confirmed by an independent physician that the case has merit.  Because most medical providers in the local community know each other, our firm utilizes experts outside of the local area to give us completely objective medical opinions regarding the case.

In the event a preventable error has occurred and the case is confirmed to be meritorious, the goal is to obtain compensation from the professional liability carrier.  As with all other professionals such as lawyers, engineers, accountants etc., medical providers maintain insurance in the event a preventable or unintentional error occurs.     

Recent independent studies have shown that preventable medical errors are one of the leading causes of death and injury in the United States.  Due to the fact that all medical malpractice settlements are done so under a Confidentiality Agreement the public is generally unaware of the true extent of preventable injuries that occur.  This topic is discussed in further detail under FAQ.

The DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Law firm represents individuals who have suffered injuries as a result of the negligence of a medical care provider. Some examples of medical negligence include the following:

• Physician and/or nursing errors
• Hospital errors
• Cancer – failing to timely diagnose and treat
• Negligent performance of a surgery
• Misdiagnosis / failure to timely make appropriate diagnosis
• Birth injuries
• Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy (RSD) injuries aka (CRPS)
• Failing to supervise
• Laboratory errors
• Injection errors
• Prescription errors     (Note - over 6,000 prescription errors occur each year)
• Dental malpractice
• Premature discharge from medical facility
• Failure to make timely referral to specialist

Because there are so many different ways medical errors occur the aforesaid list does not account for all the areas of medical malpractice.  I also invite you to take a look at our results page so you have an idea as to the extent of our experience in this field.  If you have any questions or are even just curious as to whether you have a case, you can call our office at any time for a free consultation.