Binghamton General Hospital

Binghamton General Hospital is a 220-bed hospital that provides medical care to patients in Greater Binghamton. It provides 24-hour emergency care and handles major regional programs such as a sleep center, orthopedic surgery, rehabilitation, and a chemical dependency treatment service. If you believe you were injured due to medical negligence at this facility or another one nearby, the dedicated Binghamton medical malpractice attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to help you pursue compensation.

You have 2 1/2 years from what you believe to be an occurrence of medical malpractice to sue a hospital or health care provider for damages. Generally, you should consult an attorney much sooner than the expiration of the statute of limitations period. You and your legal counsel will need to locate an expert who can review your medical records and form opinions, including whether or not medical malpractice took place.

If the expert concludes there is malpractice, you will need to file a Rule 3012-a certificate with the complaint. You need to be able to state in the certificate that you discussed your case with a health care expert who is licensed to practice medicine and that you reasonably believe he knows the facts and understands the medical issues related to your lawsuit, and for that reason, you believe it's reasonable to sue your doctor or other health care provider. You only need to file one certificate, even if there are several doctors and nurses at a responsible for the malpractice. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Binghamton can help you through this process.

There are many different kinds of medical malpractice including failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, medication errors, and surgical errors. Misdiagnosis is one of the most common reasons of medical malpractice, and it can include misdiagnosing tumors, heart attacks, blood clots, infections, or failing to diagnose a heart attack. Sometimes, a misdiagnosis winds up causing injury, but in other cases, it may be fatal.

In obstetrics, medical malpractice can impact not only the mother, but also her fetus. Common problems can include failure to treat or handle gestational diabetes appropriately, failure to diagnose placental abnormalities, failure to address excessive vaginal bleeding, failure to perform a C-section, failure to treat preeclampsia, and surgical negligence during a C-section. Injuries to a baby can include cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, shoulder dystocia, cuts, lacerations, or even death.

Just because a pregnancy, delivery or C-section results in an unwanted outcome, it doesn't necessarily mean that there has been malpractice. Similarly, poor outcomes for other types of procedures and surgeries do not mean that there was medical malpractice. Mistakes are only malpractice when they constitute a breach of the professional standard of care and cause injuries. A seasoned Binghamton medical malpractice lawyer can help in assessing whether your claims are likely to meet the applicable legal standard.

There are certain surgical errors that are obvious. For example, performing the wrong operation or amputating the wrong body part such that injury results are surgical errors that are likely to constitute medical malpractice. However, most errors are not clear, and it will be very important to retain an experienced expert.

In order to show that you suffered due to medical malpractice, you'll need to prove: (1) you had a doctor-patient relationship with the defendant health care provider, (2) the defendant failed to meet the professional duty of care, (3) actual and proximate causation, and (4) actual damages. The expert will need to provide testimony on what the professional duty of care was, whether and how it was breached, and whether it caused the injuries you suffered.

Damages you may be able to recover if you establish liability include both economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses may include coverage for medical bills, lost income, replacement services, and out-of-pocket costs. Noneconomic losses may include mental anguish, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, and loss of consortium.

When you go to the doctor you trust that he or she will diagnose and treat you competently. Unfortunately, some health care providers' actions fall below the professional standard of care and the result can be serious injuries or even death. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents patients injured at Binghamton Hospital and other facilities due to the medical negligence of health care providers. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form to learn more.