Attorneys Jeff D. DeFrancisco and Charles L. Falgiatano

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Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Published on: April 16, 2018

Coronary Artery Bypass Malpractice in Syracuse

by Jeff DeFrancisco

heart

Coronary artery bypass surgeries are among the most common types of coronary surgeries. A mistaken diagnosis or misplaced cut can result in serious injuries or even death to a patient. If you or someone close to you has suffered preventable injuries during or immediately after a coronary artery bypass surgery, you need to reach out to a Syracuse medical malpractice attorney without delay. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we have helped many clients recover the compensation they deserve for their harm.

Coronary artery disease is a condition in which cholesterol and calcium plaque build up inside the coronary arteries and interfere with the oxygenation to the heart muscle. The plaque can harden and can rupture, and this significantly interferes with blood flow in the heart. Coronary artery bypass surgery is performed when an individual has severe blockages in one or more cardiac arteries. According to the Mayo Clinic, coronary bypass surgery is a surgical procedure that diverts the flow of blood around a section of a blocked or partially blocked artery in your heart. By creating a new path to the heart, coronary bypass surgery improves blood flow to your heart muscle.

Not every adverse outcome is a result of medical malpractice. In some cases, unavoidable complications would arise during any surgery. Medical malpractice takes place when a medical professional causes injuries or death by failing to adhere to the standard of care to which a reasonably prudent medical professional would have adhered in the same or a similar situation. In order to recover money damages, it is not enough to show that the medical professional deviated from the acceptable standard of care, but you also must show that the deviation was a substantial cause of your harm. Medical malpractice claims are extremely fact-intensive, and you can rest assured we can closely review all of the relevant medical records and test results in your case.

Published on: April 9, 2018

Liver Disease Malpractice in Syracuse and Across New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

doctor If you believe your liver disease became worse or accelerated due to medical malpractice, you need to reach out to a seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice attorney without delay. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand how challenging life can be with a liver disease. Our experienced team can guide you through the legal process of pursuing compensation for your medical injuries. You can rest assured that we can be your trusted legal advocates at every step of the way.

The term ‘liver disease’ applies to diseases and disorders that cause the liver to function improperly or stop functioning altogether. Irregular results of liver tests often suggest liver disease. Common liver diseases include:

Liver cirrhosis: this condition is a result of chronic liver disease that results in scarring of the liver and liver dysfunction. There is impairment of the blood flow through the liver that leads to excess fluid in the abdomen.

Published on: April 2, 2018

New York Tops List for Most Malpractice Lawsuits in Country

by Jeff DeFrancisco

gavel Sadly, medical malpractice can lead to serious and long-term harm for a patient. If you have been injured or harmed by a medical professional’s mistake, carelessness, or wrongdoing, you may be able to recover compensation through a medical malpractice claim. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can scrutinize the circumstances surrounding your injury and determine whether malpractice took place.

According to a recent report released by Diederich Health Care, entitled “2018 Medical Malpractice Payout Analysis,” New York topped the list for the most medical malpractice lawsuits in the country and in the Northeast with a total of approximately $617,973,000 in payouts. Second place in the Northeast is held by Pennsylvania with $342,093,300 in payouts, and New Jersey is at third place with $267,913,250 in payouts.

Examining the per capita cost in the case of New York, the numbers translate to approximately $32 per person for each resident of the state. The lowest per capita rate was Wisconsin, with about $2.33 for each resident of the state – a stark difference.

Published on: March 27, 2018

Malpractice Involving Surgical Staples in Syracuse and New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

staples Whether it is due to surgery or an accident, surgical staples are commonly used to close wounds. While staples can be vital to bringing the flesh and skin back together, they can result in serious injuries if they are not used properly. If you suspect that you have suffered harm due to a medical professional’s mistake in administering surgical staples, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we can thoroughly examine the facts of your case and help you figure out your next steps.

Surgical staplers are medical devices that close skin wounds without the need for stitches. The staples are used instead of sutures to close skin wounds. In some cases, these staples can be used to hold together internal organs. Sadly, an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 incidents are reported to the Food and Drug Administration each year as a result of surgical stapler use. Approximately 9 percent of these reports indicated injuries, and less than 1 percent indicated deaths. At least 65 percent of injuries or deaths that occurred were results of surgical staples used in gastrointestinal surgeries, such as gastric bypass. In addition, 19 percent of surgical staple mistakes took place in lung surgeries, and other incidents happened in appendix, cardiac, and circulatory system surgeries.

Surgical staple injuries can take place in a number of ways, including:

Published on: March 20, 2018

Suicide Malpractice in Syracuse and Throughout New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

suicide Losing a loved one to suicide is a tragedy no one should have to face. The sad reality is that, in many cases, medical professionals could have prevented the suicide. If your loved one took his or her own life, and you believe a medical professional’s error or incompetence played a role in the suicide, you need to reach out to a diligent Syracuse psychiatric malpractice attorney without delay. While nothing can bring your loved one back, we can help you seek the justice and compensation you deserve to move on with your life.

Unfortunately, suicide is one of the leading causes of death among individuals under the age of 35 in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), suicide was the tenth-leading cause of death for all ages in 2013. CDC data reveals that males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate of females and represent 77 percent of all suicides. The sad reality is that, many times, suicide could be prevented. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that over 90 percent of Americans who die by suicide suffer from a treatable mental illness or substance disorder. Almost all suicides involve persons with a history of mental illness. In many cases, the person has attempted suicide before.

Suicide can take place in a variety of medical settings, ranging from an inpatient psychiatric facility to a hospital. Medical malpractice occurs in suicide cases when a medical professional, most likely a psychiatrist, fails to recognize that a patient presents an imminent risk of harm and fails to provide treatment accordingly. Put another way, malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes harm to a patient by failing to use the level of care and caution that a reasonably prudent medical professional in the same specialty would have used under the same circumstances. Establishing malpractice can be complex, but we understand what needs to be shown in order to win these cases.

Published on: March 16, 2018

Surgical Fire Malpractice in New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

fire Although surgical fires are rare, they are extremely serious events that can lead to longstanding injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured by a fire in the operating room, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our diligent and hard-working Syracuse surgical malpractice attorneys can thoroughly examine the facts of your case and help you figure out what happened.

Surgical fires are defined as fires that occur in, on, or around a patient who is undergoing a medical or surgical procedure. According the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, approximately 550-600 surgical fires take place each year. Shockingly, the patient’s body can catch fire, leading to serious injuries, disfigurement, and, in the most serious cases, even death.

While certain medical mistakes may be understandable, some are so shocking and extreme that they should never have happened. These events are commonly known as “never events,” referring to events that should never happen. Dr. Ken Kizer, former CEO of the National Quality Forum (NQF), first coined the term in 2001. Unsurprisingly, patient safety groups have deemed surgical fires as never events.

Published on: March 13, 2018

Ambulance Accidents in Syracuse and Throughout New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

Ambulances are critical to deal with medical emergencies in New York and throughout the United States. Ambulance accidents, however, can have devastating consequences for everyone involved. If you or someone close to you has been injured in a motor vehicle accident involving an ambulance, you need to reach out to a seasoned Syracuse ambulance accident attorney who can help you secure full and fair compensation for your injuries.

According to a 20-year National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, there was an average of 4,500 crashes involving ambulances throughout the United States each year. In fact, the data highlight that 33 people across the nation die annually in these crashes. While one-fourth of those fatalities are inside the ambulance at the time of the crash, in the majority of fatal crashes involving ambulances, the driver or passenger of another vehicle is the one who is killed.

We can help victims of ambulance accidents in a variety of different scenarios, including but not limited to:

Pedestrians or bicyclists hit by ambulances;
Drivers and passengers of vehicles hit by an ambulance; and
Transported patients suffering exacerbated injuries in a crash.

Published on: March 6, 2018

The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine in New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

swimming pool Children are curious by nature, and that can be a great asset when it comes to learning, but the same curiosity can put them in dangerous situations. If your child has been injured after wandering onto someone else’s property, you may be able to seek compensation for his or her injuries. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand the nuances of New York premises liability law and can apply our knowledge to use in your case. Our firm is passionate about advocating for the rights of the injured, and we will do our best to make sure your rights are protected at every step of the way.

Generally, those who enter another party’s property without permission are called trespassers under the law and given little legal protection if they are injured. There is, however, an exception to this rule when it comes to children, and property owners have some responsibility to a trespasser when that trespasser is a child. The attractive nuisance doctrine protects children injured on another person’s property. Put another way, the attractive nuisance doctrine holds a landowner accountable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by an artificial dangerous object or condition on the land that is likely to attract children who are unable to appreciate the risks and hazards associated with that object or condition. The idea is that property owners should be able to foresee that children may enter the property if certain “attractions” are present, including but not limited to:

Swimming pools;

Published on: February 26, 2018

Radiology Errors in Syracuse

by Jeff DeFrancisco

x-ray Radiologists use a variety of tests to make it possible to diagnose and treat many medical conditions. Unfortunately, radiology errors can result in serious medical setbacks and, in some cases, can even result in death. If you have suffered due to the negligence of a radiologist, the reputable and hardworking Syracuse radiology malpractice attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers can assist you. We can examine the facts of your case and help you seek the compensation you need to deal with your harm.

Radiology is the branch of medicine that deals with the use of radioactive tools, such as x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, to diagnose and treat diseases within the body. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the specialty of radiology has a relatively high rate of malpractice claims. Data from the NIH shows that failures to diagnose account for approximately 40 to 54 percent of radiology-related medical malpractice cases. Radiology errors can take many forms, including mistakes made by radiologists, malfunctions of diagnostic equipment, and misinterpretations of radiological results. Examples of radiology errors include:

Misread x-rays;

Published on: February 23, 2018

HIV Misdiagnosis in Syracuse

by Jeff DeFrancisco

HIV Medical professionals have an obligation to be diligent when diagnosing and treating patients. Unfortunately, this does not always happen and may result in a patient’s condition getting worse. If you or a loved one has been a victim of an HIV misdiagnosis, you may be able to pursue compensation through a medical malpractice claim. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our seasoned Syracuse misdiagnosis attorneys can review your case and help you navigate the legal process. You can rest assured we are here to answer your questions and address your concerns.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were an estimated 37,000 new HIV infections in 2014. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that is spread through certain bodily fluids and attacks the body’s immune system. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of certain cells that the body’s ability to fight off disease or infection is severely compromised. HIV is a lifelong condition with no cure, but the condition can be managed with proper medical care. An individual infected with HIV may or may not exhibit symptoms, which can lead to a delay in diagnosis and treatment. An HIV misdiagnosis can happen in a variety of ways, including a physician failing to carefully review the patient’s chart, blood test results being read wrongly and inaccurately conveyed to the patient, and initial test results being mixed up or labeled incorrectly.

For people who are not correctly diagnosed with HIV, the results can be devastating. Not only could they fail to get the treatment they need, but also they could unknowingly infect others with the virus. If your doctor missed a diagnosis or misdiagnosed you with HIV, you can likely file a medical malpractice claim against that physician. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor causes harm because he or she fails to use the level of care that another doctor, with a similar background and training, would have used in the same situation. In order to win a malpractice claim, you must establish the following: