Medical Tubing Errors

Hospitals use medical tubing for many different purposes. It may be placed for intravenous administration of solutions, catheters, anesthesiology, fluid management, drainage, or feeding. When doctors or nurses make mistakes when placing a tube, the patient may suffer serious injuries, such as clots or suffocation. Patients and their families may sue for damages when improperly placed or managed medical tubes cause injury or death. You should discuss with the experienced Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys of DeFrancisco and Falgiatano whether you may recover damages for the medical tubing error that harmed you or a loved one. We understand the challenges of medical malpractice lawsuits.

In the treatment of patients, physicians and nurses may use many different types of medical tubing. As a patient, you may rely on tubing such as intravenous lines, catheters, or feeding tubes. If a healthcare provider carelessly placed or hooked up a medical tube to an inappropriate location on the body, you could face catastrophic injuries. Medical tubing errors could result in paralysis, heart complications, stroke, pulmonary embolism, brain damage, or even death.

Medical tubing errors may be committed by nurses, staff members of a hospital or practice, and doctors. Not every error will be considered as medical malpractice. To obtain damages for medical malpractice through settlement negotiations or at trial, you will need to prove that a provider acted or failed to act according to the applicable professional standard and that this failure caused your injuries. You also must be able to establish quantifiable damages that you could recover through the suit.

A provider may breach the professional duty of care through administration of the wrong medication through medical tubing, improper placement of medical tubing, improper management of medical tubing, or connection of the tubes to an improper location. New York follows the locality rule. Courts will look at whether the defendants acted according to the professional standard of care that governs those in his specialty and geographic region. In other words, if a Syracuse nurse’s improper placement of a feeding tube resulted in paralysis, the court would look at the accepted medical practices of other Syracuse nurses.

With a complaint for medical malpractice based on a medical tubing error, your lawyer will need to file a certificate of merit under New York civil practice law and rules section 3012 –a. The certificate of merit must declare that the lawyer went over the facts and talked to at least one doctor who he reasonably believes is knowledgeable in the relevant issues involved in the lawsuit and has determined on the basis of that review and consultation that a reasonable ground to commence your lawsuit exists. Accordingly, your lawyer will retain an expert to evaluate medical records and facts before filing the complaint regarding medical tubing errors. It may be appropriate to retain a separate expert on the nature of damages.

If you can establish liability for medical malpractice, you can recover compensatory damages arising from the medical tubing errors. Compensatory damages are intended to put you back to where you would have been in had no medical tubing errors occurred. These damages may cover both economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses may include medical bills, surgical bills, medication costs, lost wages, and out-of-pocket expenses. Noneconomic losses may include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and loss of earning ability. The amount and type of damages will depend on the injuries caused by the medical tubing errors. If medical tubing errors caused the death of a loved one, you may be able to obtain damages for your pecuniary losses by suing for wrongful death.

If you were hurt or a loved one was killed as the result of a medical tubing error in Syracuse, you should talk to our seasoned lawyers. We represent patients and their families across upstate New York in Syracuse, Rochester, Watertown, Lowville, Oswego, Auburn, Canandaigua, Wampsville, Ithaca, Lyons, Oneida, Cooperstown, Utica, Elmira, Herkimer, and Binghamton. Complete DeFrancisco & Falgiatano’s online form or call us at 833-200-2000.