St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center opened its doors in 1869 as the first hospital open to the public in Syracuse. It now operates a number of facilities dedicated to providing services including primary care, urgent care, psychiatric care, and emergency care. Its services also feature two ambulatory surgery centers at which patients can receive surgical care without staying overnight. Even at well-respected facilities like St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, health care providers sometimes make mistakes. If you believe you have been harmed by professional negligence at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, the skillful Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano can assess your potential claims.

Negligence at a hospital can result in catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. Many different people are employed by places like St. Joseph’s, and if they are negligent, it may be possible to recover damages from the hospital. Workers whose mistakes can cause you injury at a hospital include doctors, nurses, nurse’s assistants, physician’s assistants, and medical technicians. Negligence can include improper supervision and inappropriate staffing, as well as failure to properly perform diagnostic tests or images. Hospitals are supposed to abide by specific policies and procedures in order to make sure patients are properly diagnosed and treated.

When a health care provider is negligent in the execution of professional duties, it can be held liable for medical malpractice, and a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer in Syracuse can help you pursue legal action on this basis. In order to sue for medical malpractice, you need to bring your lawsuit within two years and six months of the alleged malpractice. The statute of limitations for minors doesn’t usually start running until the child’s 18th birthday. However, in New York, a minor can’t sue more than ten years after the alleged malpractice. To establish a healthcare provider’s medical malpractice, you’ll need to prove: (1) a doctor-patient relationship, (2) breach of the professional duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages. A hospital can be held indirectly liable for its employee’s medical malpractice under a theory of respondeat superior.

However, it may also be possible to hold a hospital directly liable for its negligence in hiring or retention. In addition to negligence for medical malpractice, you’d need to show: (1) the hospital and the particular healthcare provider were in an employee-employer relationship, (2) the employer knew or should have known about the employee’s tendency to commit the acts that caused the injury before it occurred, and (3) the medical malpractice was perpetrated on the employer’s property or with its chattels. In New York, where an employee acts in the scope of their employment, and the employer is indirectly accountable for any damages under a respondeat superior theory, the negligent hiring or retention claim cannot be pursued.

There are some situations in which a patient’s failure to follow a doctor’s orders or directions from the hospital contribute to his or her medical condition, illness, or injury. If you’re found partially or fully to blame for the injuries arising out of hospital malpractice, your damages will be reduced by an amount equal to your percentage of fault. For example, if you are awarded $500,000, but you are found to be 10% at fault for your injuries for failing to follow the doctor’s orders following a surgery, your damages would be reduced by $50,000. A dedicated Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer can help you navigate these issues if they arise in your case.

When bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital or a provider, you will need to file a written certificate of merit along with your lawsuit. The certificate needs to state: (1) you’ve reviewed the facts of the case and consulted with at least one licensed doctor, and that you’ve concluded on the basis of the consultation that there’s a reasonable basis for you to sue for medical malpractice, or (2) you weren’t able to comply with the requirement of consulting a doctor even though you’ve made three separate good faith efforts at a consultation with three different doctors.

If you were injured or lost a loved one due to hospital malpractice at a facility such as St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, an experienced trial attorney can help you evaluate your options. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents hospital malpractice victims and their families in Syracuse and beyond. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.