Rochester Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Study Reveals Patient Care Improved Without Threat of Malpractice

Published on: April 20, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

Medical malpractice can lead to serious and long-term harm. In the most serious cases, malpractice can result in death. When a person has been injured by a medical professional’s negligence, that person can potentially recover damages for his or her harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice attorneys can examine the facts of your case and come up with a legal strategy accordingly.

According to a study published in a recent issue of Health Management, Policy and Innovation (HMPI), there was no negative impact on patient safety when approximately 900 University of Miami Health System doctors received sovereign immunity from medical malpractice claims while working at 1,600-bed government-owned Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH), which is protected by sovereign immunity as a government entity. The same 900 doctors who work at JMH are also employed by the University of Miami Hospital, a privately owned 560-bed facility. Sovereign immunity applied to the former but not the latter. The study found that the rate of harmful events decreased by 23 percent over a four-year time frame. The study suggests that even without the fear of malpractice, medical professionals are committed to proving competent care to their patients.

Medical malpractice happens when a health care provider causes an injury or death by not using the level of carefulness that a competent health care provider would use under similar circumstances. Medical malpractice can happen in a variety of ways, including surgical errors, diagnostic errors, prescription errors, and treatment errors. Of course, this list is not exhaustive. To win a malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff is required to prove the following: i) the doctor owed the patient a duty of care; ii) the doctor violated the duty of care that was owed; and iii) the doctor’s violation was a direct cause of the patient’s harm.

Malpractice Involving Asthma Diagnosis or Treatment

Published on: April 13, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

If you or someone close to you has suffered harm due to malpractice relating to asthma, we can help. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice attorneys understand how to navigate these complex cases. Whether your injury was a result of a misdiagnosis or inadequate treatment, we will make every effort to help you secure the compensation you need to deal with your harm.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 18.4 million people with asthma in the United States in 2015. This means that 7.6 percent of all adults and 8.4 percent of all children in the country had the condition. Asthma is a condition in which a person’s airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus. This can hinder a person’s ability to breathe and trigger coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Shortness of breath can lead to life-threatening asthma attacks. You should know that asthma is a common inflammatory lung disease, and while it cannot be cured, it can be treated.

Unfortunately, asthma misdiagnosis or poor treatment often cause injuries to patients in New York and across the United States. An asthma misdiagnosis can happen in one of two ways: diagnosing a patient with the condition when he or she does not have it, or failing to diagnose a patient with asthma when he or she does have it. The consequences of a misdiagnosis can be very serious. Patients may undergo treatment for a condition they do not have and end up going through unnecessary treatment and needlessly suffering adverse side effects. When asthma is not properly diagnosed, the patient fails to treat the symptoms, and his or her condition could get worse.

Hip Replacement Surgery Malpractice

Published on: April 6, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

While hip replacement surgery is quite common, it does pose some risks. If you or your loved one has suffered a preventable injury during or immediately following hip replacement surgery, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice attorneys can investigate the facts of your case and determine the viability of your claim.

Hip surgery is a major surgical operation. In a hip replacement surgery, the surgeon removes most or all of the worn-out joint and replaces it with an artificial joint. The most common reason an individual would seek a hip replacement is osteoarthritis, a condition in which the cartilage in a joint breaks down or wears down. When cartilage breaks down, bones rub together, causing great pain to the patient.

Hip replacement surgery malpractice can happen in a number of ways, including a surgical error during the procedure, performing surgery without conducting a proper evaluation on a patient who did not actually need it (there are many surgical alternatives to hip replacement, such as osteotomy, which may be appropriate when full hip replacement surgery is not necessary), pain due to the use of a faulty prosthetic, dislocation of the new hip when pressure is applied because the surgeon did not place the prosthetic hip properly, or an infection resulting when surgical equipment is not sterilized properly and bacteria festers in the wound.

Failure to Diagnose Deep Vein Thrombosis in Rochester

Published on: March 28, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

Each year, over 100,000 people in the United States die due to complications associated with pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Unfortunately, many of these deaths could have been prevented. If you or someone close to you has suffered adverse health consequences due to DVT or pulmonary embolism complications, you need to contact a seasoned Rochester misdiagnosis attorney who can help. We are committed to getting you the compensation you deserve for your harm.

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep vein of the leg. It is possible for such clots to develop in the lower part of the person’s body as well as below the pelvis. While DVT can sometimes resolve on its own, DVT can be life-threatening if the blood clot dislodges and travels to the lungs – a condition known as a pulmonary embolism (PE). A pulmonary embolism can be deadly because it blocks the artery in the lung, cutting off the blood supply completely. Medical professionals can administer certain tests to show the presence of blood clots that can indicate DVT. Once DVT is detected, the main goal becomes preventing the clot from reaching the lungs and causing a pulmonary embolism.

In New York, medical malpractice occurs when a health care professional, physician, medical institution, or any other health care-associated establishment fails to provide care for a patient in accordance with the generally accepted standards, and the individual is injured or their condition or illness worsens as a result. To establish medical malpractice, you will need to successfully prove the following elements: i) you were under the care of a physician; ii) while you were receiving medical treatment, the physician failed to act as a physician in that specialty should; and iii) you were injured as a result.

Fetal Stroke Malpractice in Rochester

Published on: March 27, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

There is nothing more stressful than realizing your child suffered a birth injury that could affect the rest of his or her life. If you believe your child’s birth injury was a result of medical malpractice, you may be entitled to seek compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester birth injury lawyers can meticulously review the facts of your case and provide you with an honest assessment of your claim. We understand how to advocate for victims of medical malpractice in an effective and efficient manner.

A stroke is considered a fetal stroke when it takes place anywhere between 14 gestational weeks of age and delivery. Fetal strokes are caused by restricted blood flow in the brain, which can result in the death of brain cells and lead to permanent brain damage. The consequences of such brain damage can include cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and cognitive impairment. Fetal strokes can be classified in one of two ways:

Hemorrhagic strokes, which occur when trauma causes damage to the brain’s blood vessels; and

Recent Study Reveals That Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Face Similar Liability Risks

Published on: March 20, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

Medical malpractice claims can be very complicated. If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, you need to reach out to a skilled Rochester medical malpractice attorney without delay. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand how to handle medical malpractice claims and seek the compensation our clients deserve for their harm.

A recent report released by The Doctors Company shows that medical malpractice claims against nurse practitioner (NPs) do not significantly differ from those made against primary care doctors. With projections that NPs will represent almost one-third of the family practice workforce by 2025, the study may shed some important insights. The report was compiled by the nation’s biggest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer and is based on almost 1,500 claims filed against NPs and family medicine and internal medicine doctors from the time span of January 2011 through December 2015. The main findings of the report were as follows:

Diagnosis-related and medication-related claims were comparable for NPs and primary care doctors;

Study Says New York is the Third-Worst State for Doctors

Published on: March 13, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

If you or your loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, you may be able to seek compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice lawyers can review the merits of your case and assist you in determining your course of action. You can rest assured that our firm can guide you through the legal process in a thoughtful and compassionate manner.

A study recently released by WalletHub found that New York is the third-worst state for doctors, coming out just ahead of Rhode Island and New Jersey. The study compared states on 16 metrics, including annual salaries, starting salaries, hospitals per capita, hospital quality competition, and how much was awarded in malpractice per capita. One of the biggest setbacks for doctors working in New York is the high cost of malpractice liability insurance. In fact, New York was found to have the most expensive annual malpractice liability insurance in the United States. Exacerbating the cost of malpractice insurance is the amount that New York doctors are paid. The state came in 29^th place in the study when it comes to wages for doctors. This fact, coupled with the cost of living in New York, affects the big picture for doctors.

In New York, you may bring a medical malpractice lawsuit for an injury you suffered against a licensed health care provider based upon their negligence, misconduct, mistakes, or omissions in the rendering of medical services. Specifically, medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes injuries or death by failing to adhere to the standard of care that a reasonable medical professional in the same specialty would have used in the same or a similar situation. Some examples of medical malpractice cases include but are not limited to:

Pathology Malpractice in Rochester

Published on: March 6, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

Pathologists play a crucial role in diagnosing and treating life-threatening diseases. If you have been injured and believe that it was due to a pathologist’s error, you need to seek out a skilled Rochester pathology malpractice lawyer who can analyze your case. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we can help you understand your legal rights and come up with a legal strategy accordingly.

Pathology involves looking at tissue samples and cells in body fluids under the microscope and making a diagnosis based upon the findings. For example, it might involve examining a breast lump under the microscope at the time of surgery to figure out whether it is cancerous or not. If a pathologist misses a cancer diagnosis, the cancer can go untreated until it is too late and lead to devastating consequences for the patient. On the other hand, if a pathologist makes a cancer diagnosis when there is no cancer, the patient could go through lots of unnecessary treatment.

The Journal of the American Medical Association found that pathologists are at greater risk of malpractice lawsuits than other specialties. In addition, pathologists are far more likely to have poor outcomes when those lawsuits are litigated. Pathology mistakes can happen in a variety of ways, such as:

Needle Stick Malpractice in Rochester and Across the U.S.

Published on: February 27, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

Needle stick injuries can lead to devastating and long-term harm. If you or a loved one has been injured due to a needle stick injury, you may be eligible for compensation for your injury. After such an injury, it can be hard to know what to do next, but you can rest assured you don’t have to face the situation alone. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our experienced Rochester medical malpractice attorneys understand how to steer these types of claims and can apply our knowledge to your case. Time is of the essence in these cases, so it is important to act quickly.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 600,000 to 800,000 needle stick injuries take place in the health care industry every year. Hypodermic needles, blood collection needles, and intravenous needles often cause these injuries. It is important to note that the wound itself is hardly the problem; instead, it is the possibility of exposure to infection and illness. A needle stick can transmit blood-borne pathogens, leading to life-threatening diseases. Needle stick injuries can take place in hospitals, clinics, labs, and private practices. Victims of needle stick malpractice may suffer from a variety of conditions, including but not limited to:

Hepatitis B or C
Tuberculosis
Typhus
Herpes
Malaria
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Spotted Fever
Syphilis

Feeding Tube Errors in Rochester and Throughout New York

Published on: February 20, 2018 | By DeFrancisco & Falgiatano

When a patient is seriously ill, they may not be able to eat food. In such cases, feeding tubes may be needed to provide sustenance to the patient. If you or someone close to you has been injured due to a feeding tube error, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our skilled Rochester medical malpractice attorneys can meticulously analyze the facts of your case and help you determine your legal options.

Every day, medical instruments are used to help medical professionals in completing their jobs properly. Feeding tubes are used for patients who struggle with eating and suffer from conditions that limit their ability to chew, swallow, and digest food. Although the placement of feeding tubes is a relatively simply surgical procedure, as suggested by the Mayo Clinic, it should only be used for patients who have no other option when it comes to receiving nutrients. Patients in long-term facilities and nursing homes routinely use tube feeding as a way to feed patients. Many hospitalized patients in the United States also receive tube feeding. According to the National Center for Health Statistics’ latest figures, patients received tube feeding in approximately 245,000 hospital stays.

Feeding tube malpractice can occur in a variety of ways, including but not limited to:

Improper insertion or placement of a feeding tube;
Improper sanitation of the feeding tube;
Failure to properly clean the incision site regularly;
Medical staff not being trained to handle the feeding tube; or
Failure to monitor the tube for any changes.