Losing your vision or suffering other serious eye problems can be devastating. Often we have our relationship to the world based on what we see of it, so there can be serious emotional consequences to a loss of sight. If you have suffered harm due to medical negligence by an eye doctor, a compassionate Syracuse medical malpractice attorney can help you seek damages. Often these losses can be significant, involving both medical bills and lost wages, as well as emotional anguish over any permanent damage to the eyes. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, we represent clients harmed by ophthalmology malpractice.
Ophthalmology MalpracticeOphthalmology is a medical field that involves diseases and medical conditions of the eye. Ophthalmologists must complete four years of residency after graduation, and in some cases, they specialize in certain parts of the eye like the cornea or retina, or particular eye diseases like cataracts. A loss of vision or impaired vision can be a profound injury. Sometimes it’s necessary to go through other treatment to fix the impairment or blindness caused by an ophthalmologist. These could include prescription drugs or surgery.
There are different ways in which ophthalmology malpractice can occur. It could be the result of a failure to diagnose or a delay in diagnosis of an eye condition. The delay could result in irreversible damage leading to partial or total vision loss, or a need to go through more procedures that wouldn’t have been needed if a disease were timely diagnosed. Sometimes a diagnosis is made in a timely way, but treatment is delayed. In that case, the eye condition may worsen and all of your sight may be lost. There are some situations in which an ophthalmologist doesn’t have the knowledge to know what to do and should consult a qualified expert and doesn’t. For example, it may be vital for an ophthalmologist to consult a retinal, corneal, or surgical subspecialist rather than make a diagnosis. Equally, all of these subspecialists should bring in another subspecialist if it turns out that the patient’s problem isn’t within the subspecialist’s area.
Often ophthalmologist malpractice involves mistakes made during eye surgery such as errors in LASIK surgery or cataract surgery. If an ophthalmologist prescribes incorrect medication or gives it in the wrong dose, the result may be painful side effects or a worsening of an underlying medical condition.
LiabilityTo establish medical malpractice, you’ll need to prove: (1) the ophthalmologist owed you a professional duty of care, (3) the ophthalmologist failed to meet the professional duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. Establishing failure to meet the professional duty of care requires you to retain an expert in ophthalmology to review your medical records. The professional duty of care is the degree of care a competent, reasonably prudent ophthalmologist would use under similar circumstances. It will also be necessary to show the failure to meet the professional duty of care caused the harm at issue. A seasoned medical negligence attorney can evaluate whether the facts of your case may meet the elements of a medical malpractice claim.
Sometimes blindness or eye damage is the result of a primary care doctor failing to recognize when to refer a patient to an ophthalmologist so that treatment or surgery can be performed. If you were harmed as a result of a failure to refer, you could potentially sue the primary care doctor.
DamagesYou can recover compensatory damages for ophthalmologist malpractice. These can include both economic and noneconomic losses, such as medical bills, lost income, medical equipment, rehabilitation, replacement services, and pain and suffering.
Speak With a Medical Malpractice Attorney in SyracuseIf you were harmed as a result of ophthalmologist malpractice in Syracuse, the lawyers at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to help. We represent patients and their families who have suffered harm due to ophthalmologist malpractice in Syracuse, as well as Rochester, Lowville, Oswego, Oneida, Watertown, Utica, Wampsville, Canandaigua, Herkimer, Binghamton, Auburn, Lyons, Cooperstown, and Elmira. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.