Eye infections can be extremely serious. If you or someone close to you has suffered harm due to a missed or delayed diagnosis of an eye infection such as keratitis, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our skilled Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can examine the facts of your case and help you determine your legal rights and options.
Keratitis is an infection of the cornea that causes pain and inflammation. It may be mild, moderate, or severe. Keratitis occurs when germs invade the cornea, which is the clear dome that covers the color portion of the eye. Eye doctors are trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of keratitis, such as pain, tearing, redness, and blurring of vision. The patient may indicate that the eye hurts when they look at light. In addition, the eye may appear red and watery. In serious cases, the cornea may appear gray or have a grayish tinge. Keratitis can be classified in one of five ways: viral, bacterial, fungal, amoebic, or parasitic.
When patients seek medical attention in a timely manner, an eye doctor can easily treat most complications of keratitis. If a medical professional fails to diagnose and treat the condition in a prompt manner, however, the results can be devastating to the patient, and the patient may experience an outcome such as limited vision, perforation of the cornea, long-term vision loss, or the loss of an eye.
If you have sustained an eye injury because of an ophthalmologist’s mistake, you can likely recover compensation through a medical malpractice claim. Medical malpractice takes place when an ophthalmologist fails to use the level of care that a reasonably competent ophthalmologist would have used under the same or similar circumstances, thereby causing injuries to the patient. Thus, the level of care will vary in each case, based on the specifics of that case.
When eye doctors make mistakes, the patient may suffer more pain and have to undergo additional treatment. Money is lost due to medical bills, and even more is lost due to missed time at work. Of course, this does not even take into account the emotional toll and stress that an eye injury can have on a person’s life. Due to the high burden a doctor’s error can place on an individual, New York law allows victims of medical malpractice to recover damages for their losses. Typically, a person can recover for medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, pain and suffering, disability, and any other losses connected to the injury.
If you or a loved one suffered a preventable injury due to negligent diagnosis or treatment of keratitis or any other eye infection, we can help. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our trustworthy Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can advocate for your rights at every step of the way. We strongly believe in holding negligent medical professionals accountable for the harm that they cause. For more information, call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us online.
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