Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

Improper treatment of a patient can lead to devastating consequences. If you or a loved one was injured due to improper treatment, our skilled Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can help. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we can perform an initial evaluation of your claim to determine whether your doctor, nurse, or other medical professional committed malpractice. With extensive experience, we have the knowledge base and resources needed to handle even the most complex malpractice cases.

A 2013 study published in the Journal of Patient Safety found that up to 444,000 patients die each year because of medical mistakes. This makes medical mistakes the third-leading cause of death in the country after heart disease and cancer. One type of medical error that can lead to serious patient injuries is improper treatment.

Improper medical treatment takes place when a patient receives treatment that is not sufficient to remedy their medical condition. An improper treatment claim typically involves other malpractice issues as well, including but not limited to failure to diagnose, failure to communicate test results, communication errors between doctors and nurses, and even medication errors. For example, improper treatment can stem from the wrong diagnosis.

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Kidney stones are said to be among the most painful conditions a human being can experience. When you are suffering from kidney stones, you want competent care and relief. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. If you or someone close to you has suffered complications due to a physician’s negligent diagnosis or treatment of kidney stones, you may be entitled to recover compensation through a medical malpractice claim. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can provide you with the guidance you need to file a malpractice claim.

Kidney stones are small, hard pebbles formed in the kidneys from minerals and acid salts. They can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl. Kidney stones pass through the urinary tract, from the kidneys to the bladder. Before passing them through urination, patients offer suffer extreme pain in the back, side, abdomen, or groin. According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than half a million people go to emergency rooms for kidney stone problems every year. In fact, the prevalence of kidney stones in the United States has increased in both men and women from 3.8 percent in the late 1970s to 8.8 percent in the 2000s.

When a doctor or other medical professional fails to diagnose kidney stones or uses unnecessary means to diagnose kidney stones, the risk of harm to the patient significantly increases. Typically, the diagnosis of a kidney stone starts with a medical history, physical examination, and imaging tests. The doctor will then decide how to treat your stone based on the size and location of it.

If you believe your liver disease became worse or accelerated due to medical malpractice, you need to reach out to a seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice attorney without delay. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand how challenging life can be with a liver disease. Our experienced team can guide you through the legal process of pursuing compensation for your medical injuries. You can rest assured that we can be your trusted legal advocates at every step of the way.

The term ‘liver disease’ applies to diseases and disorders that cause the liver to function improperly or stop functioning altogether. Irregular results of liver tests often suggest liver disease. Common liver diseases include:

• Liver cirrhosis:  this condition is a result of chronic liver disease that results in scarring of the liver and liver dysfunction. There is impairment of the blood flow through the liver that leads to excess fluid in the abdomen.

Sadly, medical malpractice can lead to serious and long-term harm for a patient. If you have been injured or harmed by a medical professional’s mistake, carelessness, or wrongdoing, you may be able to recover compensation through a medical malpractice claim. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can scrutinize the circumstances surrounding your injury and determine whether malpractice took place.

According to a recent report released by Diederich Health Care, entitled “2018 Medical Malpractice Payout Analysis,” New York topped the list for the most medical malpractice lawsuits in the country and in the Northeast with a total of approximately $617,973,000 in payouts. Second place in the Northeast is held by Pennsylvania with $342,093,300 in payouts, and New Jersey is at third place with $267,913,250 in payouts.

Examining the per capita cost in the case of New York, the numbers translate to approximately $32 per person for each resident of the state. The lowest per capita rate was Wisconsin, with about $2.33 for each resident of the state – a stark difference.

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Losing a loved one to suicide is a tragedy no one should have to face. The sad reality is that, in many cases, medical professionals could have prevented the suicide. If your loved one took his or her own life, and you believe a medical professional’s error or incompetence played a role in the suicide, you need to reach out to a diligent Syracuse psychiatric malpractice attorney without delay. While nothing can bring your loved one back, we can help you seek the justice and compensation you deserve to move on with your life.

Unfortunately, suicide is one of the leading causes of death among individuals under the age of 35 in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), suicide was the tenth-leading cause of death for all ages in 2013. CDC data reveals that males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate of females and represent 77 percent of all suicides. The sad reality is that, many times, suicide could be prevented. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that over 90 percent of Americans who die by suicide suffer from a treatable mental illness or substance disorder. Almost all suicides involve persons with a history of mental illness. In many cases, the person has attempted suicide before.

Suicide can take place in a variety of medical settings, ranging from an inpatient psychiatric facility to a hospital. Medical malpractice occurs in suicide cases when a medical professional, most likely a psychiatrist, fails to recognize that a patient presents an imminent risk of harm and fails to provide treatment accordingly. Put another way, malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes harm to a patient by failing to use the level of care and caution that a reasonably prudent medical professional in the same specialty would have used under the same circumstances. Establishing malpractice can be complex, but we understand what needs to be shown in order to win these cases.

A failure to diagnose kidney disease in its early stages can have devastating consequences for a patient. In fact, it can lead to kidney failure requiring dialysis. If you or someone close to you has been harmed by a missed or delayed kidney disease diagnosis, we can help. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our diligent and reliable Syracuse misdiagnosis attorneys can meticulously analyze the facts of your case and pursue the appropriate compensation on your behalf.

In many cases, advanced kidney failure is preventable or treatable if it is properly diagnosed. Kidney disease can be difficult to identify, since it can be largely asymptomatic in the early stages. However, medical professionals are trained to recognize signs and symptoms of potential kidney disease and should be vigilant when doing their job. For example, protein in a person’s urine would signal a potential kidney issue. If your doctor notices this, he or she should refer you to a kidney specialist, known as a nephrologist. A nephrologist can identify the specific kidney disease a patient has and come up with a precise treatment plan.

If a kidney problem is not caught in a timely manner, it can become chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD is the loss of kidney function over time. When the body can no longer remove waste and excess fluids from the blood through urine, the body can retain poisons that can be extremely harmful. This is the stage at which people start to need kidney dialysis, which is the process of manually filtering waste and toxins from the body.

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Plastic surgery is more popular than ever with millions of cosmetic procedures taking place every year. All surgery has risks, and plastic surgery is no exception. However, in some cases, things go horribly wrong, and the patient can suffer a serious injury. If you or someone close to you has been harmed due to the negligence of a plastic surgeon, it is important to reach out to a skilled Syracuse plastic surgery malpractice attorney who can assess the merits of your case. With years of experience, we understand how to navigate these types of claims.

Plastic surgery is reconstructive surgery that focuses on repairing damage or defects related to the face and body. Cosmetic surgery is a subset of plastic surgery. It is typically elective and is done to improve a person’s appearance. According to data released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ annual plastic surgery procedural statistics, there were 15.9 million surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2015, a 2 percent increase from the prior year. Some common examples of cosmetic surgery include:

• Liposuction;