Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

4 tips for using scaffolding on construction jobs

Published on: March 28, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Scaffolding, which is part of many construction jobs, comes with its own unique set of risk factors. While it has the potential to help prevent accidents and to assist in getting a job done, it also has the potential to cause falls and injuries. Construction accidents caused by scaffolding are preventable. Here are four tips for working with scaffolding on a construction job.

1. Remember your hardhat

The first tip for workers is to remember to wear a hardhat any time the scaffolding is being dismantled or erected. There are many plates, screws and other items that have the potential to fall, which could impact workers below the scaffolding’s platform. Wearing a hardhat prevents dangerous concussions and head injuries from these falling items.

Who can be held accountable for birth injuries?

Published on: March 27, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It is commonly thought that in the case of a birth injury or medical malpractice claim, only the doctor can be held accountable. In actuality, the hospital, nurses, other medical staff and even the pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable.

When it comes to birth injuries, hospitals can be held responsible for their own negligence as a corporation or vicariously liable for the negligence of their medical staff or employees. A hospital is responsible for hiring staff with the proper credentials, education, training and verification and also of providing the appropriate training to its staff. If a hospital hires an employee without looking into the employee’s credentials, education and training then it can be held liable. This is also the case where the hospital knows that an employee is not competent but allows them to perform in the hospital.

Hospitals are required to have an appropriate number of staff and nurses at all times in case of emergencies. Hospitals can also be held accountable when their medical facilities fail to protect the baby or mother from harm or is the cause of harm. It can also be held liable if tests are not properly performed, if medical records were not properly organized, or if the hospital did not allow treatment to the patient on the basis of their religion, gender, race or their ability to pay.

Determining the Guilty Party Responsible For Birth Injuries

Published on: March 24, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It is widely known that a negligent doctor ultimately takes the fall in case of a birth injury attributed to medical malpractice. In actual sense, both the hospital management and nurses can be held accountable in case complications arise during the delivery process of a newborn child.

Since the hospital management is responsible for the hiring of new staff, it is in their best interests to adhere to strict regulations regarding verified credentials, training, verification and education of new and existing employees. The absence of such prudent requirements can inexplicably lead to medical malpractice with a birth injury the worst case scenario. To aggravate the situation, certain hospitals opt to hire unqualified workers, yet they can abruptly affect the hospital’s reputation sooner rather than later. Hospitals dedicated to effective service delivery should possess adequate staff, comprising of doctors, nurses and cleaners at all times to accommodate the regular influx of patients.

In the absence of such professionals, a hospital can be sued for endangering an infant or mother during critical emergency procedures. Incomplete tests can also throw a spanner in the works by piling more charges to the guilty party. As a victim, it is irrefutable that your physical and mental wellbeing might never be the same again. Whether it’s a serious injury such as a uterine rupture, a brain injury or even a stillbirth from an expectant woman, hoping for a full recovery might seem like a daunting task, to say the least. The substantial medical expenses will be catered for by compensation upon a conclusive inquiry. Medical misdiagnosis isn’t a far-fetched idea when a negligent doctor prescribes the wrong medication courtesy of poorly organized medical records.

Who is liable for your injuries in a driverless car accident?

Published on: March 22, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Under traditional tort theory, the operator of a vehicle is the primary person responsible for the accident (unless he can overcome the presumption by implicating another party, such as a negligent mechanic). Driverless cars challenge this fundamental aspect of American tort theory and leaves this crucial question, if you are hit who is liable? How do you recover for your injuries? Are you left in legal limbo? This post will go over the answers to those questions.

The Department of Transportation recently passed regulations that holds that the computer is the “operator” of the car. That means, even if there is a human operator in a driverless car, the computer is the nominal driver. But does that mean you sue the computer? Is that even possible? No, there is no basis in law for holding a computer responsible for its actions. But it is likely that the court will apply long-standing products liability laws to driverless cars.

Essentially, the manufacturer or designer of the computer would become liable for your injuries. In this scenario, multiple parties are liable for your injuries from the software designers, to the hardware manufacturer and even retailers. While this may sound like a boon to plaintiffs, it also imposes steep challenges. Products liability cases are far more difficult to prove than standard car accident negligence cases.

Cognitive issues associated with brain injury

Published on: March 21, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

If you are in an accident in New York or otherwise suffer a serious blow to the head, you or your physicians may be concerned with whether you also suffered a traumatic brain injury. TBIs are frequently linked to cognitive problems, and these problems can be relatively minor in nature and improve over time, or they might be far more serious, and leave you with permanent medical issues that require considerable long-term care. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, we understand the devastating effects of TBIs, and we have assisted many brain injury sufferers who have developed limitations as a result of their injuries.

Among the cognitive issues you may experience following your brain injury is trouble communicating your feelings, needs and wants. Many who suffer a serious blow to the head find that they struggle to communicate in the manner in which they are accustomed. It is also common to have trouble formulating sentences, expressing thoughts and interpreting the communications of others.

As a TBI sufferer, you may also find that your memory and ability to concentrate also take hits. It is common to have trouble staying focused on lengthy conversations or finishing tasks after they are started, and you may also find that your attention is easily pulled in several different directions at once. This inability to fully concentrate can also make it harder for you to process information as you typically would, which may make it hard for you to keep up with conversations, television show plots, material you read and so on.

The many causes of commercial construction worker injuries

Published on: March 15, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Are you employed as a commercial construction worker? Do you enjoy your job? Do you also realize that you could be injured at any point?

As a commercial construction worker, it’s a must that you do whatever you can to avoid trouble on the job. You should also expect your employer to take steps to prevent an accident.

There are many causes of commercial construction worker injuries, including but not limited to the following;

Coping with a spinal cord injury

Published on: March 13, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

An accident that results in a spinal injury is often a life-changing event. The change from being a healthy and active adult to suddenly having a disability can leave a person scared, confused and depressed. Regaining a semblance of normalcy is a very difficult process that can take months or years of therapies. This type of injury does not mean that you can no longer have a happy and fulfilling life. Coping with a spinal injury requires motivation and support.

If another person’s negligence has resulted in a spinal cord injury for you or someone you love, it is important to remember that you have options. An experienced Syracuse injury attorney can help you on the road to recovery after your accident. Here are some tips on coping with a spinal cord injury.

Mourning and grief

What constitutes hospital negligence?

Published on: March 10, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Many people experience medical malpractice each year, in a number of forms. In 2012, there were $3.6 billion dollars in payout for medical malpractice suits. You or a loved one may have recently been at a hospital and found that your stay wasn?t as peachy as you hoped, leading to questions: What is hospital negligence? What is the hospital liable for? Can I sue? Should I sue?

Cases in which the patient is injured are known as “Vicarious Liability.” Hospitals are public and private corporations and can always be held to the same standard as other entities in that classification. You may have heard horror stories of some types of hospital negligence. Situations such as a tool being left in the body after surgery, a slip and fall on the premises (yes, the hospital is liable!), not having a nurse available to take care of you – all of these are considered hospital negligence.

Let?s run through an example of vicarious liability. You go in for an emergency appendectomy, get checked in, and taken in for surgery. You wake up, and there is no nurse on call. Weeks later, after going through an airport metal detector, you discover a small surgical instrument was left in your stomach. Not only is the hospital vicariously liable for the surgical instrument, but if you are able to prove that there was no nurse available, they are additionally liable for that.

Upper spine injured in an accident? Prepare for major setbacks

Published on: March 7, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Maybe you were in a car accident, or maybe you fell from a ladder on a construction site. Perhaps your injury occurred incrementally through months or years of repetitive lifting and carrying, and one day you had to pick up something at work and you felt something change suddenly in your upper spine.

There are many ways that your upper spinal injury might occur, but one thing is certain – unless you are very, very fortunate, your life may have changed forever.

If you suffered a spinal cord injury affecting your high-cervical nerves, specifically within you C1 through C4 vertebrae, you may lose partial or complete functionality of many areas of your body. To make matters worse, these losses may be indefinite.

Common forms of defense against medical malpractice claims

Published on: March 6, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Doctors are meant to relieve us of pain and illness not to cause further damage because of negligence. So, it follows that if they do so then they should be held accountable. However, if decent hard working doctors who have done no harm are accused of medical malpractice then they should not suffer. To protect the doctors and medical professionals there are several defenses available that can be used in court.

Standard negligence defenses. General defenses used against negligence claims can also be used for medical malpractice claims because medical malpractice also comes under the category of negligence.
Contributory negligence. In most cases, the blame lies with multiple parties in the case of an injury, not just the doctor or medical professional. If the accused can provide evidence for the contributory negligence of others then they very well may have a concrete defense against a malpractice claim.
Respectable Minority Principle. In certain cases where general or mainstream forms of treatment are ineffective or not an option, the doctor or medical professional may opt for a radical form of treatment that may be new, risky and rarely used. If a respectable minority of medical professionals back this form of healing, it could be used as a defense.
Good Samaritan laws. Many states have what are called “Good Samaritan” laws, which protect citizens and even medical professionals who help someone in an emergency situation.

Medical malpractice claims can be extremely complex and trying, so it may be a good idea to contact an experienced attorney near you.