Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

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.

Defining wrongful death and its elements

Published on: February 17, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

If a baby dies due to the negligence or misconduct of another person, then they may be held responsible by the family through a wrongful death lawsuit. The family is unable to recover their lost child, but they can attempt to recover compensation from the accused in the form of damages.

A wrongful death lawsuit can only be made by the family of the deceased. A wrongful death lawsuit can come about due to a variety of scenarios. Common scenarios that can lead to this lawsuit include:

Death caused by the negligence and or malpractice of medical staff. If the nurses failed to pay attention during birth and their negligence resulted in the baby dying or if the doctor failed to perform a C-section properly.
Dangerous or hazardous working conditions. If a medical institution has unsanitary facilities and equipment and the baby dies due to infection then the hospital and staff may be held responsible.
If the death occurred due to the crimes of a person, even if he wasn’t trying to cause harm to the deceased, he may be held responsible. For example, a nurse stole medical supplies which resulted in a shortage at the hospital which contributed to complications in birth and the baby’s death.
An effective wrongful death lawsuit needs to have the following elements:
A person must lose their life due to the circumstances involved. A wrongful death lawsuit, of course, cannot take place if no life was lost.
The death must be a result of the misconduct, negligence or negative aims of the accused.
There must be surviving family of the deceased for a wrongful death lawsuit to take place, as only family members can file the lawsuit.
A personal representative must be appointed by the court to handle the distribution of the property and assets of the deceased.

If a family member or loved one died, and you believe the death was due to negligence or misconduct, then you may have a right to file a claim. In such a case, to help ensure you get the best representation and the best outcome, it would be wise to contact an experienced attorney near you.

Proving negligence in a brachial palsy injury case

Published on: February 15, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Brachial palsy is a type of birth injury that occurs in the brachial plexus and occurs twice for every thousand births. The brachial plexus is a concentration of nerves that connect the arms and hands to the spinal cord. Brachial palsy or Erb’s palsy as it’s commonly referred to occurs when too much force is applied to the head and neck region while the baby is being delivered. This most often happens to large babies when medical personnel is overzealous with their use of suction equipment or gripping tools when delivering the baby.

When too much force is applied to the neck and shoulder region while pulling the baby out, the little body can’t handle it and nerves in the brachial plexus rupture thus causing nerve damage. This can cause serious long term damage ranging from loss of sensation in the hands to paralysis of the whole arm. An indicator of brachial palsy is that the baby will normally not move the affected arm and keep it tucked in beside the body.

Any injuries relating to brachial palsy or complications are generally a product of negligence on the part of the physician or medical personnel who delivered the baby. The negligence can come in various forms:

Dealing with hospital and medical malpractice

Published on: February 13, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Anyone responsible for your health care can be slapped with a medical malpractice and negligence suit. But it is important to understand that proving fault in these cases is the most crucial aspect. Although doctors generally face malpractice cases, hospitals and pharmaceutical firms might also face this challenge. Going through medical treatment is difficult in itself, without the added worry of medical malpractice. If you feel that you did not receive the medical attention required, you have the right to sue the facility.

If you feel the hospital neglected your medical needs, it can be held liable for any injuries caused. Although the medical staff is part of the hospital and can be sued individually, suing the hospital means that there was some sort of corporate negligence involved. For example, if an incompetent health care professional causes further harm to the patient, the hospital can be held responsible for hiring the incompetent professional.

Large pharmaceutical companies may also be the target of your malpractice lawsuit if their drug caused injuries or death. But it is essential to know that you may only sue the company if they did not warn users about possible side effects. The pharmaceutical company is liable to the doctor, who is a learned intermediary between them and the patient. But if the drug is prescribed under correct circumstances and leads to injuries, you may sue the pharmaceutical company.

Bring a claim against your doctor for misdiagnosis

Published on: February 10, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Doctors find themselves in a unique position in our society. Any person with any sort of medial issue consults a doctor to find the solution to the problem. The level of trust and responsibility placed on the shoulders of a doctor requires him to conform to a certain standard of care and diligence. However, doctors, like the rest of us, are at the end of the day merely humans and are bound to make erroneous judgments.

If a patient has been wrongly diagnosed or has not been diagnosed in a timely manner, the patient may suffer harm or injury due to the delay or misdiagnosis. This, in turn, may lead to the doctor being held negligent. Generally, doctors provide a list of probable causes of the illness, and this is known as a “differential diagnosis.” The standard of care is a key factor in assessing malpractice. If the doctor did not conform to the standards expected of a reasonable, prudent doctor while giving out the diagnosis, then a doctor may be held liable for malpractice. However, proving malpractice for misdiagnosis is not easy. If a doctor does not diagnose a patient with a particular illness, and that illness later develops in the patient, it will be hard to hold the doctor liable in such a circumstance.

A doctor may also be held liable where he treats a patient for an illness the patient is not actually suffering from, resulting in harm. Furthermore, doctors may also be held liable for malpractice where they completely dismiss the probability of a patient suffering from an illness, which he, in fact, suffers from.

Be cautious when mixing medications

Published on: February 7, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Most drug interactions are easy to anticipate, especially when your doctor has an up-to-date list of your current medications. Patients are required to fill out certain medical forms, answer health questions and list current medications they’re taking whenever they see a doctor. Depending on how often you visit the doctor or how many doctors you see, it’s possible you have a lot of experience with these practices.

These forms are an important part of your visit so be very thorough when filling them out. Before your appointment, make a list of any and all pills you take (prescribed and over-the-counter).

Should dietary supplements be included in that list?

Could cancer startup reduce delayed-diagnosis claims?

Published on: January 12, 2017 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

A former Google executive has launching a startup with a personal agenda. After losing his wife to colon cancer, Jeff Huber hopes his new startup, Grail, can develop a test that will detect cancer early. He hopes to prevent more late diagnoses, like his wife’s, that can make cancer more difficult to treat.

The startup is looking to raise $1 billion in venture capital to develop a test that can detect any of the main types of cancer, Forbes reported recently.

If the venture is successful, it could potentially save or extend lives. And the promise of making it easier to detect cancer early on could possibly help prevent a certain type of malpractice claim: delayed diagnosis.