Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Man declared dead while still showing signs of life

Published on: November 3, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

When our loved one is in a life-or-death situation, we tend to put our trust in medical professionals without hesitation in hopes that our loved one will be saved. Even with this trust, many individuals will stay vigilant to make sure that no errors are made when it comes to the health of someone they love. But what happens if you notice an error and a medical professional refuses to hear your concern? That’s exactly what happened to a New York woman last year.

The woman’s husband ended up at DeGraff Memorial Hospital after having a heart attack. About 30 minutes after the man arrived, the doctor removed him off life support and declared him dead. What happened next is truly something out of a horrible nightmare. The wife says she noticed signs that her husband was still alive. She told The Buffalo News that her husband “turned his eyes” and looked at her. When she told the doctor that her husband was still alive, the doctor brushed it off as “life expelling out of his body.”

Sometime later the coroner arrived and saw signs of life as well. He told the doctor who again brushed it off as a bodily reaction to drugs. The coroner refused to take the body until the signs of life stopped showing. Finally, almost three hours after declaring him dead, the doctor came back to check on the patient. At that point he realized that the man was alive. According to the man’s wife, he was actually “thrashing around on the gurney. “ Unfortunately, the man died the next morning after being transferred to Buffalo General Medical Center.

Man in critical condition after 11-car accident on I-81

Published on: October 30, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

One moment you are on the road on your way to work and the next you are involved in a complicated car accident. No one wishes to be part of this scenario, but many people unfortunately experience it at some point in their life. When it does happen, the best case outcome would be a light fender-bender with no injuries. That was not the case in a recent accident in Syracuse.

The accident happened last week on southbound Interstate 81 just before 6 a.m. Police report that 11 cars were involved in the accident. The whole ordeal apparently started with a taxi cab. The accident happened near the Interstate 690 split. The roads were apparently covered with ice.

Oftentimes these kinds of pileups involve a lot of fender-benders at most, but in this case one man was critically injured. The man was apparently pinned under a vehicle when responders arrived. It’s unclear as to why the man was outside his car on the interstate. The man apparently suffered a serious head injury and was taken to Upstate University Hospital.

Surgical errors may lead to complications in bariatric surgery

Published on: October 29, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Many surgeries performed across the country are truly lifesaving. One type of surgery that has helped many people in New York is known as bariatric surgery. This type of surgery, commonly known as weight loss surgery, helps a person lose weight and regain their health. Probably the most well-known of these surgeries is the gastric bypass, although there are quite a few others such as the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, the duodenal switch, and the sleeve gastrectomy. Some of these surgeries are purely restrictive, meaning the surgery physically limits the amount of food a person can eat, while others use malabsorption in order to lessen the amount of nutrients and calories that are absorbed by the body.

Although the benefits of these surgeries are plentiful, especially when you consider the risks associated with staying morbidly obese, the surgeries definitely have their share of risks as well. As is the case with many major surgeries, a patient could experience s such as blood clots, infections, excessive bleeding or leaks. In the worst case scenario, a patient may pass away due to these complications.

Bariatric surgeries also have a handful of long-term complications such as hernias, bowel obstructions, ulcers and stomach perforation. Because of these types of short-term and long-term complications, it’s vital that the surgeon is well-trained and understands the possible risks each patient may face. If a surgeon and his or her staff members fail to properly assess a patient before, during or after surgery, complications may occur. If a surgical error caused a complication for a bariatric patient, it may be wise to examine the possibility of filing a lawsuit in order to cover any expenses incurred.

Help your child live a better life after a birth injury

Published on: October 28, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

When a woman finds out she is pregnant after trying to conceive, it is oftentimes a very joyous time. This moment is followed by months of ultrasounds, preparation, announcements, and baby showers. Many couples do their research to find the best medical professionals to help them during the process and prepare them for the birth. When the day to give birth comes, they rely on that medical professional in hopes of having a safe laboring process and delivering a healthy baby.

For many mothers, this important day goes smoothly. Unfortunately, for others, that excitement can quickly turn to devastation. Complications during the delivery process can result in birth injuries to both the mother and child. The cost of medical care after a serious birth injury has happened to a newborn can cost more than $1 million in his or her lifetime. This cost can get even more burdensome if additional expenses are added and if parents end up dealing with a loss of income as they turn their attention and time to their child’s recovery.

Dealing with a birth injury can be extremely stressful and challenging, leaving parents feeling helpless. As the bills pile up, it can feel like there is nowhere to turn. Although some parents may be hesitant to file a lawsuit against their medical professional, it’s important to remember that a lawsuit is not a tool of punishment, but a tool to help your child live the best life he or she can. The funds you may receive could help pay for specialized medical services throughout the child’s lifetime.

Legislative focus: crash prevention, recalls and clean air

Published on: October 23, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

National legislators have long been trying to get car manufacturers to produce vehicles that are more environmentally friendly and that better protect their drivers and passengers, respectively.

At first blush, that might reasonably seem to be a bifurcated focus, with those topic areas not having any readily perceivable overlap.

Congressional members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee have come up with an interesting twist, though, that has somehow managed to tie those two concerns together, while at the same time seeking to entice car makers to act through employment of a carrot-rather-than-stick approach.

Defective products: a persistent threat to New York consumers

Published on: October 23, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It hardly seems unreasonable to argue that a consumer in New York or anywhere else in the United States has the right to use purchased products in a confident manner.

Put another way: They shouldn’t explode, ignite, fail to engage as promised, collapse, start or shut off unexpectedly, or otherwise operate in a manner that injures their user.

There are state and federal laws that address such problems, and their origins are grounded in the sad reality that consumers flatly need to be legally protected against products that are negligently designed or manufactured, or that fail to adequately warn against dangers when used in certain ways.

Development in long-discussed cancer-screening guideline

Published on: October 22, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Some? None? More?

When it comes to breast cancer screening for women in New York and across the United States, the accepted guideline seems, well, anything but accepted.

In fact, discussion simply seems to lead to more questions.

Could a distracted driving ticket help in your accident claim?

Published on: October 22, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It is only a matter of time before the New York State Police conducts its fall ticketing campaign for distracted driving. State troopers are aimed to remind people of how dangerous distracted driving can be and why it is illegal. Drivers can expect police in marked and unmarked cars to be on the streets throughout central New York to catch people in the act of using their cell phones while behind the wheel.

Authorities report that last year, more than 550 tickets were issued to drivers who were on their phones when they should not have been. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that more than 3,000 people were killed and 424,000 were injured in distracted driving accidents.

While drivers may be concerned about being ticketed, those who have been in accidents may not have much sympathy. In fact, a Long Island woman was recently hit by a car and killed by a person suspected to be on their phone when the accident happened. Because of this, people who have been injured in distracted driving accidents should look to see whether the offending driver had been ticketed for distracted driving due to the accident or even before the crash occurred.

New York birth injury focus: shoulder dystocia

Published on: October 22, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Few things could possibly be more frightening for any involved person or family member to contemplate than something going wrong in an operating room.

And when babies are the focal point in any matter involving substandard care, concern ratchets up to an unfathomable degree.

Intuitively, we all know that. It is just a given. As we note on our Syracuse Birth Injury page at the New York personal injury law firm of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, “few things are as devastating to families as birth injuries.”

Risks contributing to truck accidents: yes, there are many

Published on: October 21, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

We note on our legal website the often devastating consequences that ensue for New York drivers and occupants in passenger vehicles when they become involved in crashes or collisions featuring large commercial trucks.

In fact, we cite the obvious regarding big rigs on the Syracuse Truck Accident page at the personal injury law firm of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, noting that, given their unrivaled size and weight, “they can readily mow over, crush or crumple a two-ton car.”

That is flatly scary. Moreover, the prospect of such accident outcomes might readily conjure up in the minds of drivers in passenger cars and trucks other factors that increase the accident odds for 18-wheel rigs and other highway behemoths.