Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Spring is back, and so are motorcycles

Published on: April 14, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Spring is officially back in Central New York. Even though the “official” change to spring occurred in late March, spring isn’t emotionally back for New Yorkers until the snow melts and there are consistent 60 degree days.

Another sign that spring is in the air is the return of motorcycles. For those who want to save gas, enjoy the freedom of having the wind in one’s hair, and the versatility of finding parking spaces, there’s nothing like riding a motorcycle.

Unfortunately, riding has its downsides. While there are many more car accidents in New York, motorcycle accidents tend to be crueler on riders. After all, drivers in cars can be assured that they will be protected by a steel cage, even though the force of the accident tends to be harsher. Conversely, motorcycle riders are particularly vulnerable as the only things between them and the asphalt are their clothing and their helmets.

How you can suffer a spinal cord injury

Published on: April 13, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

The great thing about innovation in the medical field is that it brings us closer to cures to illnesses and injuries that were once thought to be death sentences, or permanent lifestyle changes. Innovations to nerve damage (specifically, spinal cord injuries) are part of this. However, innovation comes slowly, and spinal cord injuries still may have a significant effect on a person’s strength, sensation and function of many body parts.

Because of this, spinal cord injuries must be treated with extreme care. Moreover, actions that can cause such injuries must be avoided at all costs. This post will highlight some of the common ways that a person can suffer such an injury.

Auto accidents – According to the Mayo Clininc, more traumatic spinal cord injuries are suffered in car accidents, compared to other maladies. Particularly dangerous accidents are rollover crashes, because of how passengers’ heads and necks can be compromised when the car lands on its roof.

Can a birth injury lead to a medical malpractice case?

Published on: April 12, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

The birth of a child can be described as a medical marvel. Being born alive after being nurtured in a mother’s womb just doesn’t happen without some monitoring and careful handling; especially considering all the things that can go wrong during a birth.

Because of these possibilities, many hospitals have established protocols that doctors, nurses and hospital staff must follow so that abnormalities do not turn into tragedies. Also, from a legal standpoint, there is a duty to use reasonable care when overseeing a pregnancy, as well as a birth. Essentially, physicians and medical staff must use such care in administering tests, monitoring the baby for signs of distress, and acting properly when trouble comes about.

Of course, there may be limited times where it is okay to deviate from established protocol. Life doesn’t always allow for rules to be followed when split second decisions must be made. Nevertheless, failing to follow protocol out of negligence (or ignorance) is not acceptable. In these sensitive situations, failing to use reasonable care can create complications that can result in lifelong consequences.

Why moving violations can lead to negligence claims

Published on: April 11, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In a previous post, we highlighted how potholes and poorly maintained streets can lead to accidents and how injured drivers can be compensated. However, drivers have to deal with more than just potholes on a daily basis. There are distracted drivers, drunk drivers and even aggressive drivers on the road every day.

If you involved in a crash, proving fault is essential to receiving compensation. This means that you have to show that the other driver failed to use reasonable care in operating their vehicle, and that such a failure was the proximate cause of the accident that caused your injuries. One of the easiest ways to prove fault is by showing that the other driver disobeyed a traffic law.

There are a number of moving violations that can give rise to a negligence claim, including:

10 questions to help determine if a birth injury occurred

Published on: April 10, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Parents in Syracuse start protecting their children from the moment they learn of a pregnancy. Many books are published on the subject of “keeping your child safe,” but these books cannot answer every question parents have or help them handle labor on their own. They simply have to rely on medical professionals.

Physicians study for years before they can properly instruct patients, diagnose potential issues and deliver a child. Even after all of this training, some will make mistakes that lead to birth injuries. Some injuries are obvious. Some of them are also easy to overlook, but they could still cause serious developmental disabilities and complications in the future.

How is a new parent, without years of training, supposed to know if a birth injury occurred? Birth Injury Guide is an organization that helps parents answer questions about birth injuries, and this group has enumerated a few things to watch out for in the first 12 months that could be an indication of a birth injury.

Survey shows that doctors order unnecessary tests

Published on: April 9, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In our last post, we highlighted the potential for better patient care if safe harbor provisions were followed and allowed to be incorporated into useful legislation. One of the notions behind safe harbors was that doctors commonly ordered tests that were not necessary or were created out of fear of future medical malpractice lawsuits.

A recent medicalnewstoday.com report supported this notion. According to researchers who surveyed emergency room physicians, a majority of doctors in this area do indeed order unnecessary tests. One physician interviewed explained that doctors feel as if they have a tremendous pressure not to be wrong when making diagnoses; thus leading to non-medical reasons for diagnostic tests.

In fact, more than 80 percent of doctors surveyed believe that their departments require too many tests, and nearly all doctors indicated that “medically unnecessary” radiology tests ordered would not be performed but for department regulations. Moreover, the tests are not based on doctors not being able to discover the cause of an ailment. Rather, it is the fear of medical malpractice suits that drives the culture of over-testing.

Family of four sickened while on vacation

Published on: April 8, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

When you go on vacation, you expect the best with your room. It should be immaculate, have a great view and be free of any harmful or threatening elements. For a family of four from the greater Philadelphia area, this should have been the case as they traveled to a resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Unfortunately, after spending one night in the condo that they had rented, each member in the family had been seriously sickened. In fact, both boys experienced seizures. According to an ABC News.com report, the condo below them had been sprayed with a toxic pesticide(methyl bromide) the day they arrived. Apparently the residue emanating from the pesticide seeped into the second-floor condo and poisoned them.

Paramedics responded and airlifted the boys to a hospital in Philadelphia, while the parents were taken to a Delaware hospital. Pest abatement company Termanix was responsible for spraying the condo below the family.

Could safe harbor provisions improve patient care?

Published on: April 7, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

After decades of changes and law changes in a majority of states, it appears that medical malpractice reform is still a controversial topic. Indeed, physicians (and insurers) are afraid of multi-million dollar malpractice awards, and the way medicine is practiced (with defensive medicine) is indicative of this. With that said, wouldn’t it be worth taking a chance on another form of reform?

In a prior post we discussed the prospect of safe harbors, which essentially are ways for physicians to correct potential wrongs, or give additional recommendations to correct them, without the fear of admitting to facts that would give rise to a medical malpractice suit. The prospect is important because it may improve patient care. After all, the goal of such rules would be to protect doctors from frivolous lawsuits. With this fear effectively abated, doctors are likely to focus on real health issues, instead of testing to rule out things out of fear of a lawsuit down the road based on a missed diagnosis.

Ironically, according to a study conducted in Oregon where researchers reviewed cases to determine if safe harbor rules would help doctors, it turns out that they probably would work against them. Only a handful of cases would have been decided differently, according to a recent Forbes article. However, the researchers found that patient care would have been improved since the safe harbor rules would protect doctors who follow specific care guidelines.

Minimum trucking insurance requirements could be raised

Published on: April 4, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In a number of our posts, we have highlighted the danger that semi-truck pose to motorists on the road. Since trucks are considerably larger than passenger vehicles, the chances of people in passenger cars being injured is quite high. Meanwhile, truckers are commonly not injured in these crashes.

Because of the high degree of liability, commercial truckers are required to carry at least $750,000 in liability insurance. With the rash of trucking accidents being seen over the last few years, it appears that legislators are poised to raise the minimum insurance requirement to $1 million. This has truckers up in arms.

According to insurer Prime Property & Casualty Insurance, the change is not necessary given that so few accident claims exceed $1 million. The company reports that of the 87,000 trucking accidents reported between January 2006 and March 2012 only 166 claims eclipsed the million dollar mark.

Can medical malpractice be based on faulty equipment?

Published on: April 1, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In a number of our posts on medical malpractice matters, we focus on how a physician fails to act as doctor with comparable experience and skills would in treating a patient. Indeed, we bemoan physicians who miss on basic diagnoses or conduct operations on the wrong side of the body. We also criticize medical assistants who do not communicate or miscount equipment before or after a surgical procedure. However, not all medical malpractice instances are based on human error.

Yes, some malpractice (or negligence) cases can be based on faulty equipment. According to a medicaldaily.com article, a large number of surgical errors can be traced back to equipment malfunctions. This is an important element to consider when human error is believed to be the main culprit in a malpractice matter.

An element in the notion of reasonable care in surgical settings is to make sure that all equipment is ready, available and functioning properly. This is why a majority of hospitals follow strict protocols in preparing for procedures. However, if the equipment being used is not up to standard, the hospital could still be held liable if assistants do not perform reasonable checks are not performed.