Chemung County Medical Malpractice

Chemung County is located in New York. Its total area is 50 square miles. As of 2010, its population was 2,563. The household median income was $35,167. Hospitals located in Chemung County include St. Joseph’s Hospital of Elmira and Arnot Ogden Medical Center. Many people in Chemung County do not have enough saved to pay for additional surgeries or other expenses incurred as a result of medical malpractice. You should hold accountable the parties responsible for your losses arising out of medical malpractice. If you believe you or a loved one have been harmed due to medical negligence, the dedicated Chemung County medical malpractice lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano can evaluate your potential claims.

Not every mistake made by a doctor or nurse counts as medical malpractice, but if you can prove negligence, you may be able to recover damages in a lawsuit. In order to prevail, you will need to show: (1) you were owed a professional standard of care because of a doctor-patient relationship, (2) a deviation from the applicable standard of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages.

Doctors are supposed to abide by the professional practices and standards of the medical community. A breach of the professional standard of care can occur in many different ways. It could be the result of a preventable mistake, such as a tool or sponge behind left behind inside a patient after a surgery. However, mistakes might also arise due to improper differential diagnosis, inappropriate hospital procedures, staff or health care provider incompetence, or faulty communications among a medical team. A seasoned medical malpractice attorney serving Chemung County can assess whether the acts or omissions in your case rise to the level of malpractice.

Sometimes medical malpractice results in birth injuries, which are distinct from birth defects. These injuries can impact a mother, child, or both. Birth injuries may be caused by a doctor or health care provider who fails to use reasonable care during a pregnancy or during labor and delivery. For example, health care providers should monitor the baby during labor. If there is fetal distress and oxygen deprivation during labor, an OB-GYN may need to make a rapid decision about whether to conduct a C-section or take other steps. Failure to make a decision in keeping with what other OB-GYNs would do under the same or similar circumstances could result in serious harm to the baby and subject that doctor to liability.

You will need to retain an expert even before you file a medical malpractice lawsuit. You will send the expert the facts of your case and your medical records so that he or she can determine whether you have meritorious grounds for a claim. Along with your complaint, you will need to file a certificate of merit indicating that you consulted with an expert. An experienced Chemung County medical malpractice lawyer can help you identify the appropriate experts for your case.

Moreover, in most cases, you will need to ask the expert to provide an opinion on what the professional standard of care was, whether the defendant adhered to it, and what the extent of the damages is. The defendant health care provider will also retain an expert to provide opinions, and often they will counter the opinions of your expert. Both sides will present evidence and arguments to show how the medical care provided by the defendant moved away from the medical standard of care or stayed in accord with that standard. Many cases require complicated medical testimony by experts for both the plaintiff and defendant. The jury’s decision may hinge on which expert seemed more credible and how accessible they made complicated technical information to a layperson.

If you can establish liability, it may be possible to recover compensatory damages for the harm you have suffered. These are damages intended to put you back into the position you would have been in had no medical malpractice occurred. They can include both economic and noneconomic losses. The economic losses include out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, medical bills, and replacement services. Noneconomic losses can include pain and suffering and loss of consortium.

When you go to the doctor’s office or hospital, you trust that your health care provider will abide by applicable professional standards of care. If you are harmed as a result of medical malpractice in Chemung County, you can discuss your situation with legal counsel at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. Call our firm at 833-200-2000 or contact us through our online form.