Cortland County Medical Malpractice

Occurring when patients are harmed by the action or inaction of a doctor or healthcare professional, medical malpractice can cause death or health issues for the patient. These instances can include birth injuries, surgery errors, medical misdiagnosis, and hospital-related infections.

A new study indicates that medical malpractice may be the third cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by cancer and heart disease. However, there are instances of injury in many malpractice cases that may cause lifetime health issues that can be costly for the individual who has been harmed through malpractice by health care providers. If you or someone you know has suffered from malpractice, there are legal remedies available and the Cortland County medical malpractice lawyers at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano can help.

We are available to help those in the Cortland, Virgil, Scott, and Homer areas and across upstate New York. We are positioned to review potential malpractice cases against staff at Cortland Regional Medical Center, the Cayuga Medical Center, and other smaller facilities across Cortland County.

• Negligence - Is the failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances while malpractice is 'a type of negligence, where a licensed professional fails to provide services as per standards set by the governing body. Both negligence and medical malpractice cases are tried in civil court and the criteria for proving a case is the duty, breach, causation, and damages.

• Birth Injuries - The result of birth-related injuries, not birth defects, caused by a doctor who fails to use reasonable care can lead to a medical malpractice suit. The doctor can be sued for malpractice if there is an injury to the mother or child during pregnancy or at delivery. Birth injuries can include wrongful pregnancy or wrongful birth and include instances such as a failure to properly monitor a babies oxygen levels or control excessive maternal blood loss by the mother.

• Surgery - A surgical error occurs when a preventable mistake is made during surgery such as sponges, surgical tools, and other medical equipment is left in the patient after surgery. Surgical medical malpractice can be due to incompetence, inefficient planning of the medical team, and improper work processes and poor communication among the medical team.

• Neuro Surgery -Neurosurgeons specialize in surgery of the brain and nervous system. They face the highest risk for medical malpractice among all of those who practice medicine. Just as with any other surgery, medical malpractice can occur due to incompetence, inefficient planning, improper work processes and lack of communication among the medical team. Operating on a neurosurgery patient can cause more harm than good in some situations and it will take a legal team and other medical professionals to determine if medical malpractice has occurred.

Scrambling to fix the problem of medical malpractice, risk management professionals are working to stem the incidents that cause malpractice in hospitals. However, they haven't gotten there yet and anyone who seeks medical care is at risk of negligent behavior by their healthcare provider. Knowledge is your best defense in these situations and having great legal representation from a medical malpractice lawyer in Cortland County can help you get recompense for any damages that you have received due to medical malpractice.

There are a few basic requirements for a medical malpractice claim and you must be able to show the following before you can even pursue a claim.

• You must have had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare professional that you are suing.
• The healthcare professional was negligent regarding their care of your health.
• Your injury was caused due to the negligence of the Doctor, nurse, or another healthcare provider.
• The injury caused by the malpractice led to harm, including physical pain, additional medical bills, mental anguish, lost work and earning capacity or death.

If you or someone you know can meet this standard of determining whether malpractice has been committed and you or they have been harmed, contact the offices of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano today.