Critical Care Malpractice

The critical care units of hospitals are specialized departments designed to provide comprehensive and continuous care for patients with severe or life-threatening illnesses and injuries. These patients require close monitoring and support from advanced medical equipment and a team of specialized healthcare professionals. While the staff working in critical care units often provide life-saving care, they can still make mistakes. Such errors can cause significant harm and may warrant malpractice claims. If you or a loved one suffered losses due to a critical care doctor's negligence, you might be entitled to compensation, and it is smart to talk to an attorney about the possibility of filing a critical care malpractice lawsuit. The skilled Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers are proud to assist victims of incompetent medical care in the pursuit of justice, and if we represent you, we will help you seek the results you deserve. We regularly represent people in medical malpractice claims in Syracuse, Rochester, and throughout Upstate New York.

Critical care units are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to monitor vital signs and provide necessary treatments, such as mechanical ventilation for patients who have difficulty breathing, advanced cardiac life support for those with severe heart conditions, and various other life-sustaining measures. The staff in the critical care unit typically includes critical care doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other specialists trained to handle complex medical situations and provide intensive treatment and care.

Various mistakes can occur in critical care settings that jeopardize patient safety. For instance, if a doctor fails to adequately review a patient's medical history or perform a thorough examination, they might overlook significant health issues. Likewise, insufficient communication between critical care doctors and other staff, along with incomplete medical records, can result in confusion about patient care, gaps in treatment, and related issues. Sometimes, critical care physicians may also neglect to escalate care when necessary or provide appropriate treatment or medications.

Errors in critical care departments often lead to devastating outcomes, and parties harmed by the mistakes of a critical care team will often pursue damages via critical care malpractice claims. Typically, in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff asserts that the defendant doctor acted negligently. In New York, to establish negligence, the plaintiff must first demonstrate that due to the treatment relationship, the defendant owed them a duty of care.

This duty entails adhering to the accepted and good standards of medical practice. Generally, this is defined as the level of treatment that a reasonable professional in the same medical specialty as the defendant would provide under similar circumstances. Additionally, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's actions or failure to act constituted a breach of this standard of care. Often, this necessitates the testimony of a medical expert with expertise in the defendant's field to clarify the standard of care to the fact-finder and to provide an opinion on how the defendant deviated from it.

Once the duty owed and breach of that duty are established, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the breach directly caused them to suffer actual damages. In essence, they have to show that their injuries would not have occurred if the defendant had adhered to the standard of care, which also requires expert testimony.

Critical care units offer care to people with life-threatening health concerns, but if the treatment rendered is inadequate or delayed, the consequences can be devastating. If you or a loved one sustained losses due to critical care malpractice, it is wise to meet with an attorney to discuss your rights. The experienced Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers have ample experience proving negligence healthcare providers should be held accountable for the damages caused by their recklessness, and if we hire you, we can assess your harm and guide you through the process of seeking the maximum damages available. We routinely represent people in medical malpractice lawsuits in Syracuse and in Rochester and throughout Upstate New York. To arrange a confidential and free conference, you can reach us through our online form or by calling us at 833-200-2000.