Lasik and Eye Surgery Malpractice

Mistakes made during eye surgery are rare, but when they occur, they may have serious consequences for your vision. Lasik is a laser eye surgical procedure used to correct astigmatism, myopia or hyperopia. If you were injured during Lasik surgery, you may be able to assert a medical malpractice claim against the surgeon. Errors that occur in other eye surgical procedures can also cause real harm. Lasik and eye surgery malpractice patients should call DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. Our experienced Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys have the reputation and knowledge needed to strongly advocate and seek damages on your behalf in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Lasik surgery is a common procedure for those who are nearsighted or have astigmatism. An ophthalmologist performing Lasik surgery cuts a flap in the cornea in order to shape it and allow it to focus better. Safety procedures that should be used during Lasik and other eye surgery include verification of patient identity and marking of the surgical site. A common error a surgeon might make is failing to check the lens specification prior to surgery and implanting an inappropriate lens. Other errors include transplanting an improper tissue, performing the wrong procedure, operating on the wrong eye, or anesthetizing the wrong eye.

Risks of Lasik include loss of lines of vision, debilitating visual problems such as halos or double vision, development of severe dry eye, bulging eye cornea, and undercorrection or overcorrection. However, developing a problem with your vision does not necessarily mean you were subject to medical malpractice. In order to recover damages for Lasik or other eye surgery malpractice, you’ll need to prove each of the following elements is more likely than not: (1) you were owed a professional duty of care by your provider, (2) the provider breached the professional standard of care, (3) the breach caused your harm, and (4) damages.

New York follows the locality rule. This means the professional standard of care depends not only on the defendant’s particular specialty, such as ophthalmology, but also the geographic region of the defendant’s practice. Your lawyer will need to establish the professional standard of care using expert testimony; you will also need to show how your ophthalmologist failed to meet the professional standard through her actions or omissions. For example, if your ophthalmologist overcorrected your vision because he failed to carefully review the lens specification while a reasonably prudent ophthalmologist in Syracuse would have looked more carefully at the lens specification before surgery, you may have a malpractice claim for the additional eye surgery to correct the error and any resulting damages.

Other eye surgeries can also involve mistakes that result in injury. During a cataract surgery, the surgeon will implant a synthetic intraocular lens inside your eye to replace a natural lens that was surgically removed. If a clerk pulled an incorrect lens and the surgical staff didn’t verify that it was correct before implanting it, you might need a drainage implant and sustain a visual field loss.

In most cases, your lawyer will need to retain an expert even before filing a complaint. Because understanding eye surgery malpractice requires knowledge of the technical aspects of the surgery, New York law requires attorneys to consult a licensed doctor to determine whether a medical malpractice is meritorious even before pursuing damages. Thus, lawyers must attach a certificate to a medical malpractice complaint attesting that they consulted with the requisite doctors.

If you were injured due to Lasik and eye surgery malpractice in Syracuse, you should discuss the circumstances with the seasoned lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. Our firm represents people throughout Upstate New York in Rochester, Syracuse, Lowville, Watertown, Auburn, Oswego, Ithaca, Canandaigua, Lyons, Oneida, Cooperstown, Elmira, Wampsville, Herkimer, Binghamton, and Utica. Call DeFrancisco & Falgiatano at 833-200-2000 or complete our online form.