Spinal Surgery Errors

Spine surgery is intense and has high stakes. If your surgeon or health team made even a tiny mistake, you could be left without the ability to walk or move. Spinal surgery errors can result in lifelong disabilities and prevent patients from living normal lives. Those who suffer injuries or lose a loved one as the result of a spinal surgery error may be able to recover damages in a lawsuit for damages. You would be best served by hiring a lawyer who has trial experience, good reviews and a record of success in medical malpractice lawsuits. The experienced Syracuse surgical errors and complications lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to represent you in a lawsuit for damages.

Spinal surgeries include spinal fusion, laminectomies, nerve ablations, discectomies, and other procedures. Surgeons perform their work near critical structures of patients’ bodies. They are assisted by nurses, anesthesiologists, or other staff. In many cases, it is necessary to retain an expert to figure out who is to blame for serious injuries after a surgery.

Not every spinal surgery error constitutes actionable malpractice. To recover damages, our lawyers must establish it’s more likely than not: (1) you were owed a professional standard of care, (2) departure from the professional standard of care, (3) the departure caused injuries and (4) actual damages. The professional standard of care will depend on what a reasonably competent surgeon in Syracuse would have done under the same or similar circumstances. For instance, a surgeon may depart from the professional standard of care by taking the wrong angle, resulting in the drill going into the spinal cord and permanently damaging it. We will work with those experts that best serve our client’s need for clear and credible testimony. New York law requires us to obtain a certificate of merit from a licensed doctor even before we file suit.

An anesthesiologist and her team may be responsible for more than keeping you asleep throughout a surgical procedure. Teams will also need to ensure you are appropriately perfused, pressurized or hydrated during a surgery. Failure to abide by professional standards can result in a range of injuries. For instance, you could face low blood pressure due to inadequate perfusion such that your spinal cord is susceptible to manipulation and the lack of oxygen can trigger serious personal injuries.

An anesthesia team must monitor fluids during a surgery, whether these fluids are entering or leaving the body. When an anesthesiologist or her staff fail to do this over the course of a long spine surgery, the result can be disastrous. In order to hold an anesthesiologist or staff liable, we’ll need to show that the defendant failed to use the accepted medical practices that constituted the professional standard of care.

A wrongful death is one caused by a default, neglect or wrongful act. When a spinal surgery results in the death of the patient, we may be able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. The critical question is whether the decedent could have pursued damages in a personal injury lawsuit had she lived. Under New York law, a personal representative of the decedent’s estate will need to file the wrongful death lawsuit. Damages that could be recovered include:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• Reasonable health care expenses associated with the decedent’s final injury or illness
• Financial support the decedent would have provided to the family
• The value of services and support the decedent would have given the family
• The value of parental nurturing, guidance, and care to surviving children
• The value of support and services the decedent would have given the family
• Survivors’ lost inheritance
• Conscious pain and suffering experienced by the deceased because of a final injury or illness.
• Interest on damages.

Spinal surgery errors can result in life-altering disabilities in Syracuse. It is important to choose a plaintiff’s trial attorney who has a solid reputation for success among the Upstate New York health care community and insurers. Unless you retain a law firm that can take your case to trial when necessary, you may not be offered an appropriate settlement. Call DeFrancisco & Falgiatano to see whether you have a case. With more than 3 decades of experience representing patients in court, we work with some of the best experts and understand how juries interpret medical malpractice cases. We are members of the prestigious Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums. We represent surgical patients in Rochester, Auburn, Watertown, Oswego, Lowville, Wampsville, Canandaigua, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Oneida, Utica, Herkimer, Binghamton, and Elmira. Complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.