Syracuse Medical Malpractice

DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys has sought best results for patients and their families for more than 30 years. We have a strong understanding of medical prognosis and treatment applicable to a broad range of medical conditions. Our firm works with excellent medical experts who are not only well-respected, but also able to explain technical matters to a lay audience. In some cases, medical malpractice lawsuits come down to how persuasive an expert is—to achieve the best possible outcome in your case, you must work with a lawyer that has the experience to know which experts come across well to insurers and juries. If you were harmed by your doctor, nurse or other health care provider, you should call the experienced Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys.

Not every mistake made by health care provider counts as medical malpractice for purposes of a lawsuit. When we consider whether to take your case, we will work it up using our many years of experience evaluating lawsuits along with our strong relationships with credible experts in the expert community. We look at whether these elements are present in your case: (1) a doctor-patient relationship that gives rise to a professional standard of care, (2) a provider’s deviation from the professional standard of care, (3) causal relationship between your provider’s deviation and injuries you suffered, and (4) actual damages.

Early on in a case, our Syracuse lawyers will consult an expert in the relevant specialty to determine what the professional standard of care was and whether the standard was breached given the particular circumstances. This consultation must occur even before we file your complaint to kick off the lawsuit because when we file the complaint, we’ll need to provide the court with a certificate of merit attesting to our consultation with an expert.

Both the provider’s geographic region and specialty will determine what the standard of care was in the situation you faced. For example, we would consult an oncology expert about what the professional standard of care was for Syracuse oncologist in a failure to properly treat breast cancer case. Or suppose, for example, you are a construction worker who was paralyzed because a surgeon nicked your spine while working on a disc herniation. In that case, you may be able to recover damages for pain and suffering, loss of consortium, replacement services, lost earning capacity, medical equipment such as a wheelchair, and prescription medication, along with medical bills related to treating the harm or the complications caused by the surgical error.

In some cases, doctors defend lawsuits by arguing that an adverse outcome was the result of disease progression, rather than their mistakes. This is an argument to which we will be attentive in reviewing medical records and as discovery progresses.

The value of your medical malpractice case depends on the types and extent of harm you suffered as a result of a doctor’s professional negligence. For instance, in a failure to diagnose skin cancer case in which a doctor fails to investigate a suspicious mole that progresses and metastasizes so that you need more expensive and painful treatment, it may be appropriate to seek medical bills, lost income, lost earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, and mental anguish. For another example, if your spouse died because of failure to diagnose prostate cancer, we may be able to recover wrongful death damages, which may include funeral and burial costs, along with reduction in inheritance, loss of services provided by the decedent, and loss of parental guidance.

If you were injured or a loved one died to a health care provider’s medical malpractice, you should talk with our seasoned Syracuse lawyers. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys has more than 30 years of experience seeking best results for patients and their families across Upstate New York in Oneida, Canandaigua, Lowville, Albany, Auburn, Buffalo, Utica, Rochester, Herkimer, Oswego, Lyons, Wampsville, Watertown, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Elmira, and Binghamton. For a free consultation, complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.