University Hospital (Syracuse)

University Hospital is affiliated with the State University of New York and is the region's only Level-1 Trauma Center. It is known for caring for patients who suffer the most serious illnesses and injuries. Among other things, it has a children's hospital, a cancer center, a breast care center, a heart and vascular center, and behavioral medicine. Its Joslin Diabetes Center is considered a New York State Center of Excellence, and its Epilepsy Clinic has the highest possible designation. Although it is a renowned center, that does not mean that mistakes never happen. Medical mistakes can have devastating consequences for patients. If you believe that you may have been harmed at University Hospital in Syracuse, you should consult a Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. There are challenging procedural requirements that must be met to pursue a medical malpractice claim in the State of New York. The skillful attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano can evaluate your case and represent you as appropriate.

Some mistakes, known as never events, should never be made by health care providers. These events can include amputating the wrong limb or leaving a surgical instrument in a cavity during surgery. When a never event or certain other events happen and cause harm, it may be possible to pursue a claim under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, which when translated means “the thing speaks for itself.” This doctrine relieves a patient of showing directly that a defendant's negligence was the legal cause of the injury. Instead, the plaintiff focuses on proving the injury and the circumstances under which the injury occurred.

To establish res ipsa loquitur, a plaintiff’s attorney will need to show that the instrumentality that caused the injury was within the defendant's exclusive and absolute control and that the injury would not have occurred in the ordinary course of events if the defendant had not been negligent. In order to recover compensation under this doctrine, a plaintiff cannot have contributed voluntarily to the injury. In one case, for example, a plaintiff was able to pursue her claim against a dentist under res ipsa loquitur by presenting an expert opinion that the kind of injury to the lingual nerve that she suffered does not ordinarily occur when there is no malpractice, and it only occurs when an oral surgeon is negligent by putting instruments outside the surgery field, using excessive force, or neglecting to protect the lingual plate next to an impacted tooth.

However, many medical malpractice cases require a plaintiff to show professional negligence. To prove medical malpractice against University Hospital ordinarily, your injury lawyer will need to show that it is more likely than not that there was a doctor-patient relationship, the doctor or other health care provider breached the professional duty of care, and the breach actually and proximately caused your injuries. The professional standard of care is the accepted standards and practices of other similar health care providers in the medical community. It can vary depending on the unique attributes of a patient, such as gender, past medical history, and age. Moreover, it can also vary based on geographic location. In many cases, it is necessary to retain an experienced and credible health care provider who is board-certified in the same specialty as the defendant to testify regarding what the professional standard of care was, how the defendant's acts or omissions breached that standard, and that the breach is what caused the harm.

In some cases, proving causation can be complicated. For example, in a failure to diagnose cancer case, it can be difficult to show that a patient would have recovered had the cancer been diagnosed earlier. In some cases, the cancer has progressed such that even catching it earlier would not have made a difference to the final outcome. It is important to work with credible and knowledgeable experts who can explain the medical issues in your case to a jury composed of laypeople.

If you believe that you may have been a victim of a misdiagnosis, a surgical error, or another incident of medical malpractice while you were a patient at University Hospital, DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to help you recover compensation. We understand how to establish liability in these claims and can retain credible experts on your behalf. Call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.