Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Michael A. Bottar, Esq., a Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer with Bottar Leone, PLLC, recently secured $700,000.00 in compensation from a group of medical defendants. The New York medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that the defendants' improperly prescribed birth control pills to the plaintiff for mid-cycle pain, causing a stroke that led to mild foot drop, mild speech and memory deficits, a (controlled) seizure disorder and the need for lifetime Coumadin.

In sum, the 19 year old plaintiff presented to her obstetrician with complaints about mid-cycle pain. She was prescribed birth control pills to relieve the pain. The which were contraindicated because the plaintiff had a genetic blood disorder which the defendants knew about, or should have known about. Months later, the plaintiff suffered a stroke. The stroke prevented blood from reaching the plaintiff's brain, causing mild, yet permanent brain damage.

The $700,000.00 recovery was for past and future pain and suffering, and future lost wages.

Doctors and nurses are trained, and paid, to provide the public with reasonable and appropriate medical care, but they are not expected to be perfect. That is, the law does not hold doctors and nurses accountable for "poor" medical care. Rather, a doctor or nurse is only liable for medical negligence if his or her acts of omission and/or commission depart or deviate from good and accepted standards of care.

Has my doctor or nurse deviated or departed from the standard of care? Good question. The short answer is that no ethical attorney can answer this question for your without first obtaining all of the relevant medical records and having them reviewed by a physician. With the input of the physician, a competent New York medical malpractice attorney, such as a member of the Bottar Leone, PLLC legal team, can assess whether there is a reasonable basis for filing a lawsuit. The input of the physician is critical because no two patients are the same and, in turn, conduct that may have met standard of care in one case may fall below the standard of care in another case. For example, good and accepted standards of obstetrical care require that a a cesarean section be strongly considered if a fetus weighs more than 5000 grams; however, if the pregnant mother has gestational diabetes, a cesarean section is indicated at 4500 grams.

Every Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer should offer you a free consultation in his/her office, during which you can explain your condition and complaints and seek legal guidance about how to proceed.

Continue reading "Do I Have A Medical Malpractice Case In New York?" »

Stevens Johnson Syndrome ("SJS") is a rare disorder in which the skin and mucous membranes react adversely to a medication. According to Syracuse wrongful death lawyer Michael A. Bottar, SJS "commonly starts with flu-like symptoms. A painful red or purple rash follows, with blistering, and skin death and shedding, also known as sloughing." In some cases, as much as 100% of the skin can be lost. Other unsafe medication complications include infections and blindness.

A New York dangerous medication lawyer recently settled a product liability lawsuit against Pfizer for the sum on $3.780,000.00. The lawsuit alleged that a nine year old girl was given Dilantin, an anti-seizure medication, together with Flagyl, an anti-fungal medication. Less than one month later, the young girl developed toxic epidermal necrolysis ("TEN") and, before her death, lost almost all of her skin.

According to the New York Stevens Johnson Syndrome lawyers at Bottar Leone, PLLC, as many as 20% of patients in a recent study were diagnosed with toxic epidermal necrolysis while taking Dilantin. While Pfizer warns patients in Canada of the increased risk of Dilantin Hypersensitivity Syndrome (which may include TEN) in certain patient populations, similar warnings are not issued in the United States.

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome, or have been diagnosed with toxic epidermal necrolysis, you may be entitled to compensation for disfiguring skin loss, blindness, nerve damage, permanent disability and death.

To discuss your case or concerns, contact the Syracuse adverse medication reaction lawyers at Bottar Leone, PLLC at 1-800-336-5297, or by email at info@bottarleone.com.

Immediately after birth, a baby's complexion, pulse rate, reaction when stimulated, muscle tone and breathing are assessed. According to Syracuse birth injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, these assessment criteria form the APGAR score (which ranges from 0 to 10). Generally, APGAR scores are taken a 1, 5 and 10 minutes of life. A score of 7-10 is normal, a score of 4-6 is low, and a score of 3 or less is critically low.

A low APGAR score may be a sign of a birth injury or birth depression, which may give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit if an OBGYN and/or nurse did not take appropriate steps to prevent fetal hypoxia (low oxygen) and/or ischemia (low blood flow). According to a recent study of more than 500,000 babies born in Norway, children born with an APGAR of 3 or less were 100 times more likely to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy by age 5 when compared to babies born with an APGAR of 10.

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect movement, cognitive function, vision, hearing and speech. About 2-3 children in 1,000 are affected. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. In the worst cases, children born with cerebral palsy will live their entire lives dependent upon others for every aspect of daily living. Typically, cerebral palsy is caused when insufficient oxygen reaches the fetus. Sometimes oxygen deprivation is preventable. Where a medical provider fails to prevent oxygen deprivation, a birth injury lawsuit may be necessary to secure compensation essential to providing lifelong medical care for a permanently disabled child.

If your baby was born with a low APGAR score and has been diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy, was severely jaundiced at birth and has been diagnosed with athetoid cerebral palsy, or has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy following a failure to diagnose Rh disease, you may benefit from speaking with a Syracuse birth injury attorney at Bottar Leone, PLLC, a legal team with decades of experience investigating and prosecuting birth injury cases throughout the State of New York.

Contact us today at 1-800-336-5297 or by e-mail at info@bottarleone.com.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a rare disorder that involves a skin reaction to medication. Medications with a known link to SJS include non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as Phenytoin, Carbamazepine, as well as anticoonvulsants and sulfa antibiotics.

According to Michael A. Bottar, a Syracuse toxic epidermal necrolysis lawyer with the law firm of Bottar Leone, PLLC, SJS or TEN commonly starts with non-specific symptoms such as a headache, cough, or fever. These symptoms may be followed by a whole-body rash and then blisters forming in and around the eyes, mouth and genitals. In some cases, the damaged skin then peels in sheets, and hair and nails may fall out. As people suffering from severe cases of SJS often lose much of their skin, they are commonly treated like burn patients in specialized health care facilities. Risk of infection is high.

In Syracuse, most SJS patients are treated at the SUNY Health Science Center - Burn Unit, located at 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, New York. Other area facilities include St. Joseph's Hospital in Elmira, New York, and Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. Treatment usually includes immediate termination of the drug that is the suspected cause of the reaction followed by the administration of intravenous fluids and aggressive infection treatment and management.

SJS and TEN can be deadly. Individuals who have been disfigured by Stevens Johnson Syndrome, and families who have lost a loved one to toxic epidermal necrolysis, may wish to speak with an attorney to determine if the reaction, or the death, was preventable.

To determine whether you or a loved one are entitled to compensation from the party that prescribed or manufactured the drug that caused SJS or TEN, contact the Bottar Leone, PLLC legal team at 1-800-336-5297 or by email at info@bottarleone.com.

According to Watertown birth injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, with the Syracuse medical malpractice law firm of Bottar Leone, PLLC, the Cerebral Palsy Family Health Care Center, operated by the Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country, has changed its name to the Community Health Center of the North Country.

The Health Center's executive director stated in a press release that the center welcomes the "uninsured, underinsured, and those with Medicaid, and we hope that the name change will help get the word out that we are open to all community members." In addition to providing medical care to Watertown individuals and children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, the Community Health Center of the North Country also provides a constellation of services in St. Lawrence County, including primary care, dental care, physical therapy, optometry and mental health services, to individuals with similar disabilities and service needs.

Cerebral palsy is a general term used to describe a group of movement or posture disorders that arise out of the brain's ability to control the body. Cerebral palsy can be caused by an injury during birth, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and you would like to know if the injury was preventable, contact the Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers at Bottar Leone, PLLC at 1-800-336-5297 or by email at info@bottarleone.com.