Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer Anthony S. Bottar, managing partner of Bottar Leone, PLLC, one of Upstate New York's oldest law firms with a practice limited to medical malpractice, wrongful death, birth injuries, work injuries, brain injuries, and product/premises liability, was elected president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, an organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system.

The New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers boasts a membership of more than 1400 judges, law clerks, law firms, lawyers, paralegals and law students, including: Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers handling cases concerning stroke misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose cancer and failure to prevent a heart attack; Syracuse work injury lawyers handling cases concerning construction site accidents, scaffolding accidents and injuries caused by a fall from a height; Syracuse birth injury lawyers handling cases concerning fetal hypoxia and ischemia, cerebral palsy and Erb's palsy; Utica brain injury lawyers handling cases concerning concussions, post-concussion symdrome and TBI; Watertown medical malpractice lawyers handling cases concerning Samaritan Medical Center negligence and Fort Drum physician mistakes; and Watertown injury lawyers handling New York State Thruway accidents.

To err is human. Doctors, nurses and hospitals are no exception. According to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, as many as 10-15% of medical diagnoses are wrong. That data, taken from patient autopsies, paints a fairly accurate picture about Syracuse medical malpractice lawsuits for mistakes made by local practitioners and at area hospitals, like Crouse Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, University Hospital and Community General Hospital. That is, most patients receive proper medical care, but nearly 2 in 10 will not.

Should I call a Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer to find out if I have a case? The short answer is yes. As your time to file a lawsuit is limited, you should call sooner, rather than later. In an effort to provide some guidance to the victims of medical malpractice, we will attempt to identify five warning signs of medical negligence:

ONE: Be concerned if, despite treatment for your illness, you do not get better (be very concerned if you in fact get worse). After settling on a diagnosis, whether or not it's the correct one, many health care professionals choose not to look further. No one wants to admit that they were wrong. Seek a second opinion, as the diagnosis you carry may be incorrect!

TWO: Be concerned if your diagnosis does not seem to match your symptoms. We all have access to the internet. Search the web to see if your symptoms are consistent with the diagnosed condition. If not, you may have been misdiagnosed. Good sources of information about your symptoms and your condition include WebMD (www.webmd.com) and YourDiagnosis (www.yourdiagnosis.com), as well as WD (www.wrongdiagnosis.com). Take this information to the doctor who diagnosed you, or to a new doctor, and ask questions. Help your doctor help you!

THREE: Be wary of a diagnosis based solely upon a single lab test. Labs can be wrong. Make sure that your doctor questions the lab results and, if a very serious condition, request that a second lab perform an analysis.

FOUR: Be concerned if your doctor attributes common complaints to an uncommon diagnosis. Often, a headache without more is, well, just a headache.

FIVE: Challenge a diagnosis that can be confirmed or ruled-out with a test that you have not received. If there is a test that will paint a complete picture for your doctor, you should receive it. If it has not been recommended, ask for it (see sign TWO, supra - do research)! The failure to diagnose a condition is often due to the decision not to order a test when the test was indicated.

While a medical malpractice lawsuit cannot fix the physical damage caused by a misdiagnosis or a failure to diagnose, but it can help to secure funds so that you and your family can attempt to live a normal life despite your losses, which may include permanent disability due to a surgical error, wrongful death due to nursing negligence, limb loss due to infection, or brain damage due to medication errors. A lawsuit may also recover future medical costs and restore economic losses, such as lost wages and benefits.

Continue reading "Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Warns Of Signs Of Misdiagnosis" »

If you, your child, or a family member have been injured due to medical negligence, you and your loved ones may be entitled to compensation. But, just like there are all kinds of doctors -- good and bad -- there are also all kinds of lawyers -- good and bad. Who you select to represent you is paramount.

Unlike the typical personal injury case, a medical malpractice case requires a very specific skill set. Not every Syracuse personal injury lawyer has the skill, experience and resources to handle a medical malpractice case that costs $50,000.00 to prosecute and, while many lawyers accept medical malpractice cases, very few in Central New York have a nearly 30 year track record of success.

When selecting a Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer make sure you pick a lawyer that knows his/her medicine. While your lawyer need not be a doctor to win your case, he/she certainly needs to understand anatomy, or be willing to learn through research and consultation with experts. Make sure you also check to see if your lawyer, like the attorneys at Bottar Leone, PLLC, has been selected for membership in peer review organizations such as The Best Lawyers In America, SuperLawyers, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Lawdragon, etc. Inquire about whether your lawyer has, like Anthony S. Bottar, Esq., ever been named Syracuse personal injury lawyer of the year. Ask your lawyer how long he/she has been advocating for patients and their families. Experience counts.

Bottar Leone, PLLC, is one of Syracuse's oldest and largest medical malpractice law firms. We have experience with virtually every type of medical malpractice case, including claims for a Syracuse birth injury leading to cerebral palsy or Erb's palsy. If your child was injured during child birth in Syracuse, call us. Our most recent birth injury case, involving a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy, settled for $3,250,000.00. If a loved one had a stroke after being discharged from the emergency room, call us. Our most recent case involving a failure to diagnose a stroke settled for $900,000.00. If you were injured during surgery, call us. Our most recent case involving a surgical error causing incontinence settled for $1,000,000.00.

Bottar Leone, PLLC. In and for the community. Since 1983.

A malpractice claims analysis was recently published by CNY HealthPro, in conjunction with the Nurses Service Organization. The analysis reviewed nurse practitioner lawsuit claims data in an effort to increase medico-legal awareness, decrease nurse practitioner malpractice and prevent patient injuries from nurse practitioner mistakes.

According to Syracuse New York nurse practitioner error lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, nurse practitioners are increasingly becoming the focus of malpractice cases because of the growing role they play in dispensing medical care. According to the HealthPro/NSO report, the highest number of claims against nurse practitioners arose out of care provided in the medical care office. Nurse practitioner specialties with the most claims against them included adult/geriatric NPs, family NPs, and pediatric/neonatal NPs. The most severe claims -- meaning those with the most significant injury to the claimant -- conerned care that was or should have been provided by a pediatric/neonatal nurse practitioner. The largest settled claims involved a pediatric/neonatal NP's failure to diagnose.

Continue reading "Nurse Practitioner Errors Reviewed By Central New York Medical Malpractice Laywers: Most Severe In Pediatric/Neonatal Specialties" »

According to New York medical malpractice lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, with offices in Syracuse, Utica and Watertown, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may reduce a potentially lethal labor and delivery complication known as placenta acrete.

Placenta accrete is a condition occurring in 1 out of every 2,500 births. It involves the placenta attaching too deeply to the uterine wall - through the endometrium and into the myometrium. If undetected until the time of labor and delivery, either because an OBGYN failed to order an MRI to diagnose the complication, because and MRI was misread by a radiologist, or because the condition was occult, post-partum hemorrhaging may occur as the placenta is delivered during the third stage of labor.

A recent study suggests that an MRI may be more than 90% effective in diagnosing placenta accrete. Risk factors for placenta accrete include: a prior uterine surgery, prior cesarean section, myomectomy, advanced maternal age (over 35), D&C and, according to some literature, a female fetus.

Continue reading "Failure to Order MRI May Increase Risk For Misdiagnosis of Placenta Accrete In Central New York Pregnant Mothers" »

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, all Central New York OBGYNs should closely review the nature of their practice and consider whether their patient load, hours worked and other time commitments are causing fatigue-related birth injuries.

A recent study suggests that most OBGYNs practicing in Upstate New York hospitals do not sleep enough. The most sleep deprived include residents and specialists on call, such as neonatologists. Without at least five hours of sleep, a doctor's speech, numerical skills, memory and concentration decline. Missing faculties can leading to medical mistakes. Doctors awake more than 19 hours performed worse on tests than individuals with a blood alcohol content of 0.05. The legal limit for drunk driving in most U.S. states is 0.08.

During a labor and delivery, minutes and even seconds matter to a baby that may not be receiving appropriate blood flow and, in turn, may be suffering from brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. After just a few minutes of low oxygen levels, a fetus may develop cerebral palsy. Because delay caused by doctor fatigue and sleep deprivation could result in permanent injury to a baby, ACOG recommends that OBGYNS follow good sleep habits, sleep immediately after long shifts, make arrangements for a backup, nap, and avoid working between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Continue reading "Syracuse New York OBGYN Fatigue Leads To Labor And Delivery Mistakes" »

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, a 431 bed Syracuse hospital, recently announced that its cardiac rehabilitation program received recertification by the American
Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACPR).

Recertification means that St. Joseph's Hospital and Health Center met AACPR standards, including: methods for disease management, disease education, risk factor intervention, and symptom recognition.

Continue reading "Syracuse Hospital Announces Cardiac Rehabilitation Recertification" »

Before the internet, it was almost impossible for patients to learn about doctor qualifications, including where a doctor went to medical school, whether a doctor has published articles or performed research in the field, whether a doctor has made a mistake and been sued for medical malpractice and, if so, how many times and the outcome of each lawsuit.

Patients now use the internet to investigate their ailments and their doctors. Amy L. Friedman, M.D., a Syracuse transplant surgeon who works at SUNY Upstate Medical University, believes that at least 10% of her patients research her qualifications before they meet her. In a recent article published in Renal & Urology News, Dr. Friedman stated that a transplant patient recently found her CV online and attempted to secure copies of her articles. His interest was in the "most controversial ones."

Dr. Friedman stated that she does "not have confidence that all patients are able to sort through such resources with recognition of the most valid and accurate information."

Continue reading "Syracuse Transplant Surgeon Critical Of Online Physician Credentials" »

Gestational diabetes is a condition where a pregnant woman's body is unable to make or use enough insulin. Insulin is hormone that causes cells in specific areas of the body, such as the liver, to take up glucose from the blood.

Gestational diabetes is very common pregnancy complication. As many as 5% of women develop the condition. In most cases, the diabetes resolves after pregnancy (however, gestational diabetes increases the risk of diabetes later in life). Gestational diabetes has almost no visible symptoms. It is usually diagnosed through glucose testing performed around the 25th week of pregnancy. Undiagnosed gestational diabetes can be the result of medical malpractice.

Often, gestational diabetes can cause an fetus to grow very large, which can increase the risk of birth injuries such as cerebral palsy and erb's palsy. As such, many women with gestational diabetes undergo c-sections.

Risk factors for gestational diabetes include obesity, family history of diabetes, prior gestational diabetes, maternal age greater than 25 years, more than 5 prior pregnancies, and a history of stillbirth.

Treatment for gestational diabetes includes Insulin and diet changes.

Continue reading "Failure To Diagnose Gestational Diabetes And Central New York Birth Injuries" »

Syracuse-area hospitals and doctors fail to diagnose medical conditions everyday. These failures to diagnose form the basis of lawsuits for medical malpractice and wrongful death. Generally, most failure to diagnose lawsuits arise of out heart attacks, breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer and appendicitis.

That being said, there are thousands of people walking around Central New York with undiagnosed medical conditions. The following conditions frequently go undiagnosed:

* osteoporosis (1 in 15 with condition go undiagnosed);
* hypertension (1 in 18 with condition go undiagnosed);
* COPD (1 in 18 with condition go undiagnosed);
* thyroid disorders (1 in 20 with condition go undiagnosed);
* sleep apnea (1 in 27 with condition go undiagnosed);
* diabetes (1 in 47 with condition go undiagnosed);
* aneurysm (1 in 136 with condition go undiagnosed); and
* AIDS (1 in 1,208 with condition go undiagnosed).

Continue reading "Syracuse Failure To Diagnose Lawyers Report Statistics On Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis" »

According to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, most doctors are aware of the mistakes they have made. Of the doctors polled, almost all could recall the instances when they misdiagnosed a patient, or made a diagnosis too slowly. On average, each physician polled reported an extraordinary 2.2 errors.

The most common misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses reported were pulmonary embolism, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, drug reactions, and strokes.
The most common reasons for the misdiagnoses were failure to order laboratory tests, failure to review the results of laboratory tests ordered, inadequate histories, inadequate physical examinations, failure to order a consultation, and failure to consider alternate causes for the patient's symptoms.

Continue reading "Medical Misdiagnosis And Doctor Mistakes Impact Patient Safety" »

According to a recent study, as many as one-half of all hospital patients in hospital intensive care units have infections and nearly three-in-four patients are being given antibiotics. While infections are not usually the result of medical malpractice, the failure to diagnose an infection or the failure to prescribe antibiotics for an infection can form the basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

When it comes to infections, the stakes are high. This is because hospital patients with infections are more likely to die -- especially if the infection evolves into sepsis (blood poisoning). According to Dr. Jean-Louis Vincent of Erasme University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium, "the incidence of sepsis is increasing, as is the number of consequent infection-related deaths."

In the study, more than 60% of infections were within the lungs. The abdomen and blood (sepsis) were also common locations for infection. The most prevalent bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli.

Continue reading "Hospital Infections And Sepsis May Lead To Wrongful Death" »

A baby girl diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after birth recently enjoyed the fruits of cord blood research. While medical malpractice and birth injury or birth trauma (e.g., asphyxia, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and ischemia) account for many cases of cerebral palsy, her disability was not due to medical malpractice. Rather, her brain damage was the result of an utero stroke.

Shortly after the baby's first birthday, the family turned to stem cells banked during birth for a solution to their daughter's permanent mental and physical disabilities, including an inability to hold her bottle, talk and walk. After a fifteen minute re-infusion of her stem cells, the baby girl began to improve. Within four days. her rigid right side began to loosen and her speech improved. Then she stopped dragging her foot and began to use her right hand. She now lives a normal life.

Continue reading "Syracuse Cerebral Palsy Lawyers On Cord Blood Utility" »

Central New York women who smoke, including women smokers in Syracuse, Watertown, Utica, Herkimer, Auburn, Oswego, Binghamton and other upstate New York State cities, have an increased risk of developing seizures.

According to a recent study, smokers were two to three times more likely to suffer a seizure. Theories for the increase in seizure activity include nicotine, and the fact that smoking decreases oxygen in the blood which decreases sleep (and increases the risk for seizures).

Generally, seizures arise from abnormal electrical activity in the brain, and are often associated with symptoms such as vision changes, a change in sensation, convulsions, and a loss of consciousness. Common causes of seizures include epilepsy, head trauma and stroke.

Continue reading "Central New York Smokers At Risk For Seizures" »

Nearly every day, meningitis is misdiagnosed in New York hospitals, including Syracuse-area hospitals such as University Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, Crouse Hospital, Samaritan Medical Center, Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and Albany Medical Center. The failure to diagnose meningitis can have significant consequences, including loss of speech, hearing and, in some cases, limb loss and death.

Recently, the family of young boy recovered in a lawsuit brought a doctor and hospital for failing to diagnose meningitis. The boy lost his foot and most of his right hand. According to reports, the boy fell ill and presented to his pediatrician who, after a brief examination, diagnosed the infant with a stomach bug. A rash developed and, by the time the boy was transported to the hospital, he was suffering from advanced sepsis (blood poisoning). His kidneys failed and amputations began, starting with his right foot and ankle, as well as the thumb and two fingers on the boy's right hand. The amputations were necessary to prevent the spread of gangrene.

According to the Meningitis Research Foundation, "meningitis can kill in hours." For this reason, timely diagnosis and treatment of the disease is crucial.

Continue reading "Meningitis Misdiagnosis Impacts New York" »