Residents of New York — and really, individuals across the nation — have the right to expect, even demand, a professional standard of care from their health care providers. In fact, such a standard is used to ascertain whether a doctor has committed medical malpractice, should it be determined that he or she failed to meet that standard of care. In another state, a man has filed a lawsuit claiming exactly such a failure after a doctor’s alleged negligence led to the loss of his leg.
The recently filed legal complaint claims that, in July 2016, the plaintiff sought treatment for a complex tibia fracture. One of the defendants in the case, a podiatrist, performed a surgical procedure to place screws or rods. However, the lawsuit alleges that this defendant was not properly qualified to perform the procedure. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims, the initial incisions made by the podiatrist violated the standard of care, causing infection to set in in the plaintiff’s bones and leading to death of tissue. Eventually, the patient’s leg had to be amputated, and it is claimed that this amputation was due directly to the defendants’ negligence.
In addition to the doctor who performed the surgery, Baptist Healthcare Systems and its office of orthopedics and sports medicine are named as defendants. The medical malpractice lawsuit states that the defendants should have referred the patient to an expert in orthopedic trauma or a specialist in infectious disease, plastic surgery or the like. In failing to do so, the defendants’ displayed negligence and, the lawsuit alleges, acted in reckless disregard of both the patient’s rights and health.
For this claimed negligence, the suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages in addition to interest, fees and court costs. Victims of medical malpractice frequently need ongoing, expensive medical care to address the injuries suffered as a result of doctor negligence. In such cases in New York, the experience of a seasoned medical malpractice attorney in the Brooklyn area can prove invaluable in the fight for just compensation.
Source: richmondregister.com, “Two lawsuits filed against Baptist Health“, Kelly McKinney, Dec. 25, 2017
