Plaintiff Wins $2.3 Million In NY Hospital Malpractice Suit
After a three-week trial, jurors in Rockland County found Nyack Hospital’s Dr. Jason Fond liable for medical malpractice. The panel rendered a $2.3 million verdict to 52-year-old John Antonucci, who suffered permanent injuries from an untreated bacterial infection while under the treatment of Nyack’s head of orthopedic surgery.
According to the plaintiff’s New York hospital malpractice lawsuit, he had an MRI performed at Hudson Valley Radiology Associates and while at the clinic, was given an injection that is now thought to have been contaminated. Just a few days later, the claimant presented at Nyack Hospital, where he had a culture test done. Then on October 1, 2010 – just two days later – he saw Dr. Fond and was discharged after a 25-minute long appointment. Antonucci was released, argued his attorney, despite the fact the defendant had access to culture results that showed the plaintiff had a serious bacterial infection, which needed emergent treatment.
Untreated bacterial infection caused irreparable damage
According to allegations leveled in the complaint, Antonucci was taken back to Nyack Hospital two days later, but the damage had already been done. The bacterial infection had progressed and worsened, seriously damaging his hip. As a result, the Valley Cottage resident was forced to undergo a hip replacement surgery twelve weeks later.
“He is disabled from his work in construction and he is limited in almost all the activities he used to enjoy before,” said the plaintiff’s medical malpractice lawyer, who added that his client was the type of man “everybody wanted to hang around with, and now he’s not.”
Antonucci’s attorney told LoHud Journal News, “Doctors shouldn’t take needless risks that endanger their patients by prematurely discharging them…Patient safety requires that there be a follow-up on test results, especially when a misdiagnosis is likely to result in substantial injury.”
The defendant’s legal counsel did not return calls asking for a comment.
Bacterial infections, when left untreated by specific antibiotics, can wreak havoc on the body, in some cases leading to osteomyelitis – an infection inside of the bone. Those with osteomyeltis face risk of sepsis and, in some cases, bone death. Oral antibiotics are generally prescribed for at least 4 to 6 weeks, and surgery may be necessary when irreparable damage to the bone has occurred, which likely happened in this case.
How NY medical malpractice attorneys can help you
Health care professionals are charged with providing a certain standard of care to their patients, and when this duty is breached and negligence occurs, The Sanders Firm is here to help. Our medical malpractice attorneys have been successfully litigating and settling claims in the greater New York area for nearly 50 years, securing millions of dollars on behalf of our clients.
If you or loved one was harmed or suffered financially due to hospital malpractice in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island or Long Island, we have the skills, knowledge and resources to fight for the compensation you deserve.
To learn more about your legal options and rights under the law, we invite you to call our offices toll-free to schedule a no-obligation case review with a member of our firm. The first consultation is free and our legal fees are waived until you recover monetary damages. Contact us at 1-800-FAIR-PLAY. Resources
- LoHud, Nyack Hospital patient wins $2.3M lawsuit http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2014/08/02/nyack-hospital-malpractice-jason-fond/13531431/
- WebMD, Bacterial and Viral Infections http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bacterial-and-viral-infections
