Accomplishments

On May 9, 2022, Anthony Marino obtained a defense verdict after a one week trial before Justice George Nolan in Supreme Court, Suffolk County. The 34 year old plaintiff alleged that the defendant doctor needlessly performed a surgical procedure to remove a bony prominence from her toe and that in doing so he removed healthy bone from her joint causing nerve and tendon damage. She also claimed that the doctor did not provide the proper information regarding the risks of the surgery so that she could give proper informed consent. As a result, the plaintiff claimed she could not walk properly, had issues with her gait, experienced persistent pain and that her left foot was “clawed” and deformed. She also claimed that the condition was permanent and suggested the jury award $460,000.00 in damages. After testimony from the parties, expert witnesses and the plaintiff’s mother, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the doctor on all claims in less than an hour.

On March 22, 2022, Alan J. Fumuso, in one of the first trials since the reopening of the Courts after the COVID pandemic, obtained a defendants verdict after a two week trial in Supreme Court Nassau County before Judge Leonard Steinman. The 28 year old male Plaintiff alleged that the defendant Oral Surgeon was negligent in the removal of  plaintiff’s 3rd molar teeth, and did so without obtaining an appropriate Informed Consent, resulting in damage to the plaintiff’s inferior alveolar nerve. The plaintiff during the trial established that he had permanent altered sensation to his lip and chin. Plaintiff’s allegations included alleged failure to perform a pre-extraction CBCT scan, failure to perform a coronectomy as an alternate procedure, improper post extraction treatment, and failure to make timely referral to a microsurgeon for reparative surgery. Expert witnesses were called on both sides, and all parties took the stand. After deliberating for 3 hours, the jury returned a unanimous verdict on behalf of the defendants.

On August 3, 2020, Partner, James F. Farrell, Jr., assisted by Senior Associate, Michelle C. Acosta, secured a defense verdict on behalf of a Suffolk County Neuroradiologist in Supreme Court, Suffolk County. This was a continuation of a medical malpractice action in which the trial had started on February 11, 2020 and continued until March 16, 2020 when trial was suspended due to the pandemic. The trial resumed on July 27, 2020 and resulted in a unanimous verdict for the defendant on August 3rd. The action was brought on behalf of a then 2 month old male in which it was claimed that the defendant failed to diagnose the presence of a arachnoid cyst in the right middle cranial fossa, which was found on an MRI performed 18 months later and had grown to approximately 9 cm in its greatest dimension. Plaintiff’s counsel claimed there was a failure to timely diagnose and treat the arachnoid cyst causing compression of the brain and neurological injuries rendering the child cognitively impaired and in need of lifetime care.

The defense argued that the plaintiff was not injured by the cyst, the child’s brain had failed to develop normally and there was a complete absence of radiological evidence and/or neurological signs or symptoms related to the presence of the cyst. The defense also argued that the subsequent MRI failed to disclose evidence of compression or injury to the brain. The defense also argued that the child’s condition was caused by Autism, which is of genetic origin although a specific genetic defect had not been identified.

After a trial that spanned six weeks before the pandemic and an additional week starting July 27, 2020, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in favor of our client despite plaintiff’s request for $5,750,000 in past and future pain and suffering, approximately $3,000,000 in future lost wages and millions of dollars for therapies and lifetime custodial care.

On November 21, 2019, Partner, James F. Farrell, Jr., assisted by Senior Counsel, Ann D. Schattner, secured a defense verdict on behalf of a Suffolk County hospital in Supreme Court, Suffolk County. The action was brought on behalf of a then 69 year old married female, with four adult children, who presented to the hospital with complaints of nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. Plaintiff’s counsel claimed there was a failure to timely diagnose and properly treat an ischemic brain stem stroke, which resulted in the patient’s death approximately 10 days later and that the hospital was vicariously liable for acts or omissions of the Emergency Department Attending.

The defense argued that the plaintiff was not a candidate for thrombolytics since her symptoms were non-specific and she woke up with those symptoms. Defense also argued that timely imaging studies and a neurology consult were performed. The defense argued that neither thrombolytics nor aspirin would have been proper, and their usage would not have changed the patient’s outcome.

After a trial that spanned 3 weeks, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in favor of our client.