• Breast Cancer and Misdiagnosis: What Patients Should Know

    When you are facing breast cancer, one of the last things you want to discover is that a misdiagnosis or late diagnosis could have compromised your prognosis. Diagnostic errors don’t always apply to missed or late diagnoses but also staging. If you feel your breast cancer was not timely diagnosed, here is what you need to know about medical negligence in breast cancer diagnostics and how you can become empowered as a patient.

    How do breast cancer misdiagnoses happen?
    Avoidable medical errors happen daily in hospitals and doctors’ offices across the country, and breast cancer misdiagnosis or late diagnosis are among the mistakes that medical professionals make. Misdiagnosis and late diagnosis can happen at several different stages in the process. In some cases, mammograms, sonograms, or digital films may not be read appropriately. In other cases, the results of a biopsy may not be tested appropriately and may provide incorrect results. Because early treatment is so crucial for breast cancer patients, a missed diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis not only means that treatments have to be more invasive and cause more significant quality of life issues, but it could also lead to loss of life that may have been preventable with earlier intervention.

    What can patients do?
    As a patient, it is important to be proactive about your care. Ask questions, speak up when you have concerns, and don’t take anyone’s word simply because he or she is a medical professional. Demand follow-up testing, second opinions, and anything else you need to feel confident that you are getting the right answers about your health.

    Pegalis & Erickson helps patients facing medical malpractice, including missed diagnoses, get the compensation they deserve. Dial (516) 684-2900 and talk to a medical malpractice attorney on Long Island to understand your rights.

  • Are You Legally Entitled to Interpreter Services in Hospitals?

    During a stressful visit to the hospital, it’s often challenging for patients to keep track of their providers’ questions, instructions, and recommendations. It’s even more challenging, if not downright impossible, for people with limited to no English proficiency to participate in their own healthcare. This is why New York hospitals and all those receiving federal funding are legally required to provide interpreter services when they are needed to allow equal access to healthcare services. A violation of this requirement might constitute medical malpractice in the situation concerning informed consent to treatment.

    Some states have also passed legislation to ensure all patients’ right to understand and participate in their own healthcare. California leads the nation with the number of these laws on the books. But unfortunately, many physicians are still unfamiliar with the mandate to provide interpreter services and language access can be implemented differently from hospital to hospital.

    The medical negligence lawyers of Pegalis & Erickson, LLC handle a wide range of medical malpractice cases, including emergency room errors, birth trauma, wrongful death, and medication errors. Patients are invited to call (516) 684-2900 to speak with an attorney at our medical malpractice law firm in New York.

  • Pegalis & Erickson Attorney Named to Hall of Fame of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business

    Lake Success, NY, (October 25, 2016) Pegalis and Erickson, LLC is proud to announce that our
    Managing Partner, Annamarie Bondi-Stoddard was just named a Top Women in Business for the 3rd time by the Long Island Business News. Bondi-Stoddard, Esq. received the honor at an awards dinner on October 20, attended by some 600 guests, at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY. As a three-time recipient of the award, Bondi-Stoddard was inducted into the “Hall of Fame of the Top 50 Business Women.” The Top 50 Women in Business program recognizes the Long Island region’s top women professionals for business acumen, mentoring and community involvement. Honorees are selected by a judging committee and represent the most influential women in business, government and the not-for- profit fields.

    Annamarie Bondi-Stoddard represents plaintiffs in medical negligence cases including women’s health issues, birth injuries, surgical, neurosurgical, cardiac, cancers, and other medical specialty cases where negligence is involved. She is an advocate for patient safety awareness and is devoted to community service for health-related matters, lecturing to both lay audiences and law professionals. She was named 2016 Outstanding Women in Law by Hofstra University School of Law’s Center for Children, Families and the Law. Bondi-Stoddard is also a recipient of the Long Island Business News ‘Who’s Who in Women in Professional Services, and their “50 around 50” Award. She has been honored with the Corporate Leadership Recognition Award from CP Nassau, has been named to Best Lawyers© each year since 2007, and continues to be voted by her peers into the New York Super Lawyers® List each year, amongst only 4% of all attorneys. She has led Pegalis & Erickson, LLC to consistently be recognized by Best Lawyers in America© and U.S. News and World Report as a New York Tier One Best Law Firm. Bondi-Stoddard serves an officer on the executive board of directors of the New York State Trial Attorneys (NYSTLA). She is also a Dean of the New York State Trial Lawyers Institute (NYSTLI). She was past president of the Long Island Women’s Agenda (LIWA). She is a member of several bar associations, and obtained her law degree from Boston University School of Law.

    About Pegalis & Erickson, LLC
    Pegalis & Erickson is a personal injury law firm in New York focused on representing seriously injured people that suffered medical negligence. We have won some of the largest verdicts in New York State history for birth trauma, misdiagnosed cancers, and surgical errors, and have obtained justice for serious construction and accident victims. In our forty years of practice, we have helped more than 2,000 people obtain funds for services they need to survive life day-to- day. We are advocates for patient safety and medical accountability to ensure safer medical practices for better patient care. Visit us at www.pegalisanderickson.com. For health news you can use follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • What Is Informed Consent?

    Legally and ethically, patients have the right to receive sufficient information about a medical treatment to be fully informed when they make a healthcare decision. Informed consent refers to the communication between a patient and the physician that leads to the patient’s agreement to have a particular medical intervention. A breach of informed consent may constitute medical malpractice. If you feel you may have a medical malpractice case, you have the right to consult medical negligence lawyers about your situation.

    There are three main components of informed consent. Patients must have received appropriate, accurate information about their medical conditions and treatment options. They must understand this information. Lastly, they must be able to make a healthcare decision and give their consent for the treatment, based on the information provided by their healthcare provider

    Over the years, Pegalis & Erickson, LLC has developed a sterling reputation for providing compassionate, personalized legal services for patients. You can schedule a one-on-one consult with a medical malpractice lawyer in Long Island, New York by calling (516) 684-2900.

  • The Parent’s Guide to Hip Dysplasia

    The proper functioning of the hip joint is essential for basic movement and for overall quality of life. While hip problems are often associated with older adults who have arthritis, they can also affect children and infants. Hip dysplasia refers to the instability and dislocation of the hip joint. Most often, it is present at birth, although it may develop during the first year of the child’s life. In some cases, the failure of a physician to diagnose and properly treat hip dysplasia may constitute an act of medical malpractice.

    Causes
    The presence of hip dysplasia by itself does not always indicate medical negligence; sometimes, the hip joint has simply failed to develop properly. Developmental hip dysplasia is more common among girls, first-born children, those with a family history of the condition, and cases that involve low levels of amniotic fluid. It can also occur more frequently in newborns born in the breech position. Medical organizations now recommend that all breech-born newborns be given an ultrasound to check for hip dysplasia.

    Symptoms
    There are different degrees of severity of hip dysplasia. Some children might not demonstrate noticeable symptoms. Parents might only notice that something is wrong when the baby has legs of different lengths, reduced flexibility and mobility on one side, or uneven skin folds on the thigh. As the child grows older and begins to walk, he or she might limp or otherwise take on an abnormal gait.

    Treatments
    Developmental hip dysplasia is best treated as soon as possible. When this condition is present at birth, it is incumbent upon the attending medical staff to detect the problem and recommend appropriate treatments. If the condition is detected at birth, the newborn is placed into a Pavlik harness, which is a soft positioning device that holds the hip joints in the proper positions while they develop.

    At Pegalis & Erickson, LLC, our medical malpractice lawyers approach every case with the dignity and sensitivity that patients deserve. If your child has birth injuries or may have suffered from other forms of pediatric medical malpractice, you can speak with one of our medical malpractice attorneys in Long Island, New York. Call (516) 684-2900 today for a free consultation.