Page 24 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame: Medical Malpractice

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
VERDICT & SETTLEMENTS
HALL OF FAME

#17
her $15 million.
Tesoriero’s radiologist, Dr. Paul Fisher, had failed to thoroughly
investigate the original breast lump, contended her attorney, Robert
Case: Tesoriero v. Fisher
V. Fallarino of Pegalis & Erickson L.L.C. in Lake Success, N.Y.

Fallorino said a biopsy and a sonogram would have revealed the Attorney: Robert V. Fallarino

cancer early enough to improve his client’s chances for survival. Firm: Pegalis & Erickson L.L.C
The defense contended the cancer did not occupy the same area
originally examined and that the cancer developed after the patient’s Verdict: 15,000,000

initial examination.

The award consisted of $5 million for past pain and suffering and
By Phil Albinus
$10 million for future pain and suffering. Prior to the jury’s verdict
both sides agreed to cap the settlement at $1.5 million so a lengthy
Stephanie Tesoriero, a 42-year-old homemaker and mother, did appeal could be avoided, Fallarino said.

everything she should have done after inding a lump in one of her
breasts, according to her attorney. She went to a physician, had a The case’s critical medical issue, the attorney said, was the fact
mammogram and, when told the lump was a benign cyst, returned that young women such as Tesoriero often have dense breast tissue

for a follow-up visit.
that can hide a tumor from a mammogram, so a physician should
do additional tests.
But when she did so in February 2004, Tesoriero learned a roughly

golf-ball size tumor had been found in the same breast. Despite The jury found Tesoriero’s case quite sympathetic, her attorney
aggressive treatments that included radiation, hormonal and che- said.
motherapy, the cancer had spread to her spine in 2005 and to one

hip, her pelvis and another part of the spine by 2011. Tesoriero was “Stephanie did everything right. She felt a lump and she immedi-
given a terminal diagnosis.
ately went to what she thought was the right place to go,” Fallorino
said. “I think the jury really understood that she did what she was

A state Supreme Court jury in Suffolk County found that Tesori- supposed to do.”
ero’s radiologist failed to diagnose her breast cancer and awarded

#18

“What convinced the jury was the manner in which the nurses
failed to document what they did for the patient at a crucial time Case:
Carelli V. Westchester County
period,” Tangredi said. “When the patient is supposed to be rotated
and turned every two hours, the nurses wrote down PRN, as needed.”
Health Care Corp.

Attorney: Peter E. Tangredi
During those two days, the attorney said, the pressure sore went
from stage two to stage four on a scale of four, a condition in which Firm: Peter E. Tangredi & Associates
the wound reaches through skin, fatty tissue and into muscle. Carelli
Verdict: 14,500,000
underwent debridement, or removal of the damaged and nearby tis-
sue, covering an area of approximately 60 square inches. When that
By Len Maniace
area late became infected, Carelli was moved to Horton Hospital in

Orange County where his treatment continued.
A 50-year-old editor who suffered continuing pain from pressure
sores that took a full year to heal after surgery at the Westchester After four weeks, Carelli was inally discharged, though the wound

Medical Center was awarded $14.5 million by a state Supreme Court needed bandaging for six months, during which time he needed to
jury in Westchester.
be visited daily by a nurse, Tangredi said.

Dominick Carelli developed bedsores four days after undergoing Carelli contended that he suffered constant pain that was addressed
bariatric surgery June 15, 2006, a wound that blackened over the through a prescription for oxycodone. He further claimed that he
next 11 days. Despite that development, a specialist was not called could not work during his recovery and lost his sole client. He sought

into the case until July 5.
recovery of his lost earnings, damages for his past pain and suffer-
ing, and damages for his future pain and suffering.
His attorney, Peter E. Tangredi, contended that the hospital’s

own protocols required immobilized patients such as Carelli to be The inal award was reduced to a $3 million maximum, which had
regularly turned to minimize the development of pressure sores, been negotiated by the two sides.
also known as decubitus ulcers. In fact, Carelli was supposed to

be repositioned every two hours but, Tangredi maintained, that
did not happen.

22 November 2014