UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Duffy & Duffy, PLLC, a New York-based personal injury firm concentrating its practice in medical malpractice and nursing home abuse with offices in Long Island and New York City, has announced that, after six years of litigation and COVID-related delays, a jury awarded a $2.5 million jury verdict in a same-day hernia surgery malpractice case. Now that courts have fully reopened and are beginning to hold trials again, victims of medical malpractice are finally getting their day in court and justice is being served. With cases now proceeding again to trial, insurance companies no longer have the upper hand when it comes to their delay tactics.

Margaret Parr, a 68-year-old married mother of two, complained of abdominal pain, chest pain and difficulty swallowing. The defendant surgeon, Dr. Medhat Allam, diagnosed her as having a large, intrathoracic hiatal hernia and scheduled her for ambulatory hernia surgery. It was discovered that Dr. Allam failed to timely and properly ascertain the risks of performing a laparoscopic ambulatory hiatal hernia repair and laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication in light of the decedent’s medical and surgical history, including the use of anticoagulants and having stents implanted in the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries nine months earlier.

The defendant surgeon failed to request and obtain consultations from a vascular surgeon regarding the  laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair and Nissen fundoplication. As a result of the departure from accepted standards of medical care and treatment, the defendant improperly assessed Ms. Parr as a proper candidate for ambulatory, same-day surgery.

On October 18, 2021, a New York State Supreme Court, Suffolk County jury found 6-0 that Dr. Allam was negligent in failing to obtain a vascular consult and was negligent in scheduling the hernia surgery as an ambulatory procedure. The jury awarded $2.2 million for Ms. Parr’s 20 hours of conscious pain and suffering and $300,000 for the loss of parental care and guidance for her daughter.

“No family should have to go through this,” said Suzanne Czerepinski, Ms. Parr’s wife. “It was neglect and he needed to be brought to account for that. My spouse was in terrific pain following the surgery.”

“Finally, after six years of litigation, the family has some justice,” said Cliff Argintar, Lead Trial Counsel at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC.

“We are very pleased that the jury found in our client’s favor,” said Michael E. Duffy, Managing Partner, Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. “We were able to prove that the surgeon was negligent and unnecessarily caused this death. Patients deserve accountability from their health care professionals — a right we strive to protect.”

For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

 

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About Duffy & Duffy Law

Based in Uniondale, New York, Duffy & Duffy Law offers solid legal counsel and representation to people who have suffered from negligence and medical malpractice. The firm advocates for patients of negligent physicians and nurses throughout New York, sheds light on uninsurable doctors who continued practicing and held insurance companies accountable for dictating patients’ course of treatment, leading to tragic outcomes. Duffy & Duffy Law serves injured individuals throughout Nassau, Suffolk, and Kings Counties, as well as the Bronx, Queens and other areas of New York. For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Duffy & Duffy, PLLC would like to announce that William L. Green has joined the firm as an Associate. He concentrates his practice in medical malpractice law.

Mr. Green earned his Bachelor’s degree (with honors) in Political Science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. After graduation, he took a job at Capitol Hill with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and ran several investigations into fraud, waste and abuse in government programs under the committee’s jurisdiction. He later joined a number of various nonprofit organizations.

He later returned to George Washington University to earn his Juris Doctor. While attending law school, he completed an International Human Rights Law program at the University of Oxford in England, working alongside several United Nations officials and experts in that legal field, and worked with the NAACP in Baltimore, Maryland.

A resident of Manhattan, Mr. Green is admitted to practice in New York State and before all New York State courts. He volunteers his time raising funds and awareness for people with disabilities.

“I am excited to be part of Duffy & Duffy and I look forward to working with my fellow attorneys on any new and existing medical malpractice cases,” Mr. Green said.

“We welcome Mr. Green to our firm,” said Michael Duffy, Managing Partner, Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. “His experience in providing research in complex matters and his advocacy for those who cannot speak for themselves will serve as a benefit to the firm in our representation of our medical malpractice clients.”

For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

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About Duffy & Duffy Law

Based in Uniondale, New York, Duffy & Duffy Law offers solid legal counsel and representation to people who have suffered from negligence and medical malpractice. The firm advocates for patients of negligent physicians and nurses throughout New York, sheds light on uninsurable doctors who continued practicing and held insurance companies accountable for dictating patients’ course of treatment, leading to tragic outcomes. Duffy & Duffy Law serves injured individuals throughout Nassau, Suffolk, and Kings Counties, as well as the Bronx, Queens and other areas of New York. For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

Attorney Received Her Start with Long Island Medical Malpractice Law Firm as an Intern

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Duffy & Duffy, PLLC would like to announce that Dorothy Renz has been elevated to Partner. Prior to being promoted, she was an Associate with the firm.

Ms. Renz practices personal injury law with a concentration in medical malpractice. She got her start at Duffy & Duffy as an intern while attending St. John’s University School of Law. Her duties included filing, answering phone calls and, later, working in the firm’s intake department. “During that time, I learned that medical malpractice is far more complex than it seems and that our clients’ lives can be immensely improved through our work,” she said.

She decided to become an attorney because of her strong sense of advocacy and her willingness to help others. While she found the practice of medical malpractice to be challenging, she was also drawn to it. “I was attracted to medical malpractice, not just because the elements of medicine and science are extremely interesting and allow you to learn more each day, but also because of the human element and close client interactions and relationships which are formed,” she said.

Ms. Renz is admitted to practice in the state of New York. She sits on the Associate Board of Directors of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers.

In 2006, she graduated from Boston College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. She also earned a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law in 2010. While attending law school, she earned the Silver Pro Bono Service Award for dedicating more than 50 hours of pro bono work throughout her law school career. Her service included assisting victims of domestic violence in obtaining temporary orders of protection against their abusers.

Ms. Renz lives in North Bellmore with her husband and two children.

“It is truly an honor to be named Partner at one of the most successful and prestigious medical malpractice firms in the state,” Ms. Renz said. “At Duffy & Duffy, we treat our clients with the utmost respect and compassion. We tirelessly work to help the ease the pain that they have endured due to medical negligence. I look forward to continuing this rewarding work in my new role.”

“We congratulate Dorothy on her new position,” said Michael Duffy, Managing Partner, Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. “When she joined the firm as an intern, she was willing to learn every aspect of how the firm operates and what goes into handling a medical malpractice case. Her greatest attribute is providing the legal assistance that our clients need, but doing so in a compassionate manner.”

For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

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 About Duffy & Duffy Law

Based in Uniondale, New York, Duffy & Duffy Law offers solid legal counsel and representation to people who have suffered from negligence and medical malpractice. The firm advocates for patients of negligent physicians and nurses throughout New York, sheds light on uninsurable doctors who continued practicing and held insurance companies accountable for dictating patients’ course of treatment, leading to tragic outcomes. Duffy & Duffy Law serves injured individuals throughout Nassau, Suffolk, and Kings Counties, as well as the Bronx, Queens and other areas of New York. For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Attorneys from the law firm Duffy & Duffy Law are available for comment on how New York nursing homes failed to prepare for the coming COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to more than 6,600 deaths.

The firm filed a series of lawsuits on behalf of the residents’ families, claiming the facilities willfully failed to implement an infection control program as required by the 2016 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Final Rule and its accompanying 2019 memorandum. Further, the nursing homes violated New York State Public Health Law by failing to properly train their staff on infection control and emergency preparedness. In addition, they did not heed the warnings from the New York State Health Department back in February that the virus would hit the state.

On April 3, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that protected nursing homes and hospitals from legal liability during the pandemic, except in instances of willful gross negligence or reckless misconduct. However, in response to the increase in COVID-19 related deaths at these facilities, the state Legislature approved a bill on August 3 that would roll back certain legal protections for hospitals and nursing homes.

On July 28, the state Legislature began holding a series of hearings to investigate how the coronavirus spread through the nursing homes and, specifically, if it was related to a state order requiring nursing homes to take in residents who had the virus. Currently, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division also began its investigation to determine if the state directive contributed to the residents’ deaths.

For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

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About Duffy & Duffy Law

Based in Uniondale, New York, Duffy & Duffy Law offers solid and legal counsel and representation to people who have suffered from negligence and medical malpractice. The firm advocates for patients of negligent physicians and nurses throughout New York, sheds light on uninsurable doctors who continued practicing and held insurance companies accountable for dictating patients’ course of treatment, leading to tragic outcomes. Duffy & Duffy Law serves injured individuals throughout Nassau, Suffolk, and Kings Counties, as well as the Bronx, Queens and other areas of New York. For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Michael Duffy, Managing Partner, Duffy & Duffy, PLLC, is available to comment on the new limited malpractice liability law covering hospitals and nursing homes in their treatment of patients with COVID-19. He says that the focus should be on the patients and not on the healthcare facilities’ bottom lines.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed a bill into law that limits the liability protections of nursing homes and hospitals only to coronavirus patients from now on. This is a change from the law Governor Cuomo signed in March which provided broader liability protections to healthcare facilities during the pandemic, except during instances of criminal activity or gross negligence.

“The immunity provision contained within the New York State budget, put into place on March 23, was too broad for its intended purpose,” Mr. Duffy says. “It’s not surprising that industry lobbyists went too far in shielding hospitals and nursing homes from incompetence and lack of proper care. At a time when people are out of work and struggling to make ends meet, the focus should not have been on helping the hospitals’ CEOs and owners protect their profits, but protecting patients from corporate greed and ensuring quality of care for all New Yorkers.”

For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

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About Duffy & Duffy Law

Based in Uniondale, New York, Duffy & Duffy Law offers solid legal counsel and representation to people who have suffered from negligence and medical malpractice. The firm advocates for patients of negligent physicians and nurses throughout New York, shed light on uninsurable doctors who continued practicing and held insurance companies accountable for dictating patients’ course of treatment, leading to tragic outcomes. Duffy & Duffy Law serves injured individuals throughout Nassau, Suffolk, and Kings Counties, as well as the Bronx, Queens and other areas of New York. For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

Firm Argues Facilities Failed to Properly Train Staff in Infection Control and Emergency Preparedness as Required by NYS and Federal Laws

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Duffy & Duffy, PLLC has announced the first of a series of lawsuits being filed against New York nursing homes on behalf of the families of residents who died as a result of the coronavirus.

The lawsuits claim the defendant nursing home facilities violated the New York State Public Health Law by failing to adequately train their staff on protocols regarding infection control and emergency preparedness. Even before the coronavirus was discovered, state and federal regulations mandated nursing homes be prepared for viral outbreaks.  But back in February, the facilities were specifically warned by the New York State Department of Health about the coming coronavirus pandemic.  Unfortunately, they still failed to prepare for it. The lawsuits go on to say that the nursing homes willfully and/or recklessly violated the residents’ rights to be informed of any significant changes to their loved one’s health and of any care and treatment they receive that may affect the residents’ well-being.

The 2016 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Final Rule and its accompanying 2019 memorandum required nursing home facilities to implement an infection prevention and control program and hire an infection preventionist to oversee the program, but the facilities willfully failed to do so, resulting in the preventable deaths of residents. Although nursing homes were granted immunity during the coronavirus pandemic, the firm contends that the facilities are responsible for the injuries caused due to the reckless misconduct and willful gross negligence of the nursing home administration and staff in failing to comply with public health regulations.

The state’s nursing homes were granted immunity from legal liability as part of the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act that was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on April 2. According to reports, the Greater New York Hospital Association — an industry group that gave $3 million to the campaigns of Governor Cuomo and state Democratic politicians — drafted the legal protections put into the bill.

The firm is seeking to overcome the immunity issue by arguing that the State Health Department issued its warning before the legal protections were granted; the facilities enjoyed the immunity at the expense of the residents’ health; and such protections do not protect the nursing homes from reckless or willful gross negligence.

Research from The New York Times shows that 21% of all COVID-19 related deaths statewide were at nursing homes. Infections and deaths at nursing homes varied widely — of the 452 nursing homes in New York State, 21 had no deaths, and 110 had only one or two deaths as of June 29, according to the state Health Department. These numbers suggest that protocols and preventative measures varied widely among nursing home facilities in the state.

Those nursing homes that complied with state law and had adequate measures in place when the pandemic occurred were more effective in dealing with the outbreak.  On the other hand, the facilities that failed to appropriately prepare and implement these safety rules caused avoidable deaths in large numbers:

Nursing Home	County	Confirmed/Suspected COVID-19 Related Deaths
Kings Harbor	Bronx	59
St. Patrick’s House	Bronx	40
The Citadel	Bronx	55
The Plaza	Bronx	37
Throgs Neck Rehab	Bronx	37
Absolut Center	Erie	36
Fiddlers Green	Erie	65
Bensonhurst Center	Kings	36
Cobble Hill Center	Kings	56
Haym Solomon	Kings	46
Menorah Home	Kings	62
The Phoenix	Kings	61
Cold Spring Hills	Nassau	35
Fulton Commons	Nassau	40
Meadowbrook	Nassau	38
The New Jewish	Westchester	50
LI Veterans Home	Suffolk	71
Gurwin Jewish	Suffolk	50
Carillon Nursing	Suffolk	44
Carmel Richmond	Richmond	59
Clove Lakes	Richmond	40
Parker Jewish	Queens	80
Ozanam	Queens	62
Holliswood	Queens	58
The Valley View	Orange	34
Amsterdam	New York	58
The New Jewish	New York	58
The Riverside	New York	61
Isabella Geriatric	New York	68

 

“These facilities were reckless because they had the opportunity to prepare themselves for the coronavirus pandemic, but failed to put the necessary systems in place,” said Damien Smith, Esq. of Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. “The State Health Department told these facilities in February to get ready for this wave, and they made the decision not to prepare. Their collective failure to create and implement infection control procedures as required by the Public Health Law is another reason these nursing homes should not have been afforded the legal protections they enjoyed during the pandemic. These facilities not only made it unsafe for their residents, but they fostered a dangerous environment for their own employees.”

For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.

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About Duffy & Duffy Law

Based in Uniondale, New York, Duffy & Duffy Law offers solid legal counsel and representation to people who have suffered from negligence and medical malpractice. The firm advocates for patients of negligent physicians and nurses throughout New York, shed light on uninsurable doctors who continued practicing and held insurance companies accountable for dictating patients’ course of treatment, leading to tragic outcomes. Duffy & Duffy Law serves injured individuals throughout Nassau, Suffolk, and Kings Counties, as well as the Bronx, Queens and other areas of New York. For more information, call (516) 394-4200 or visit www.duffyduffylaw.com.