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Consulting Radiologist and Consulting Neurosurgeon Found To Have Only Limited Duty to Patient

The plaintiff was given an epidural steroid injection and awoke unable to breathe or move her extremities. An MRI of the cervical spine taken the same day was reviewed by a radiologist from his home via internet, who reported that it failed to reveal any evidence of an abnormal signal to the spinal cord suggestive of edema, cord contusion (bruising) or an infarct. The same radiologist reviewed a second MRI taken two days later which showed an infarction demonstrating a stroke of the spinal cord. Plaintiff sued the doctor who administered the injection, a radiologist and a neurosurgeon.

On June 15, 2016, a New York Appellate Court affirmed the decision of a Suffolk County Judge who dismissed the claims against the radiologist and neurosurgeon finding that their roles were limited and that they had no general duty of care to the patient/plaintiff. Plaintiff argued that the radiologist should have ordered a diffusion MRI when the standard MRI failed to explain the patient's paralysis. The Court held that the radiologist's only duty "was to interpret the MRI film and document his findings". The plaintiff also argued that the neurosurgeon should have examined the patient to ensure that the high dose steroids were being properly administered. (There was an alleged delay in administering steroids to reduce spinal cord swelling.) The Court found that the neurosurgeon had only been consulted to determine if neurosurgery was necessary and neither side claimed it was necessary. The plaintiff's experts did not deny that the first MRI was correctly interpreted and it was undisputed that radiological evidence of cord infarction may not present for more than 24 hours. Meade v Yland, Appellate Division, Second Department.

Ronald C. Burke, Esq

Trial Attorney with 30+ Years of Experience Attorney Ronald C. Burke, Esq. has more than 30 years of experience and has focused his career on representing clients in cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and legal malpractice. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and has won many seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients over the years, including many case victories listed among the largest in the history of the New York State. He has been featured in the news and is a regular lecturer for the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as having lectured before the New York State Bar Association. Ron is also an attorney with Kelner & Kelner, a New York personal injury law firm. Awards and Accolades Mr. Burke's awards and accolades are many. Among them, he has been included in New York Super Lawyers® each year since 2010, and he has received the highest-possible AV® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Verdict Search, a part of the New York Law Journal, frequently recognizes his notable successes after winning some of the highest settlements and verdicts in past years. He was also featured in their list of the "Top New York Verdicts " and "Top New York Settlements." He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as before the United States Supreme Court. When Attorney Burke is not handling legal malpractice cases, he is highly involved in the local community. He was a member of the Village of Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, has served on the local school board and as Chairman of the local Zoning Board. Learn more about Attorney Burke and how he can skillfully handle your malpractice case by contacting the Law Offices of Ronald C. Burke, Esq. right away to schedule your complimentary case evaluation. Our firm is here to help! Contact a New York Legal Malpractice Attorney Our firm provides each client's case with thorough preparation and aggressive representation, ensuring that you win the best possible results for your case whether it is settled or goes to trial. As a seasoned trial lawyer, Mr. Burke can provide the strong and relentless representation you need to establish negligence in a legal malpractice case and to recover any damages you may have suffered. Our firm can recover compensation for pre-trial and trial malpractice, violations of fee arrangements, loss of income, pain and suffering, and much more. Contact us today!

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