On August 3, 2015, a Kings County jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Mr. Patterson’s clients in a medical malpractice action. Plaintiff claimed the defendant emergency medicine group failed to timely diagnose and treat cauda equina syndrome in a then 29 year old male, causing bilateral foot drop, loss of sensation, muscle atrophy and chronic pain. Plaintiff called five experts to the stand over the course of a three week trial, and demanded $2.3 million.
Kevin Porter and Zoya Weisensel attended the American Healthcare Lawyers Association annual meeting in Washington, D.C., beginning June 29, 2015. A major focus of the conference dealt with clinical integration and healthcare regulatory changes related to the Affordable Care Act. Among the topics covered was a keynote address by Dr. Ezekial Emanuel on implementation of the ACA and a focused presentation on fraud and abuse by Gregory Demske, senior counsel at the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. Both Kevin and Zoya attended presentations regarding how Accountable Care Organizations are changing the landscape of healthcare, as well as presentations on quality and value components of physician contracting under the new federal guidelines.
Vigorito, Barker, Patterson, Nichols and Porter, LLP is very pleased to announce that Roseann Driscoll has joined the firm and will head our appellate practice. Roseann’s career has been primarily devoted to appellate practice. She has drafted numerous briefs and argued before the Appellate Division. Her talents and expertise are a welcome addition to the firm.
Vigorito, Barker, Patterson, Nichols and Porter, LLP proudly welcomes Mamie Stathatos-Fulgieri to the firm as a partner in the Long Island office. Many of us have worked along side Mamie in the past and recognize her as both a very talented attorney and wonderful person. She is a former district attorney, who has spent the last 17 years representing physicians, nursing homes and some of the largest medical institutions in New York. Mamie currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for the Hellenic Lawyers Association and is involved in many different philanthropic entities.
On June 13, 2015, the firm invited several guests to see Michael Ricigliano, Jr’s Queen For a Day at Theatre St. Clements. The riveting play features Vincent Pastore and David Proval from the HBO hit series The Sopranos. Both delivered amazing performances. The cast was kind enough to stay for pictures with the firm and guests following the performance.
On May 3rd, 2015 Todd Gilbert and Alfred Vigorito gave a presentation to the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin at the Harvard Club in New York City. The topics included tips for avoiding malpractice litigation and anatomy of a medical malpractice lawsuit.
The firm recently secured summary judgment on behalf of our hospital client in an action of malpractice stemming from a fall by the then 92 year old plaintiff. It was established the plaintiff was properly assessed immediately upon admission as having been high risk for falls, he was oriented and alert and received the appropriate instructions with regard to getting out of bed. We were able to establish the hospital put into place the appropriate interventions, including raising the side rails, appropriate foot wear, instructions and placement of a call bell. The Court held plaintiff did not meet his burden in rebutting the entitlement to summary judgment
VBP&P is very proud to announce that Robert Boccio has joined the firm as a partner. Mr. Boccio began his career with the New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel. He was then recruited to the New York Department of Juvenile Justice where he was appointed as the Executive Director to Horizon Juvenile Detention Center. For the past decade Mr. Boccio has specialized in the defense of medical professionals, including major medical centers, nursing homes and a variety of physicians. He has also defended many clients in pharmaceutical and general liability litigation. Rob is a fantastic attorney and a terrific person. We are delighted to have Rob on board.
On May 5, 2015, the firm celebrated Cinco de Mayo by hosting an event at Citi Field in the Delta Sky Deck. On a fantastic night for baseball, the Mets held on for a 3-2 victory. A good time was had by all. We look forward to many such events in the years to come.
VBP&P is proud to join St. Johns Law School in sponsoring a Health Care Law Symposium, to be held in September of 2015. The program will feature attorneys from the firm speaking on a variety of matters, including health care law, medical malpractice defense and criminal matters related to the health field.
