Accomplishments

In January 2012, Alan J. Fumuso obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an Oral Surgeon in Suffolk County. The 64 year old plaintiff alleged that he sustained a fractured jaw following the removal of his lower right wisdom tooth, as well as osteomyelitis in his mandible secondary to a delay in diagnosis of this fracture. Plaintiff had his jaws wired closed for 14 weeks by a subsequent treating Oral Surgeon (not a defendant), and still complains of permanent numbness in the area. The defense countered that the plaintiff never had a fracture, did not require wiring, and that his osteomyelitis was secondary to an infection originating in the retained roots of the tooth. After a two week trial the jury returned a unanimous defendants verdict in 15 minutes.

In March 2011, Scott G. Christesen received a decision from the Appellate Division Second Department which affirmed the June 2009 jury verdict obtained by Alan Fumuso, in an action involving claims of obstetrical malpractice against our client. It was asserted that the plaintiff sustained significant neurological injuries due to hypoxia experienced shortly before her birth. The appellate court determined that the favorable jury verdict was reached after a fair and reasonable view of the evidence and that the trial court had appropriately rendered evidentiary rulings during the course of the trial.

In October 2010, Scott G. Christesen received a decision from the Appellate Division Second Department which affirmed the finding of the Supreme Court in favor of our clients on a motion seeking summary judgment and dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint. This was a claim that the defendant family practice and gastroenterologists failed to timely diagnose and treat the plaintiff for a rare uterine cancer. Importantly, plaintiff counsel opposed this motion with three separate expert affidavits, totaling over 50 pages of text. Plaintiff subsequently moved for leave to the Court of Appeals and that application was denied.

In May 2010, Alan J. Fumuso obtained a defense verdict in a case brought against North Shore University Hospital. It was alleged that the physicians and nursing staff were negligent in allowing a stage four sacral decubitus ulcer to develop following open heart surgery, and that this ulcer remained open and draining for a period of two years. It was the position of the defense that because of the patients debilitated condition and multiple co-morbidities, the development, extent, and duration of the sacral ulcer was unavoidable, and occurred in spite of appropriate care. The jury returned a unanimous verdict on behalf of North Shore Hospital in less than one hour.