On August 29th, 2024, Alan J. Fumuso obtained a defense verdict in Supreme Court Suffolk County after a two week trial before Judge George Nolan. This was an action brought on behalf of a then 53 year old school teacher who alleged that the defendant Orthopedist/Hand Surgeon negligently treated a fractured finger, failed to diagnose Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in its early stages, and ordered contra-indicated therapy. It was alleged that as a result of that negligent treatment the plaintiff developed migratory CRPS, with the condition spreading from her right hand to her left hand, right leg and left leg. The defendant countered that the treatment of the fractured finger was at all times appropriate, and that the plaintiff never had CRPS while under his care. Defendant also questioned whether the subsequent treaters made the correct diagnosis of CRPS, and raised the possibility that the plaintiff never had that condition.
Plaintiff called two experts, in the fields of Plastic Surgery/Hand and Rehabilitation Medicine, who both asserted that the defendant departed from accepted practice and caused injury. Defendant called an Orthopedist, with a subspeciality in Hand, who testified that the defendant treated the plaintiff properly, and that the plaintiff never had CRPS while under his care.
Plaintiff’s attorney, in her summation, asked the jury to award her client $3,000,000 in damages. The jury deliberated 90 minutes before returning a verdict on behalf of the defendant.
