New Hyde Park, July 2020… On March 16, 2020, in one of the last civil jury verdicts due to the Corona virus, a Nassau County jury returned a $1.45 million verdict against Dr. Louis Tiger—a Massapequa physician—in favor of the Estate of Alexandra Hernandez—a 52 year old wife and mother. According to trial attorney Robert V. Fallarino of Pegalis Law Group, “The jury found the doctor negligent for failing to perform a simple blood test to evaluate Alexandra’s kidney function, before giving her an injection of Reclast to strengthen her bones. This is a very common treatment for post-menopause osteoporosis, but it is known to cause kidney damage if given to at-risk women.” A kidney function blood test is the only way to know if a patient is at-risk and is required to be obtained before infusing the medication. Dr. Tiger’s failure to take this simple safety check caused Mrs. Hernandez to go into kidney failure, thereby requiring a respirator, dialysis and additional treatments for all of the injuries caused by the doctor’s malpractice. Although she came off the respirator for a short time, Alexandra continued to deteriorate because of the Reclast induced kidney injury. This led to a cascade of events that culminated in her death, after being in the hospital for almost two months.
The trial took over three weeks in front of Nassau County Supreme Court Justice: Hon. Jeffrey Brown. The jury heard the testimony of experts in Rheumatology from a Harvard-affiliated hospital, a Nephrologist from the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a kidney Pathologist from NYU Langone Hospital. These experts explained what must occur before a doctor can give someone Reclast. They described how Alexandra’s kidney biopsy showed the exact injuries you would expect from Reclast, and how she languished and died, just as someone who got Reclast would, when they should not have.
After coming back to Nassau County Supreme Court—as all non-essential court business was suspended and despite concerns about the Corona virus—the Jury spent more than one day deliberating before rendering the verdict in favor of this Nassau County woman, her husband and family. In addition to the $1.45 million verdict, the parties stipulated to some medical expenses and economic damages that will add at least another $350,000 to the verdict. Robert V. Fallarino presented to the jury that this was a very simple case involving the failure of Dr. Tiger to simply use the known and accepted safety check. Mr. Fallarino explained that what happened to his client after the drug was given might seem very complicated at first, but the failure by the doctor was very simple, and very tragic.
About Us: Pegalis Law Group, LLC is a New York law firm for those suffering as a result of preventable medical errors and personal injury. For nearly 50 years, we have won some of the largest verdicts and settlements in state history. We strive for medical accountability by advocating for clients and through public education, to ensure safer medical practices for better patient care. Visit us at Pegalislawgroup.com and on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
