DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, LLP

Focus and practice areas

The firm works out of East Syracuse, New York, and handles personal injury and medical malpractice matters. Its site says the work is dedicated exclusively to injury cases. That single focus shapes the case types the firm lists.

The named areas cover motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death, slip and fall claims, dog bites and brain injuries. The firm also handles construction accidents, birth injury, paralysis, amputations, workplace injuries and defective products. On the medical side, the site points to delayed or missed cancer diagnoses, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, emergency room negligence and obstetric care.

That is a wide menu for one field. Medical malpractice and motor vehicle work sit at the centre of it, and both ask a lot of a legal team. Each turns on records, timelines and the opinion of an outside professional. The mix of catastrophic injury types, such as paralysis and amputation, points to a firm that takes on life-changing harm as well as more routine crash claims. An exclusive injury focus also means the same lawyers see these fact patterns again and again, which builds a base of practical knowledge over time.

How the team is built

The site names six attorneys. Jeff D. DeFrancisco is the founding attorney, and Charles L. Falgiatano is a partner. The firm also lists Anna S. Badalian, James L. Donigan, Lisa M. Robinson and Maureen Maney.

As a reviewer, I read that roster as a firm that spreads its cases across several lawyers. The site says its lawyers hold more than 30 years of experience in personal injury work. A group of that size can put a lead lawyer on a file and still keep others close to the work, which helps when a case runs for a year or more.

Six lawyers also gives the firm room to cover different case types at once. A malpractice claim and a car crash pull on different knowledge, and a team can split that load. The site frames all six around the same injury focus, so a client meets lawyers who work the same kind of matter day to day.

Credentials the site lists

Jeff D. DeFrancisco is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. The site also states that he was selected for inclusion in New York Super Lawyers. These are the two markers the firm puts forward for its founder.

Charles L. Falgiatano belongs to the Onondaga County Bar Association and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. The site says he holds an at-large seat on that academy's board. His listed case work covers medical malpractice, wrongful death, nursing home negligence and automobile accident claims.

Memberships like these carry a plain meaning. They show that the two named principals take part in the professional bodies that shape injury and trial work in the state. The Academy of Trial Lawyers, for one, focuses on courtroom advocacy, and a board seat there points to steady involvement. A named affiliation also gives a client something concrete to check against public records.

How these injury claims usually proceed

The notes below describe how the case types the firm names tend to move in New York. Read them as general background for a prospective client, drawn from how state law treats each claim.

Medical malpractice and wrongful death

Medical malpractice claims in New York usually begin with an outside physician's review of the records. State rules ask the plaintiff's lawyer to file a certificate of merit. That document confirms a qualified expert sees a valid basis for the case. Expert testimony then carries much of the weight at trial, since the standard rests on what a reasonable provider would have done in the same spot.

The medical subtypes on the firm's site each raise their own proof. A missed cancer diagnosis often turns on when a scan or test should have prompted action. A surgical or anesthesia error turns on the standard of care during the procedure. Obstetric and birth injury claims can involve both the parent and the child, and they often reach far into a family's future costs.

Wrongful death claims run through the estate. A personal representative brings the action, and any recovery passes to the people the law counts as distributees. These claims often sit next to a malpractice or crash case built on the same events, so one set of facts can support two lines of recovery.

Vehicle crashes and dog bites

Motor vehicle claims in New York run under the state's no-fault system. A driver's own insurer covers basic medical costs first, whoever caused the crash. To sue for pain and suffering, an injured person generally has to meet the serious injury threshold set by state insurance law. That threshold makes medical proof central from the first week.

Dog bite claims in New York turn on the animal's history. An owner faces liability when the dog has shown a vicious propensity that the owner knew about. The dog's prior behaviour becomes a central question in many of these files, which puts a premium on early witness accounts and any record of past complaints.

Head injuries and premises claims

Brain injury claims often outlast the visible parts of an accident. Symptoms can surface days later, and the cost of care can stretch across decades. These cases lean on treating doctors and on records that track a client's function over time.

Slip and fall and construction claims turn on the condition of a place and who controlled it. A property owner or a site contractor may answer for a hazard they knew about or should have found. New York's labour law gives construction workers added footing in certain fall and height cases, which shapes how those claims are framed and who pays.

Nursing home and elder claims

Charles L. Falgiatano's listed work includes nursing home negligence, a field that sits close to medical malpractice. These claims often involve pressure injuries, falls or medication errors in a residential setting. New York holds care facilities to standards set in public health law, and residents hold specific rights a lawyer can pursue. Records from the facility, staffing logs and inspection reports tend to drive the proof.

What an injury case asks of a client

Most personal injury firms take these cases on a contingency basis, so the client owes a legal fee only if the case brings in money. That model shifts the early cost of records and experts onto the firm. It also opens the courthouse door to people who could not pay by the hour. A prospective client can confirm the exact fee terms in the written agreement before signing.

A typical case moves through stages. It starts with intake and an investigation of the facts. If talks with an insurer stall, the lawyer files suit and the case enters discovery, where both sides trade documents and take depositions. Expert reports come next, then mediation or settlement talks, and a trial if the case stays open past them.

Time limits sit under all of this. New York sets deadlines for filing that vary by claim type, and a missed date can close a case before it opens. Claims against public hospitals and municipalities can carry much shorter notice windows. For a client, the early call to a firm matters because it starts the work of gathering proof while it is still fresh.

Where the firm works

The firm is based in Syracuse and represents clients throughout Upstate New York. Its principal office is in East Syracuse. The site lists further offices in Oneida, Watertown, New Hartford, Cortland, Rochester, Oswego, Binghamton, Albany and Buffalo. Those extra locations are open by appointment only.

That spread reaches much of the northern half of the state, with listed offices in Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and the Southern Tier alongside the Syracuse core. For an injury client, a nearby meeting point can help, since these cases often run for months and involve medical records, examinations and rounds of negotiation. The appointment model keeps a local address in reach while the main work stays in East Syracuse.

The public site gives a clear view of the firm's focus and its two named principals, and it lists six attorneys with a stated bar of more than 30 years in injury work. In my opinion, the detail on Jeff D. DeFrancisco and Charles L. Falgiatano gives a reader more to verify than many injury sites offer. The site does not list a founding year, yet a client can still confirm the practice areas, the East Syracuse base and the appointment offices across Upstate New York. Those are the facts the firm puts on record.