$2.28 Million Bronx Jury Verdict After Hospital X-Rays Missed a Dislocation in a Handyman's Dominant Hand

By Daniel C. Murphy, McMahon & McCarthy

In August 2026, a Bronx County jury returned a verdict of $2,280,000 for our client in his medical malpractice case against a Bronx hospital and the radiologist who read his x-rays. Daniel C. Murphy of McMahon & McCarthy tried the case.

The injury

In 2018, our client, then a 29-year-old right-handed handyman, injured his right hand in a workplace accident. He went to the hospital's emergency room, where his hand was x-rayed. A week later it was x-rayed again. Both times, the films were read as showing no dislocation.

They showed one. A key joint in his dominant hand, the one that makes gripping and pinching possible, had been knocked out of place. Under oath, the radiologist admitted he had missed it.

The dislocation went undiagnosed for 27 days after the first x-ray, until an orthopedic hand surgeon found it. By then the joint could not simply be put back. It had to be opened surgically, cleared, set back in place and held with a metal pin, which was removed in a second operation. His surgeon testified that arthritis is advancing in the joint and that he faces more surgery.

The verdict

The jury found that the failure to diagnose the dislocation was a substantial factor in causing our client's injury. It rejected the defense argument that he was partly to blame and placed 100 percent of the fault on the hospital and the radiologist. It awarded:

• $480,000 for past pain and suffering

• $1,800,000 for future pain and suffering over the next 40 years

• $2,280,000 in total

Was your injury missed?

If a hospital or doctor missed, misread or was too slow to diagnose an injury or illness, and your health suffered for it, you may have a case. Call McMahon & McCarthy at (718) 319-1600. Se habla español. Our office is at 3054 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx, New York 10461.

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