Professional Experience
As a practicing physician for over 25 years who later became an attorney, John DeFazio, M.D., J.D. brings an in depth medical expertise to his law practice. At Viola Cummings & Lindsay John  will devote his practice to the representation of catastrophically injured individuals and their families in matters primarily involving medical negligence.

Prior to graduating from the University at Buffalo Law School, Dr. DeFazio devoted his professional life to caring for patients. After graduating from Georgetown University, he earned his medical degree also at Georgetown University and trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. DeFazio completed a fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology at the University of California at Los Angeles. As a board certified obstetrician gynecologist and subspecialty certified reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. DeFazio's medical practice focused on gynecologic surgery, care of the pregnant and menopausal woman, women with infertility, gynecologic cancers and other gynecologic disorders.

Dr. DeFazio has been admitted to the New York State Bar since 2002 and joined  Viola Cummings & Lindsay in November of 2011. He has represented clients in New York as well as Colorado, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. Dr. DeFazio has helped obtain substantial verdicts and settlements totaling over $20,000,000 on behalf of men, women and children whose injuries and/or deaths were the result of preventable medical neglect.

Education
J.D., 2001, State University of New York at Buffalo Law School
M.D., Georgetown University
B.S. in Chemistry, Georgetown University

Admissions to Practice
New York State, 2002
U.S. District Court, Western District of New York
U.S. Federal Court of Claims

Professional Associations & Memberships
Bar Association of Erie County, Member
New York State Bar Association, Member
American Association for Justice, Member
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Member
Yale OBGYN Society, Member

Noteworthy Cases
Most notably, in June 2008, Dr. DeFazio was co-counsel for a thirty-three year old woman who died of the delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. At the conclusion of the two week trial, a Niagara County jury returned a landmark verdict of $9.3 million; which is believed to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Niagara County history and was the second largest medical malpractice verdict in New York State that year.

In January 2008, Dr. DeFazio represented the family of a three-year-old girl who died as a result of a physician's failure to diagnose a treatable heart condition. The child briefly lost consciousness while in her preschool playground and the mother brought her daughter to the emergency room where she had an abnormal electrocardiogram. The child's medical condition was one that responds well to medication, but could result in sudden death if left untreated. The doctor failed to diagnose the condition and sent the child home without any medication. Less than one month later, the child collapsed while running up a flight of stairs with her mother at an after school activity and died. The doctor and the hospital settled the case for nearly the maximum amount allowed by the state of Colorado.

Also in 2008, Dr. DeFazio served as co-counsel for a 59-year-old man who was left paralyzed when his doctor cut a nerve during a minimally invasive lung biopsy. The surgeon admitted to Dr. DeFazio during his deposition that he knew he was cutting a nerve during the surgery and that paralysis was a likely result. The surgeon also admitted that he did not advise the man prior to surgery that he would be cutting a nerve. That case settled in the New York Court of Claims for $850,000.

In December 2008, Dr. DeFazio served as co-counsel for a 38-year-old woman who suffered from liver failure and required a new liver. A donor liver became available and the hospital testing the donor's blood for infections, made a reporting error. A Hepatitis C infected liver was transplanted into the woman. She is infected with Hepatitis C for the remainder of her life and is on a list for another liver transplant. That case settled for $1,000,000 with the hospital that made the laboratory error.

In January 2009, Dr. DeFazio served as co-counsel for a 33-year-old woman who lost her uterus due to a hemorrhage as a result of a delay in her baby's delivery and the doctor's delayed treatment of her hemorrhage after delivery. During labor, the attending physician slept while the mother was fully dilated and attempted to push her baby out for delivery for over six hours. Pushing for more than two hours is considered abnormal. A Cesarean section should have been performed. When the doctor awoke, he left the hospital while the mother remained undelivered and without a physician. Another physician delivered the woman's baby and he also left the hospital while the mother lost nearly all of her blood during a hemorrhage after delivery. The baby should have been delivered hours earlier and the hemorrhage required immediate attention. As a result of the delays, the mother lost her uterus and is permanently sterile following the birth of her first child. After a two week trial, a Niagara County jury awarded the mother and her husband $845,000, the highest medical malpractice award of 2008 in that county.

In June 2009, Dr. DeFazio served as co-counsel for a 55-year-old man who suffered a bone infection that occurred after a doctor used the wrong sized artificial hip. The client required multiple surgeries and hospitalizations and remains permanently injured. The jury awarded Genesee County's first medical malpractice verdict in 10 years to the client.

In January 2010, Dr. DeFazio served co-counsel for a 24-year-old woman who suffered with stage three breast cancer as a result of delay in her diagnosis. Nearly one year before her breast cancer diagnosis, the young woman went to a surgeon with a lump in her breast. The doctor reassured the patient that she did not have cancer without performing a biopsy. The next year, another practitioner performed a biopsy on the woman's breast which showed invasive stage three cancer that had spread to other parts of the body outside of the breast. The young woman required the total removal of her breast, chemotherapy and radiation. Her chance for survival decreased from 95% to less than 50% because her cancer remained undiagnosed and untreated for nearly a year. A jury awarded the client the third highest medical malpractice award in Monroe County history for $5.1 million dollars.

Links to other VCL Lawyer Bios:

Lawrence Lindsay
Robert Viola
William Cummings
Matthew T. Mosher
Michael J. Skoney