A plaintiff claims that Staten Island University Hospital's (SIUH) failure to provide timely and adequate medical care has left her with life-altering injuries. Yazminelly Cardona Ramos says that due to the hospital's negligence, she now suffers from permanent disabilities stemming from an undiagnosed and untreated condition known as cauda equina syndrome.
According to the lawsuit, Ramos first experienced back pain in late March 2024. By November of that year, her condition had deteriorated significantly. Despite seeking help from SIUH on November 14, 2024, she was allegedly misdiagnosed with sciatica and advised merely to stretch. Her request for an MRI was denied without a referral from her primary care provider. Two days later, she sought emergency treatment at Hackensack Meridian Health’s JFK University Medical Center where an MRI revealed severe compression of the cauda equina nerves due to a large disc extrusion at L5-S1. This diagnosis led to emergency decompression surgery on November 17, but by then significant damage had already occurred.
Ramos asserts that the delay in proper diagnosis and treatment by SIUH resulted in catastrophic injuries including urinary retention, fecal retention, numbness, and neurological deficits associated with cauda equina syndrome. The lawsuit claims that these outcomes were preventable had the hospital adhered to accepted medical standards for diagnosing and treating such conditions promptly.
Ramos accuses Staten Island University Hospital of medical malpractice. She contends that the hospital staff failed in their duty to provide competent medical care according to professional standards expected within Richmond County or similar communities. As per the complaint, "the defendant negligently breached its duty...by failing to diagnose, care for, operate on, and treat [Ramos] as they should have done."
The plaintiff is seeking damages well beyond $75,000 exclusive of interest and costs—a figure indicative of the severity of her alleged injuries and losses. In addition to compensatory damages for past economic losses and ongoing suffering, Ramos requests any additional relief deemed necessary by the court to address her grievances fully.
Representing Yazminelly Cardona Ramos is William Cafaro from the Law Offices of William Cafaro based in New York City. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under Case ID 1:25-cv-00891.