New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Legal payments may be blocked in one state’s birth-injury program; a saving for the state, but potential anguish for the parents who will be unable to sue for med mal, said a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer.
In a case that made headlines, a state commission reversed an earlier decision to allow the birth-injury program to pay defense lawyers who were seeking to have a dead child accepted into the program. Evidently, a child who had died shortly after birth, under the care of a local obstetrician, was deemed qualified for benefits under the birth-injury program. Parents in The Bronx and Queens could claim up to $100,000 from the program. However, the fact that the child qualified, meant that a separate medical malpractice lawsuit against the obstetrician for millions was ended.
The state’s attorney general pointed out that program funding was not to be used to pay lawyers who were trying to avoid exposure to med mal lawsuits for their clients. In other words, the eligibility issue was not to protect the interests of the dead child, but to ensure the negligence doctor was not sued for medical malpractice, explained the Doctor.
In a nutshell, defense lawyers are being told that they have no business seeking compensation from the program. Although the malpractice lawsuit for birth injuries was barred because of the child’s admission to the birth-injury program, this will not stop any malpractice action for injuries incurred by the mother at birth, added the NYC Medical Malpractice Lawyer.

Continue reading " Birth Injury Eligibility to Alternative Program to Avoid Med Mal Lawsuit not Acceptable " »

The latest hot off the presses idea by the federal government to save money, or that’s what they say when it comes to cutting costs in health care, is HR 5, also referred to as tort reform. In short, this resolution, if passed, will fatally slice and dice patient’s rights to sue doctors and hospitals in medical malpractice cases, reported the New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer.
This is a scary proposition when you stop to think that over 98,000 people die every year as a result of medical malpractice; as a result of surgical errors that did not need to happen. What on earth is the government thinking? Unfortunately, it looks like they are trying to curry favor with insurance companies by helping them cap the damages they need to pay out in medical malpractice cases. What happened to victim’s rights?
If you spend any time reading HR 5, the first thing you will notice is that it ignores patient safety. Instead, it forcefully imposes a strict cap on damages victims may seek if they have been harmed by their doctor, suffered severe side effects due to defective drugs, abuse in nursing homes or defective medical devices.
This is a roundabout way of saying that it will be ok for medical professionals in Brooklyn and Queens to harm their patients, because they will only have to pay out a limited amount of money – meaning the insurance company will only pay out a cheap change settlement. Meanwhile, the victims of medical negligence will be paying for the doctor’s mistake out of their own pocket. An odd concept for the 21st century when it comes to defining justice.
If you don’t think this is too serious, consider this, the med mal cap even applies when it comes to medical professionals who intentionally kill or harm patients and to insurance companies that refuse to pay claims for medical bills. Be afraid; be very afraid for your rights.
What is happening is that big government is getting into bed with big insurance companies to limit their losses so they can stay in business. What happens to the patients? That’s something people should really start thinking about, and soon, suggested the New York City Medical Malpractice Lawyer.

Continue reading " Rights may be a thing of the past " »

In what could be regarded as a terrible scam, a national eye center chain was operating on bad candidates; people that should never have eye surgery of that kind in the first place. They also went to great lengths to cover up what they were doing, explained the New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer.
One man who was a victim of this brand of medical malpractice had his eye surgery done and was, at first, very pleased with the results. He did notice a difference and was seeing better. However, things got worse as time went by and he can no longer see out of the eye that was operated on. In fact, the man is now legally blind in his one eye. His remaining eye is also giving out on him.
He did sign a waiver to have the surgery done, but, later discovered that he had a condition referred to as keratoconus; a condition that is not operable and the eye clinic should have never touched his eyes. They definitely knew better. As the rest of the information on this scam unfolded, it was revealed that the center made it a habit to target bad candidates with pre-existing conditions.
The patients, some ing Nassau and Suffolk Counties, were never told they were not good candidates for this particular type of surgery. Despite that, doctors at over 30 locations nationwide went ahead and did the operations. The magnitude of this cover up just boggles the mind. The frightening thing is that there may be more people out there that had eye surgery that should never have been performed, that may be at risk to lose their eyesight, said the Medical Malpractice Lawyer from New York.

Continue reading " Medical Malpractice Suits Filed for Eye Surgery that should not have been Performed " »

When a child was 1 year old he spilled coffee all over himself. Although this would not affect any adult that much, it has completely and irreversibly changed this toddler’s life. He burned over 10 percent of his body and required urgent medical treatment. The toddler was rushed to St Johns Hospital for medical attention.

The accident happened in 2010. Today though, things are much worse. The child is in a near vegetative state due to medical negligence explains a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer. It is thought that the child was injected with the incorrect types of sedatives which have affected his life forever. The doctors initially started blaming each other over the mix up which led to the wrong injection being given. The boy is just over two years of age and has already spent virtually half of his life so far in hospital. In New York and Queens, hospitals are aware of this case.

The family of the child are devastated that their son has suffered significantly as a result of the mistakes made by doctors. The hospital states that at two he only weighed 7KG. He was unable to see or hear properly at one time; fortunately he has recovered the use of these senses. However, he is unable to identify anyone and is thought to be in a near vegetate state.

The hospital denies all liability for the condition of the child. They released a statement which has since been given to the New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer. In it, the hospital claims that he suffered respiratory problems which required him to be resuscitated. At this time it was discovered he had a brain injury which needed additional treatment.

The infections were controlled using medications. The hospital claims that they were not negligent and have the toddler the very best care that they possibly could. However, the child now has a developmental age of around 15 months which is far less than his real age.

The statement issued by the hospital then mentions that the child has made a recovery. It mentions that he has not had any health problems for three months. The father of the child says that this is outrageous. Because of these mistakes his son is unable live a normal life.

Continue reading " Sons Life Affected by Medical Negligence " »

A 4 year old requiring eye surgery has recently had the wrong eye operated on due to a mix up at the hospital. It’s not clear whether or not his sight will be permanently damaged.
A surgeon recently operated on the wrong eye of a 4 year old Child, explains a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer. The child may suffer permanent sight problems as a result of this. The surgery was supposed to be a fairly simple procedure, but it was overly complicated due to the confusion.
The doctor who operated on the wrong eye said that she simply made a mistake. According to the court notes read by the investigator the nurse ended up covering up a mark on the eye showing which eye needed surgery.
According to a well-known New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer, this answer simply isn’t good enough. Doctors should check several times before cutting anything. The rest of the medical staff including other doctors and nurses should also check and double check the information before starting the operation.
The surgeon ultimately discovered here mistake. She then continued to operate on the correct eye. It is claimed that the correct procedure would have been to inform the parents and ask for consent.
The way that the parents were treated was very poor. They were not told what was going on until it was actually happening. Also nobody stayed with them to discuss their concerns.
The original operation was simply supposed to correct the one eye as it wandered. However, this simple procedure has now become highly complex.
The long term effects of this are not currently known. It is hoped that both of his eyes will make a full recovery. The boy has small red marks in the whites of the eyes. This means that he has to put eye drops into his eyes several times per day.
Surgeons should never operate on the wrong side or part of the body. But unfortunately this type of human error does happen occasionally even in hospitals in Staten Island and Westchester County. This is a very common example of medical malpractice.
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Continue reading " Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye of Young Child " »

A proposal is being developed that would create a gigantic check list of proper techniques and procedures for doctors to follow, says a researcher. The theory goes that this checklist would become the industry standard by which doctors are measured, and thus they would be protected from supposedly costly medical malpractice law suits. But, some commentators are skeptical that this new proposal will do much good at all. There are already standards in place by which doctors are measured and they differ from doctor to doctor, notes a Lawyer. Every case is unique and each branch of medicine has within it its own proper techniques to follow. Creating a giant check list would not do much because many doctors are already trying their best to follow proper procedures and avoid surgery errors. Instead, the check list may actually back fire on a doctor. There may be times when the check list calls for a doctor to administer a certain procedure but due to the unique nature of the case such a procedure would not be appropriate, reports a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer. However, if something were to then go wrong a potential plaintiff could point to the check list and say that the doctor did not follow the proper procedures required in that circumstance. While a doctor could refute the charge, it would create another level of difficulty for those practicing medicine, says a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in New York. Further, in this day and age of expensive medical care, doctors may start to simply do everything the check list says, regardless of whether it is needed or not, which in turn would drive up costs everywhere including New York City and Queens.

If you have been the victim of medical malpractice you have rights that deserve to be protected. Contact a New York Medical Malpractice Attorney today.

Continue reading " New Check List for Doctors May Have Bad Side Effects " »

It is an old tale: insurance premiums hurt doctors and it's all the fault of evil lawyers. But a new start up group is aiming to change all that, says a New York Medical Malpractice LawyerThey seek to reduce premium payments and thus save doctors money by becoming an all online medical malpractice insurance group. Innovative techniques and new thought processes are helping to reshape an industry long filled with clunky ways of doing business.

Currently, your average regular doctor pays around $7,000 in insurance premiums every year (with that number rising to around $30,000 for a surgeon). Surgical Errors are usually more serious and call for more insurance. This may surprise some people who have been lead to believe that doctors are innocent victims of out of control lawsuits and that as a result they struggle to make a buck. Mostly, that is a lie spread by an out of control medical industry that seeks to avoid responsibility for its actions. These doctors want to harm patients without any fear of repercussion. The richest and most demanding of trust profession simply wants to never be held accountable.

Well, this new insurance group can help them to so for a great deal less money, reports a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in New York. Backed by Blue Cross Blue Shield, in Long Island and Manhattan, and other major insurance groups, they will reduce doctor's premium payments even more. It didn't take an act of Congress, or a new law, or the banishing of lawyers, it just took a little brain power and the desire to make a buck.

Continue reading " New Insurance Group to Reduce Med Mal Payments " »

They had hoped that science could give them what nature had denied: children. The couple was in their mid thirties and late fifties respectively and after years of trying to conceive naturally they turned to their local hospital in a last ditch effort to find the love and joy that a child brings. Their doctor recommended in vitro fertilization, a procedure by which eggs are extracted from the mother to be, fertilized by the father to be's sperm, and then implanted in the mother, said a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer. The desperate couple agreed and underwent the treatment.

In total, 16 of 18 eggs were successfully fertilized. A month after the procedure two of the eggs were implanted in the woman. It did not work and the children did not come to term. Two months after that they tried again and again fate's cruel hand denied them the gift of life. Their frustrations grew as the couple found themselves without child. They finally decided that they had had enough and were going to try a different doctor. The two contacted their first doctor and were told to arrive at the clinic to pick up the embryos. When they arrived, after being made to wait an hour, they were told that due to a "mix up" their embryos had been destroyed, noted a Lawyer. Hospitals all over, including Nassau and Suffolk Counties, should take note of this situation.

The woman says it felt as if her children had been killed and she has been crying for months. The only explanation the doctor's office can give is that there was some sort of "misunderstanding" said a New York City Medical Malpractice Lawyer. A misunderstanding that has compounded the cruel reality facing the couple. They have now filed suit, alleging medical malpractice of misdiagnosis.

Continue reading " Couple Sees Embryos Destroyed Without Permission, says New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer " »

A mother whose infant daughter was injured because the delivery was not carefully monitored has been able to move her case forward thanks to the efforts of a New York medical malpractice lawyer. The problem began on the day of delivery, when the mother went to a Manhattan HIP Center and was examined by the defendant, the attending physician on call. The doctor then left the hospital and had no further contact with the mother. Although the mother was placed on a fetal monitor, she began the labor process on her own with no medical personnel present, and she remained alone until part of the baby’s head had emerged from the birth canal and she was forced to hold it in the palm of one of her hand. At that point, her husband ran out and found another doctor standing in the hallway, and this second doctor, along with several nurses, completed the delivery. NYC Medical Malpractice Attorneys in the Bronx and Brooklyn are often involved in this kind of case.
Shortly after the deliver, the baby, an infant girl, began suffering from serious respiratory difficulties. She was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, and placed in a ventilator. Although the medical records of this time were incomplete, it is clear that the baby remained in the ventilator for four days, and in the neonatal intensive care unit for twelve. The girl currently suffers from cognitive and developmental problems, and from seizure disorders. These problems will require lifelong medical care.
The mother brought an action against the attending physician on call. The attending physician claimed that no doctor-patient relationship had been established, and that the doctor was therefore not responsible for the delivery. The mother claimed that the doctor had told her that the doctor would be the one who would deliver her baby, and further, that the doctor had examined her when she was admitted and was present during the early stages of labor. Ultimately, the court determined that a jury could find that the attending physician on call was responsible for the damages caused to the baby girl by the partially unattended birth.

Continue reading " MOTHER WHOSE DAUGHTER WAS INJURED AT BIRTH FIGHTS BACK " »