Long Island

Published on: July 23, 2012

New Legislation in Florida Protects Doctors

by Stephen Bilkis

New legislation has been passed in the state of Florida to restrict the ability of patients to sue medical professionals who try to provide treatment to them explains a report.

Many republican lawmakers are trying to justify the cost of the state’s Medicaid program. They are trying to reduce costs to the hospitals by reducing the chances of lawsuit losses for hospitals in the state. This is designed as a way of encouraging cooperation between doctors, hospitals and insurance companies.

The House of Representatives recently passed new legislation that would restrict using expert witnesses in lawsuit cases explains a source. The bill first said that hospitals would not be held liable for negligence of contracted providers unless the hospital exercises complete control.

Published on: July 18, 2012

Ohio Supreme Court to Decide on Medical Malpractice Immunity

by Stephen Bilkis

The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments recently in a medical malpractice case involving the University of Toledo – College of Medicine and the issue of state employee immunity from litigation. The court’s decision in this case will have significant implications for certain medical negligence plaintiffs.

In this case, the court must decide if a surgeon who was treating his own patient is immune from a medical malpractice lawsuit because a student was observing the procedure. The plaintiff in the case alleges that the surgeon made mistakes during two vasectomy procedures which caused pain, additional medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress. The surgeon claims immunity under Section 9.86 of the Ohio Revised Code. His legal team argues that the plaintiff can only seek damages from the University of Toledo’s medical school, claims an

attorney.

Published on: July 10, 2012

Legal Negligence Claim Explored

by Stephen Bilkis

While the legal profession exists in order to assist people with various legal problems, sometimes clients feel that the legal professional is the source of the problem. In a recent case, a husband and wife are suing their lawyer for negligence. In this case, the couple claims, the lawyer’s unreasonable delays lead to the expiration of the statute of limitations, explains a Lawyer.

In this case, the Manhattan doctor involved was sued by several patients within a six month period. The number of lawsuits brought against the doctor over the extremely short period of time suggested that the doctor was acting negligently and would have resulted in a strong case for the couple.

The husband, who was the patient in this case, was treated for a broken ankle which required surgery. The surgery was improperly performed and two follow up surgeries took place to correct the errors from the original procedure. The resulting pain and suffering the couple faced, along with the economic damages from the additional medical procedures, were the reason for the lawsuit stated a Long Island rep.

Published on: May 31, 2012

Attorney Gets $10 Million for Client in Philadelphia

by Stephen Bilkis

A Philadelphia attorney won a big case for a client in a case of misdiagnosis.

A Scranton lawyer was able to obtain a $10 million award for a 60-year-old man who as misdiagnosed with a fatal neuromuscular disease. The doctor in question was a noticed expert on ALS.

The attorney in this case, who has a brother in the U.S. Senate, represented the 60-year-old man in a two-week trial at Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. According to the suit, the client will have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, due to the misdiagnosis.

Published on: May 8, 2012

Med Mal Reform in Texas may be in Hot Water

by Stephen Bilkis

While some people think that medical malpractice reform, meaning capping damage awards, is a good idea, the victims don’t, and with good reason. Many medical malpractice lawyers are also joining the hue and cry against med mal reform because of what it will do to innocent victims whose damages exceed the proposed caps – in most cases, $250,000, explained a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer.

What’s going on in Texas could go on in Manhattan and Long Island and may well spill over to other states and this is something that needs to be watched carefully, as the legal impact may be enormous. In Texas, there are concerns tort reform just may override their own state limits on medical liability issues. Seems they don’t think the feds have the power to do that under the Commerce Clause. They also want to ensure the med mal reform law does not violate states’ rights under the 10th amendment. Missing here seems to be the concern for victims, which does come up later, but a little too little too late.

What’s going on in Texas is that they want to keep their own med mal reform law, which caps pain and suffering at $250,000 and they like the idea of tort reform. In fact, they want tort reform for all states – something other Americans are not so sure is a good idea.

Published on: April 26, 2012

Boy Receives £4.6 Million for Birth Injury

by Stephen Bilkis

Mistakes made by medical doctors and staff, left a newborn seriously injured. A Lawyer reports that the child has now been awarded £4.6 million. The compensation will go a long way towards helping his family pay for his continued care.

In June 2004, the boy was born at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. The boy suffered injuries that were severe when, during the delivery, medical personnel misinterpreted his mother’s heartbeat as his. This misinterpretation led to the staff not realizing that he had an abnormal heartbeat. Had the staff been more diligent and questioning, they would have noticed and been able to avoid the birth injury. Their misunderstanding led to a catastrophic delay in the boy’s delivery which resulted in the fetus’s heart beat stopping. Serious brain injury occurred because of the ensuing oxygen starvation to the brain.

The family’s legal counsel genuinely argued that had his birth been just ten minutes sooner, his client would have escaped injury completely, and the sole responsibility for that should reside on the medical doctor and staff present. The boy will have to suffer with cerebral palsy and learning difficulties for the rest of his life. He will also be wheelchair dependent forever.

Published on: April 10, 2012

Child Dies Due to Medical Negligence

by Stephen Bilkis

A two year old girl has recently died due to medical negligence. She was suffering from serious health problems which were triggered by endosulfan – a pesticide. She died because of medical negligence in a state owned hospital.

The hospital board worked very quickly to investigate the case. They have decided to suspend the doctor while the investigation is ongoing. They decided to take this action due to lots of protests.

The child suffered a reaction to the pesticide and was rushed to the government hospital as her condition seemed to be getting worse. The pediatric expert in the hospital was away on leave, which delayed her treatment.

Published on: April 8, 2012

Malpractice Suit Settled with $7 Million Payout

by Stephen Bilkis

A medical malpractice suit involving the birth of a child has recently ended with a $7 million settlement. The Judge has recently approved the settlement described a Lawyer. The child who is the subject of the case has a very rare genetic defect.

The lawsuit was filed in 2008 against a genetic counselor, nurse, and two doctors who were from China. It is alleged by the patient that the correct medical counseling was not available before the woman gave birth. The woman successfully gave birth to a baby girl which had cat cry syndrome.

The girl is now three years old but is still affected by her condition. She has mental and physical disabilities as a result of this. The parents argue that if the abnormalities were detected earlier then it would have been easier for the patient to decide whether or not to go ahead with the pregnancy. A procedure known as amniocentesis is fairly routine and this would have been able to detect the problem.

Published on: February 26, 2012

A stillborn baby, born at home, was the reason for a mother to file a medical malpractice lawsuit

by Stephen Bilkis

A stillborn baby, born at home, was the reason for a mother to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, commented the doctor. The mother has gone to hospital in April with a headache, lower abdominal pain and a fever. She remained in care for six days. In June she went back and said she was spotting. She was admitted to rule out her being in labor, as she was in the 32nd week of her pregnancy.

During her second admission, she received drugs to relax the uterine muscles and stop any premature labor and was hooked up to a fetal monitor, reported the source. She was given an antibiotic, diagnosed with cervicitis and sent home.

Two days later, she was admitted once again with the same complaints, was again given another drug to stop labor and was discharged against medical advice. Two more days went by and she returned to the hospital once again, where she was told she was not in labor and given another antibiotic for a possible urinary tract infection and send home.

Published on: February 23, 2012

Costs of Coroners Reporting on Nursing Home Deaths Cause Concern

by Stephen Bilkis

A bill that would require a coroner to be called to all nursing home deaths so they can be investigated in the event of foul play or other issues is stalling in the state’s General Assembly, states a report.

The bill, which would require all nursing homes in the state to contact the local coroner’s office when a nursing home patient dies, is designed to ensure that any abuse or neglect occurred, it could be investigated. However, opponents of the bill cite the costs that such measures would incur.

The state’s chief medical examiner states that if the bill is passed, in order for the local coroner offices to comply three more doctors, and an undisclosed number of additional support staff would be needed. There would also be a need for additional equipment for the required investigations, reports a doctor.