New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

In the initial case, the jury found for the plaintiff in the amount of $1 million, citing the negligence of the hospital and doctors in the stillborn birth of a baby. The hospital appealed, said the report, and their findings were that it was okay to have amended the original complaint, that negligence was not the direct cause of the baby’s death was not inconsistent or against the evidence, that there was medical malpractice by the hospital, that the doctor did not actually treat the mother and that reducing the damages was not warranted.

The plaintiff alleged that when she went to the hospital in the 32nd week of her pregnancy with abdominal pains that she was not properly assessed or treated. The lack of proper care resulted in the woman having her baby at home without medical help. The baby presented feet first and died of asphyxia due to the head being stuck in the birth canal. The mother’s claim indicated that she suffered terrible emotional pain because of this situation, indicated the source.

Medical malpractice in hospitals is not unusual in Queens and Staten Island. With the amount of traffic they have to deal with there are bound to be mistakes. Sometimes things become so busy and hectic it's hard to keep things under control. The hospitals try to control things but sometimes it just can't be done.

At trial there was an argument over whether or not the baby was born dead or alive, as it made a difference in how the court arrived at its judgment. The court stood by 2004 ruling in a similar case and indicated that even in the absence of an injury, med mal resulting in a stillbirth or miscarriage is a violation of the duty of care to the mother and will mean she is entitled to damages for emotional distress, explained the court.

A stay in the hospital can be an emotional and traumatic experience for most anyone. This is especially true when you or someone you love must be continually monitored due to an illness or injury. A New York Medical Malpractice Attorney also claims that their very lives often depend on the monitoring equipment being fully functional, and on hospital staff paying close attention to any indications that something may be happening that will require their attention to be focused on the patient.
All have learned that the best-case scenario of when an alarm sounds from a medical monitoring device, it may by ignored by medical personnel. There are also cases that have been reported of these life-saving alarms may not be sounded at all. Some recent reports in the investigative media have specified more than a few problems with this life-saving system--Problems that have cost some people their lives, and has forever altered others.
Sources have told a NY Medical Malpractice Attorney that when these alarms are ignored by hospital staff, it may be referred to as “alarm fatigue.” Medical personnel are confronted by as many as 1,000 alarms a day, in some cases. That is an astounding number, and while there are many of the alarms that indicate that a patient is in distress, there are also many more of these alarms that are false. Medical personnel are people too, and people tend to become conditioned or desensitized to external stimuli when that stimulus is persistent in its duration. Just to note that some medical equipment emits constant beeps in addition to alarms, which further adds to this desensitization. Hospitals in Westchester County and Staten Island would do well to study this case and make sure they don't suffer the same fate.
Human error is not the only contributing factors to alarm fatigue, however. Medical equipment manufacturers must also bear responsibility and should constantly strive to improve their products in order to reduce, or even better to eliminate, these false alarms.
When medical personnel allow alarm fatigue to set in, thereby allowing them to ignore these kinds of alarms, they are negligent in the performance of their duties and should be held accountable. These persons are charged with the safety and well-being of those who are at least temporarily unable to care for themselves, and are held to a higher standard of ethical and legal conduct.

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A medical malpractice case was filed against a hospital in Connecticut for not preventing a patient from committing suicide. The case went to court and a jury ruled that the hospital was not liable. However, an appeal has decided to throw the jury verdict out.

The New York Medical Malpractice Attorney handling the case explains that the reason the Jury's verdict is being ignored is because the verdict could have been biased. The judge failed to ask the jury whether or not they read a newspaper article relating to the case, and whether or not it affected their opinions.

The newspaper article was published a few weeks before the start of the trial. It is believed that many of the members of the jury read this. It could have quite easily influenced their opinion. Hospitals all over in places like Staten Island and The Bronx must protect themselves against law suits like this one.

All of this then leads the court to order a re-trial in the malpractice suit. The NYC Medical Malpractice Lawyer explains that the woman was being treated at the Psychiatric hospital in 2002 for depression. The 41 year old patient died shortly after being admitted as she hung herself.

The Silver Hill Hospital is well known because it is so popular with many celebrities and has an excellent reputation.

The jury originally found that the hospital and doctor were not liable because they were not negligent. However, a public ruling recently said that the judge should of asked whether or not the members of the jury read the article.

While the article was not accurate in all of the details, the appeals court argued that it could affect a persona emotions relating to the case. The New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer says that this is a valid case for a retrial.

The executor of the diseased patient’s estate said that he was happy with the ruling as it mad their case much stronger. The argument is whether the jury members will still be fair even after reading the article.

The lawyer for the hospital said that it was very likely the hospital would appeal the case. The hospital is sure that the article did not cause any bias because much of the content was mentioned in the trial proceedings.

Continue reading "Jury's Verdict in Suicide Case Ignored in Case" »