Misdiagnosis

Published on: January 21, 2012

Health care remains a problem due to fear

by Stephen Bilkis

Is too much money being spent on dying patients? 60 Minutes on the CBS News recently aired a segment called “The Cost of Dying,” which was a breakdown of events that happen with patients in hospitals in the Intensive Care Units and the high costs associated with keeping them alive, said a new study.

75% of our nation’s deaths occur in hospitals, and it was estimated on the show that patient’s lives are prolonged in some cases for up to $10,000 per day and that in America the last two months of patient’s lives is costing Medicare $55 billion. According to a report, this might be unnecessary 30% of the time.

In one of the cases mentioned on the show, 25 additional doctors were called in as consultants on a dying 80 year old woman. Each doctor received $100 or more for five minutes of their time, said a representative, and added that Medical Insurance Companies make it difficult for these doctors to do much else.

Published on: January 15, 2012

Woman committed to pysch ward by mistake

by Stephen Bilkis

A man shared information about a civil trial of a woman who says that she was wrongfully committed to a psychiatric institution after she vented angrily about how she felt about her church’s pastor.

The woman hired a medical malpractice lawsuit and sued the psychiatric hospital along with other staff members. The woman has claimed that the psychiatrists did not follow the acceptable standards of psychiatric care as she was committed to their institution without her consent and was held there for ten days.

However, the hospital’s attorney is defending the medical malpractice because their defense is that they had every reason to believe that the woman was a danger to society at the time. A source reported, the woman had been volunteering at the church as a treasurer and after a while, she turned against the pastor of the church. The woman asked if she could speak to a psychiatrist because she felt that the pastor was not making it easy for her to do her work. According to the report, the woman talked about killing the pastor and that is what got her taken away to the psychiatric ward.

Published on: January 4, 2012

Medical Malpractice added to wrongful death case

by Stephen Bilkis

A reporter was quick to point out that a Federal Judge permitted a legal motion to add a medical malpractice claim to one filed against the country Sheriff, the county and other jailers of a wrongful death case.

“The Judge made her ruling and granted permission for changes to the filed complaint,” said a media representative to an advocate .

The defendant’s sister filed a lawsuit against the county Sheriff, the jail nurse and the county for a wrongful death claim. The defendant died at a hospital after he suffered a heart attack in jail where he was incarcerated. The sister of the defendant felt that her brother was misdiagnosed and did not receive the medical care that he should to save his life.

Published on: November 4, 2011

West Virginia Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Laws in Jeopardy

by Stephen Bilkis

Laws that have been in place since 2003 in West Virginia are now coming under attack. In 1986 lawmakers approved a cap of $1 million in awards made by juries in medical malpractice cases. The $1 million limit was only on non-economic damages, which left juries the ability to award other malpractice funds when damages could be proved. According to a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer, in 2003 lawmakers in the state went further and placed a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, unless death, permanent disability or the loss of limbs were involved, and then the cap was $500,000.

In both 1991 and 2001, Justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the $1 million cap. Now, however, the lower cap is being appealed because of a lawsuit involving the City Hospital of Martinsburg and a physician at that hospital.

A Spokesperson stated that in the case, the jury has found negligence was involved while treating the plaintiff or misdiagnosis, however, the jury has award the plaintiff an amount exceeding the cap by over $1 million.

Published on: October 26, 2011

Medical Malpractice Suits Filed for Eye Surgery that should not have been Performed

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Published on: October 5, 2011

Couple Sees Embryos Destroyed Without Permission, says New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Published on: September 27, 2011

$2 million Awarded in Misdiagnosis Case, Indicated A New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer

by Stephen Bilkis

In what turned out to be a shameful comedy of errors, a misdiagnosis resulted in catastrophic injuries for a 63-year old man.

The 63-year old man presented to a local hospital three years ago needing emergency medical help. After being misdiagnosed at the hospital by the doctors who missed the fact that he’d had a series of strokes and coping with delayed treatment for his cancer, he became legally blind and unable to walk without help. Ultimately, he had to be admitted to a nursing home, as his wife was no longer able to physically care for him, outlined the NY Medical Malpractice Lawyer.

When the couple arrived at the hospital, the husband was given a CT. The doctors felt the results revealed older lesion and sent him home with a diagnosis of vertigo and medicine to take. A follow up MRI indicated he’d had recent strokes. Two weeks after his ER visit, he couldn’t see or talk any longer. Misdiagnosis is something that doctors and hospitals in Nassau and Suffolk Counties must be wary of.

Published on: September 23, 2011

Is Medical Malpractice Immunity in Exchange for Treating Medicaid Patients on the Horizon?

by Stephen Bilkis

If medical malpractice immunity is instituted in return for treating Medicaid patients, the system would become a shambles, indicated a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer.

Perhaps this is an idea that may find favor with the general public; a way to treat those who don’t have much in the way of proper medical care. On the surface, this sounds very humanitarian. Deep in the heart of this idea though lies a very real threat. This is also true of things like misdiagnosis which can be a suable offense.

By providing doctors with immunity to lawsuits for treating Medicaid patients, what is to say that they will get the same standard of care someone with health insurance will get? What is to say that the care given to Medicaid patients may not on occasion be substandard and a mere nod to the rules of providing care for immunity from being sued, asked the New York City Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Published on: September 19, 2011

Bankrupt Hospital still has bills to pay, says New York Malpractice Lawyer

by Stephen Bilkis

After a New York hospital closed, hundreds of people were left out in the cold, says one New York Malpractice Lawyer The hospital, which closed due to having about $1 billion of debt, filed for bankruptcy, which has so far protected it from any lawsuits for malpractice, some of which could give the victim millions in dollars.

According to a New York Malpractice Lawyer, the hospital did have insurance for malpractice, although it may have been underfunded, with only $150 to $250 million left for the families of those who suffered while staying in the hospital. That money, unfortunately, would first have to go to creditors, who would legally have first dibs on the remaining funds, meaning that the roughly 260 people who are currently suing the hospital would end up with nothing, even though some have suffered serious injury or had loved ones die.

One such case involves the family of a woman who died in the hospital due to a misdiagnosis and a faulty defibrillator. Her family sued the hospital and won over $5 million, and not a single dollar has been paid. The family is struggling to get by, and the woman’s daughter needs her tuition paid for, which the $5 million would have certainly done. Doctors and Hospitals in The Bronx and Brooklyn have to take note and be on guard.

Published on: September 13, 2011

Leg Pain Results in Double Amputation

by Stephen Bilkis

This case should never have happened and the awful thing is that the woman the suffered the medical malpractice is unable to sue in the state she lives in. This would never happen in New York, indicated a NYC Medical Malpractice Lawyer

The woman knew that there was a major problem, as she had pains in her legs. She had a history of blood clots and had a filter installed in one of the main veins of her heart. She went to the hospital ER outlined her problem. She was discharged with a diagnosis of bilateral leg pain.

Three days later, her legs were bright red and she called an ambulance and was taken to a different hospital. Evidently, her filter was blocked with blood clots and because she had waited, there was dead tissue in her legs and she was starting to go into kidney failure. Several weeks later when she came out of a coma she discovered both her legs had been amputated to save her.