Surgical Errors

Published on: December 29, 2011

Sponge left in Abdomen

by Stephen Bilkis

According to a reporter, a woman claims to have had a sponge left in her abdomen after surgery. She claims to have gone to her OB/GYN and that her doctor had left something foreign in her abdomen after she did a Caesarean section operation.

The woman claimed medical malpractice against the doctor who performed the operation. She claimed that the obstetrician performed the operation without having the proper medical assistance. She thinks that this is what probably caused the problem of her having to suffer a potential hernia.

The expert agreed that the woman had a viable complaint and that the doctor was negligent. When the woman began to feel pain in the abdomen, she sought medical attention and discovered that the lower part of her left abdomen had a sponge marker. She had to have it removed surgically claims the advocate.

Published on: November 10, 2011

Surgical sponge left in patient’s body causes infections and other problems

by Stephen Bilkis

When you go to hospital to have surgery, you expect that when the surgical team is done, they will make sure they have all their equipment and sponges before closing. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in this case, said a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer. In fact, this particular plaintiff found out the surgeons left a sponge in his abdomen after surgery for rectal cancer.

It wasn’t long after his surgery that this patient started to have bad abdominal pain. A CT scan showed he had a foreign body in his abdomen. This meant another surgery to get the sponge out. As a result of the sponge being in his body and the need for a second operation, the plaintiff stated he has had to undergo extensive medical treatments, has experienced numerous infections and has spent a lot of time in hospital. Doctors and hospitals in Manhattan and Long Island need to take note of this case and make provisions to prevent a duplication of these mistakes.

When his case went to trial, the patient was asking for damages for depression, anxiety, medical costs, disability, frequent medical care, mental anguish and pain and suffering, along with court costs and interest. The basis of that lawsuit was that the hospital and the doctors didn’t meet the accepted standard of medical care and that they were negligent in their care and treatment of the patient. This case was a complete comedy of medical malpractice errors from the moment of the first surgery, indicated the NY Medical Malpractice Lawyer.

Published on: October 29, 2011

Rights may be a thing of the past

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Published on: October 18, 2011

Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye of Young Child

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Published on: October 13, 2011

New Check List for Doctors May Have Bad Side Effects

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Do you or a loved one need legal assistance in a matter where someone else injured you? New York Medical Malpractice Lawyers stand by to assist. Your case is important and only a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer can properly represent your interests in a court of law. The firm of Stephen Bilkis & Associates and its New York Medical Malpractice Lawyers with convenient locations in the New York Metropolitan Area, including Brooklyn, NY, can be of invaluable assistance to you if you find yourself a victim of medical malpractice. Enduring pain, disfigurement and financial anguish without professional representation is not the path you should choose.

Published on: October 10, 2011

New Insurance Group to Reduce Med Mal Payments

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Published on: October 2, 2011

MOTHER WHOSE DAUGHTER WAS INJURED AT BIRTH FIGHTS BACK

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Published on: September 2, 2011

Malpractice Suit Blames Botched Colonoscopy

by Stephen Bilkis

A woman in Virginia claims a 2009 colonoscopy caused her a number of medical problems. The 29-year-old woman is suing both the doctor and his employer for medical malpractice. New York Medical Malpractice Lawyers have learned she wants a jury trial and $5 million in damages.

The doctor, a gastroenterologist, performed the colonoscopy on June 23, 2009, investigating his patient’s complaints of persistent diarrhea, according to the complaint.

“[The doctor] knew before the colonoscopy that [the plaintiff] had great difficulty tolerating the ‘prep’ to clean out her colon and that she had severe left lower quadrant abdominal pain, abdominal cramping, nausea and vomiting,” NY Medical Malpractice Lawyers read in the complaint. “He prescribed Demoral for her pain and decided to proceed with the colonoscopy without first evaluating what was the cause of her severe pain.”

Published on: August 21, 2011

Blindness scare resulted from wrongful surgery

by Stephen Bilkis

21 year old Elizabeth Rodriguez had surgery on her right eye that was injured due to a thyroid condition. The operation was performed at Nyack (N.Y) Hospital by Doctor Daniel Grinberg. Rodriguez discovered that her right eye’s vision was permanently damaged after she woke from the procedure. She discovered that her optic nerve was damaged and she alter sued Grinberg’s practice, ENT & Allergy Associates, LLP and well as Nyack Hospital alleging that Grinberg failed to properly perform her surgery and that he failed to properly address her condition and he also failed to obtain consent to perform the procedure hence constituting his failures as medical malpractice. Hospitals and doctors in Manhattan and Brooklyn are on the hook when this type of mistake rises up.

Medical Malpractice is when professional negligence is acted or omitted by a health care provider where care provided causes injury or death to a patient. Such negligence includes and is not limited to an error in diagnosis, treatment, or illness management, if the doctors’ actions deviated from accepted standards of practice, and the hospital has improper care or inadequate training, such as problems with medications or sanitation.

If you or someone you know is a victim of Medical Malpractice you need an aggressive New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer by your side. Don’t hesitate to look for the help when it’s most necessary.