Substance abuse among hospital staff may endanger patient care
Although readers may expect this medical malpractice blog to occasionally address medication errors, today’s entry highlights a different medication concern: prescription drug dependency among doctors, nurses and other medical staff.
Release of Medical Records in a Personal Injury Case
CPLR §3101(a) requires, in pertinent part, “full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action.” With regard to medical treatment received by a plaintiff in a lawsuit, this has been interpreted to mean that the injured plaintiff waives the physician-patient privilege with respect to his relevant prior medical […]
Big NYC Landlords Attempting to Water Down Construction Worker Safety Laws
New York is famed for its high rise skyline. Apart from its famous tall buildings, most New York buildings are high rises. The construction workers who build, maintain, demolish, and renovate these buildings are protected by Section 240 of the New York Labor Law, which is also called the Scaffolding Law. This law places the […]
The Statute of Limitations "Trap"
A woman goes to her doctor and complains about a lump in her breast.
The Dr. sends her for a mammogram.
A few days later, the Dr. calls to tell her not to worry, as it is “only a cyst”.
Study indicates alarming outpatient misdiagnosis rate
Readers of this medical malpractice blog may be familiar with some patient safety initiatives focusing on new programs under the Affordable Care Act. What readers may not realize, however, is that a majority of these and other patient safety improvement programs have been limited to inpatient hospital care.
COMMON PROCEDURE USED TO TREAT FIBROIDS AND CONDUCT HYSTERECTOMY & MYOMECTOMY IN WOMEN FOUND TO SPREAD CANCER
On April 17, 2014, the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) issued a News Release in which it discouraged the use of laparoscopic power power morcellation for the removal of the uterus (i.e., a hysterectomy) or the removal of uterine fibroids (i.e., a myomectomy) in women because, according to the FDA’s research, the treatment can cause the spreading of certain cancers. If a woman that has a type of cancer known as a “uterine sarcoma” undergoes laparoscopic power power morcellation, the FDA has determined that the risk of spreading the cancer throughout the patient’s abdomen and pelvis is significantly elevated, and the chances of long-term survival are severely diminished. According to currently-available data, the FDA has determined that approximately 1 in 35 women undergoing a hysterectomy or myomectomy for fibroids have a uterine sarcoma.
Newborn’s undiagnosed congenital heart defect results in tragedy
A vitamin a day may not actually keep the doctor away, but there is benefit to certain preventative practices, such as screening tests. Unfortunately, patients may not realize that they may be at risk for certain conditions, and a doctor’s failure to advise a patient about recommended tests may allow conditions to go undiagnosed — until it is too late. In such cases, an injured patient or surviving loved one may need to talk with a medical malpractice attorney about holding doctors accountable for their potentially negligent care.
Boy Falls Into NYC Sewer – Negligence and Personal Injury Claims
Brooklyn officials and public infrastructure workers are looking at safety for local sewer systems, after a 10-year-old boy fell into a manhole in a Borough Park neighborhood. The New York Daily News reported January 14 on the incident that occurred that morning. According to reports, the steel manhole somehow weakened and gave way, and the […]
Speed a likely factor in 95-car pileup
posted in Car Accidents on Monday, April 1, 2013. In New York City, rain or snow can snarl traffic and cause collisions. A massive chain-reaction crash in another state, however, was recently caused by heavy fog. Ninety-five cars were involved in 17 total crashes along Interstate 77 in Virginia. Three people died in the pileup […]
NYC Metro-North Train Crash Prompts Safety Assessment
A tragic train crash and derailment from late last year is driving safety improvements to New York City rail department safety protocols. A Bronx commuter train crash killed four people in December – now, public officials are looking at the factors that contributed to the accident, and how to improve safety in that area. One […]