Nursing Negligence Almost Killed Famous Actor Dennis Quaid’s Twin Children
On November 18, 2013, famous actor Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberley Quaid welcomed their twins into the world via surrogacy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Unfortunately, the twins were premature and had to stay in the hospital for treatment because they had both acquired staph infections.
Quaid called the hospital around 21:00 that night to check after the twins. The nurse who took the call told him that “they’re just fine.” What Quaid didn’t know was that nurses had noticed blood oozing from the intravenous site on the arm of one of the twins and a spot on her heel. It turns out that the nurses had mistakenly given the twins 1,000 times the recommended dose of the blood thinner heparin but hadn’t told Quaid of that when he called. Hospital staff scrambled to reverse the effects of the heparin throughout the night but still failed to notify Quaid or his wife of the situation.
Jefferson Airplane Singer Disabled by Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital
In March of 2016, the then lead singer of Jefferson Airplane, Marty Balin, was rushed to the emergency room at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital due to complaints of severe chest pain. What followed was a nightmare far beyond what he could have imagined.
Doctors performed open-heart surgery, which included a triple bypass and a valve replacement that forced Balin into the intensive-care unit (ICU) for recovery – the one place in any hospital that requires the most specialized and supervised care. What doctors had failed to tell him upon admission was that the hospital was in the process of closing, and they were severely understaffed.
Hulk Hogan Sues Spine Clinic After Undergoing Unnecessary Surgeries
In 2013, wrestler and reality TV star Hulk Hogan filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Laser Spine Institute and several of its surgeons in Tampa, claiming that they rendered inappropriate care that damaged his wrestling career due to them performing unnecessary surgeries on him. Additionally, the Institute used Hogan’s endorsement without his permission, prompting him to seek damages of $50 million.
Mount Sinai Hospital’s Medical Malpractice Caused Infant’s Death
Mount Sinai Hospital is a well-known hospital that borders on Manhattan’s East Harlem and Yorkville neighborhoods. Originally founded in 1852, the center now includes the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which currently ranks among America’s top 20 medical schools. Unfortunately, this ranking isn’t enough to prevent medical malpractice from occurring at the hospital, and one of its more shocking cases involved the in-utero death of an infant.
On 13 December 2017, Jana Diaz arrived at Mount Sinai’s Midwood’s facility in Brooklyn at 1 am due to cramps and bleeding. The hospital did not have a maternity ward or an OBGYN on staff, and no one was immediately called when it became apparent that they did not have the knowledge or facilities needed to treat Jana correctly. In fact, Jana states that it took 90 minutes for the emergency care doctor-on-call to see her and perform an exam and that her unborn baby’s heart rate had dropped to 104 by then. Despite this, Jana says that the hospital staff was more concerned with ensuring that her paperwork was being correctly filled in as opposed to managing her clinically. Jana’s lawyer states that as a clear obstetrical emergency, an emergency C-section should have been performed immediately.
Surgical Error at Hospital for Special Surgery Results in Young Girl Going Blind
Known as one of the best hospitals in New York City, the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is considered a leading orthopedic, rheumatology, and neurological care facility. Unfortunately, medical malpractice can still occur in medical centers with such stellar reputations, as evidenced by Bethany Flanders and her filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit against one of the hospital’s doctors.
When Bethany Sanders was 13 years old, she underwent spinal surgery to help treat her serious scoliosis. Despite being doubled over and barely able to walk, Bethany could still see and had normal vision before undergoing the seven-hour operation; however, Bethany came out of the surgery unable to see – a possible surgical side-effect that surgeon Oheneba Boachie-Adjei failed to disclose to her and her family. Additionally, the informed consent form required for such a surgery was never presented to Bethany and her parents, nor was it signed.
One of New York University Langone Medical Center’s Own Doctor’s Sues for Medical Malpractice
When the terms “medical malpractice” and “medical malpractice lawsuit” are mentioned, visions of patients and their families suffering needlessly are the first that come to mind. However, fellow doctors are just as vulnerable to medical malpractice at the hands of their colleagues.
In 2014, Steven Stuchin, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, became a victim of New York University Langone Medical Center, when he was forced to undergo a battery of assessments, including neurological testing, in a bid to dismiss him from his position. Stuchin, who was 66 years old at the time, had a “stellar” reputation as an experienced doctor at NYU’s Langone Hospital for Joint Diseases and as an associate NYU professor. He claims that he was treated like an “old bag of bones” after two higher-ups decided that he was too old to continue working, despite there being no valid reason.
Montefiore Medical Center and Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
With more than 1,490 beds and multiple facilities in Bronx residential neighborhoods, Montefiore Medical Center boasts a large presence in NYC. It completes approximately 15,532 inpatient and 13,431 outpatient surgeries each year and is among 38 academic medical centers nationwide to be awarded a prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award by the National Institutes of Health. However, like all medical institutions, the center is not immune to incidences of medical malpractice, and several medical malpractice lawsuits have been filed against the center in recent years.
Failure to Diagnose Hydrocephalus is a Real Risk For Your Baby in The Bronx, New York
Hydrocephalus, also known as “water on the brain”, is a condition that occurs when there is an excess of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord in the human body and when in excess, it can cause spaces in between the brain, called ventricles, to enlarge. This can cause undue and dangerous pressure on brain tissues, and may even result in destroying them completely. Excessive pressure on the brain tissues must be taken very seriously because it can lead to multiple health problems and if left, unattended, may even cause death. Hydrocephalus can be acquired (from a disease or head injury after birth) or be congenital (present at birth). Congenital hydrocephalus can be caused by a number of events that affect fetal development. It may also be the result of a genetic defect. Failure to diagnose this condition by Bronx, New York physicians may clearly be a case of medical negligence.
Who can Develop Hydrocephalus?
What is Failure to Diagnose?
Failure to diagnose is a kind of diagnostic error that is caused by your doctor being negligent in treating you. If your doctor doesn’t take the necessary steps to determine what illness you have, then you are at risk of sustaining an injury or disability; in fact, some people have even lost their lives due to a doctor’s failure to diagnose. Ultimately, failure to diagnose leads to you receiving delayed or incorrect treatment, or no treatment at all.
Surgical Error Causes Boy to Have Surgery on Both Eyes
In 2011, a four-year-old boy named Jesse Matlock received corrective eye surgery on the incorrect eye. Afterward, his parents were forced to take him to another specialist when it was discovered that Jesse’s surgeon, upon realizing her mistake, quickly operated on the correct eye as well.
Tasha Gaul, Jesse’s mother, revealed that it was uncertain whether there would be permanent damage to Jesse’s previously healthy eye.
The reason for the surgery was due to Jesse’s wandering right eye. The procedure of the surgery was to weaken the muscle at the bottom of Jesse’s right eye since the uneven strength of that muscle was causing his eye to wander. However, it was only after the procedure was completed on the left eye that the surgeon realized she had operated on the wrong eye. She sent a nurse out to inform Jesse’s parents that she was going to operate on both eyes, and the nurse quickly returned to the operating room before they could make any inquiries.