Study looks into injuries related to laser surgery
People who have undergone laser hair removal may be interested to learn that New York is one of the few states where people can perform this procedure without an operating license. New York is also a state that has seen some of the highest numbers of malpractice lawsuits related to laser surgery injuries.
Country’s largest concierge medicine practice loses lawsuit
New York residents who are members of or are interested in concierge medicine practices may be interested to know that a recent case might result in a change in how those practices do business. On Feb. 10, a jury awarded $8.5 million to the widower of a woman who was not properly diagnosed by a doctor in a concierge medicine practice. The incident occurred in Florida in 2008. The woman’s circulatory problems were not diagnosed by the doctor or his staff. As a result, her leg was amputated.
New York might scrap doctor malpractice information website
Threatening public access to physician credentials and malpractice records, the current budget proposal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo cuts funding for the New York State Physician Profile website. Originally created by legislation in 2000 and run by the Health Department, the online database allows free access to information about doctors in the state. Details like hospital affiliations, background information, professional misconduct, and legal malpractice actions are available at the website.
The impact of health care secrets on patients
Patients in New York want to believe in their doctor, but even the best health care professionals are still normal people. Hospitals are in the business of healing the sick and injured, but at the end of the day they are still businesses. While neither doctors nor health care administrators will want to admit it, there are a few secrets about the health care industry that can have major impacts on patients’ treatments.
Medical mistakes decreased between 2010 and 2013
Authorities reported that the statistics on deadly errors made in hospitals or by medical care professionals reflects a declining trend for recent years. A federal review of hospital records reportedly showed that deaths caused by drug mistakes, infections and other preventable injuries or illnesses dropped by 17 percent from 2010 to 2013. If accurate, this is good news for New York, whose courts have fielded their fair share of medical malpractice lawsuits.
Court decides to uphold negligence suit against hospital
New York residents might have heard that on Dec. 12, a Florida court ruled to uphold a suit of negligence against the Holmes Regional Medical Center for failing to remove a recalled drug and prescribing it to a patient. The hospital had appealed the negligence lawsuit, which was filed by the injured patient and his wife, but the request was denied by a panel of three judges from the 5th District Court of Appeals.
Analyzing surgical malpractice and wrong-site surgery
According to data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, in the year 2012, New York was the top-ranking state for medical malpractice payouts in the nation. As of late, wrong-site surgery errors have been reported more frequently. These highly unforgiving medical mistakes are surgeries performed on the wrong part of the body or on the wrong patient altogether. Likely a fiasco for a surgical team and a disastrous event for a patient, wrong site surgeries are oftentimes caused by a breakdown in communication. The entity known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations defines these unforeseen occurrences as sentinel events involving death or serious injury.
Surgical black box device
New York residents may benefit if the surgical tracking box ever makes it to market in the U.S. According to CNN, researchers in Canada are currently developing a device that would be analogous to the black box recorder used in the aircraft industry. However, the surgical black box will not only record errors, but it may be able to help surgeons avoid from committing errors as well. While many praise the educational component of the new tool, others have cited potential legal issues.
Jury finds physician negligent; patient awarded $2.3 million
According to a recent report in the Journal News, a New York resident was awarded $2.3 million in a medical malpractice claim. In the lawsuit, the man claimed that a surgeon with Nyack Hospital failed to treat a severe hip infection that caused him to undergo an entire hip replacement.
Doctors and parents can reduce medication errors among children
Many New York parents who have had to deal with sick children may know just how difficult it is to make sure that their kids not only take their medication when they are supposed to, but they also have to ensure that the appropriate dosage is taken. In fact, a report that looked at a number of studies indicated that medication errors could be the cause of approximately 7,000 deaths throughout the U.S. every year.
