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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.

Bench Trial or Jury Trial for a Medical Malpractice Case

Did you know that when you bring a medical malpractice lawsuit, you have the right to have your case heard by the judge, and render a decision by the judge, as opposed to having a jury rendered decision? Even when this is allowed, most injured victims in New York prefer to have their case heard by a jury.

Duces Tecum Subpoena

A subpoena is generally a document that is meant for compelling someone to do a particular thing. In most cases, subpoenas are required for compelling certain people to show up at the trial, and take the witness stand. However, in medical malpractice cases, subpoena duces tecum is served. Duces tecum is a Latin phrase, and this type of subpoena compels someone or some authority to provide the copies or original medical records of a particular person.

Ectopic Pregnancy and Medical Malpractice

Ectopic means misplaced, and therefore ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that occurs outside the womb or uterus. In a normal pregnancy, the baby will be born within the uterus, where it grows in the course of nine months. A pregnancy that winds up going outside the uterus is potentially quite deadly. When the embryo is growing in an enclosed space, it cannot go anywhere, it will keep getting bigger, and the woman will experience various symptoms.

Lack of Informed Consent

Lack of informed consent can be grounds for a medical malpractice case. It deals with what the doctor informed you, before prescribing a treatment or doing a procedure. When a doctor is proposing a certain form of treatment, he is obligated to discuss with you, the risks, and benefits of the treatment and if any alternatives are available.

Do Juries Like Doctors and Hospitals

When you bring a claim against a hospital or a doctor in the state of New York, the medical malpractice case will be tried in court and a jury will ultimately decide on the case. Did you know that juries generally like doctors? Many lawyers refer to this, as the elephant in the room. Lawyers discuss it with their clients, and it is discussed with juries as well. Attorneys should definitely broach this subject, and it should not be kept hidden.

Disclosure of medical errors in New York

Residents of the state of New York have the right to expect competent and reasonable medical care from their doctors. However, it may sometimes happen that a mistake is made in the course of treatment. As most patients are not medically trained, it is common for them to be unaware of the error unless they are informed by their doctor or other medical practitioner. In response to this situation, a law has been passed specifically requiring all hospitals to report any errors.