Attorney Blog

MD fined $10,000 for charging $66 fee

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)71705 — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

A fire department surgeon was hit by the state with a $10,000 penalty of for refusing to charge only $.75 cents per page for copying costs.

In New York, every patient is entitled to obtain copies of their own medical records. The doctor's office is entitled to charge copying costs of no more than $.75 per page. That's the law. They are not allowed to charge processing fees, administrative fees or any other type of nonsensical fee associated with copying and providing copies of the patient's records.

Dr. Pierce Ferriter, an Upper East Side orthopedic surgeon also affiliated with Lenox Hill Hospital, demanded a flat fee of $100 for the patient to obtain his own records. According to the NY Post news report, actual costs would have been $33.75.

We see this nonsense happening routinely when we request copies of medical records for injured victims when we investigate a possible case. The doctors and staff routinely request either flat fees or administrative fees that are inconsistent with the law in New York.

Reminding the doctor's office that they cannot charge such fees often resolves the problem.

This is the first time I've seen the State take action against a doctor in such a drastic fashion by penalizing him $10,000 for not complying with state regulations. I think the next time a doctor's office sends us an outrageous bill for copying costs, we are going to send them a copy of this New York Post article.

You Are In Pain. Does Anyone Care?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)70619 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

You must live with the limitations that occurs when your body prevents you from moving because of the intractable pain you have experienced. Our friends and family members try to be helpful, but after they leave, it is you who must lie in bed debilitated and disabled.

I speak from personal experience. I had the misfortune to wake up Sunday morning being unable to walk. I had excruciating low back pain. I could not stand up straight. Unlike my clients, I was not involved in any accident or trauma. Thinking this was a muscle spasm I took ibuprofen and went back to lie down. Didn’t help.

No matter which way I lay in bed, I was in exquisite pain. Even muscle relaxers did not help. I was incapacitated the entire day. Every movement I made to eliminate my agonizing pain proved futile. My family felt bad for me. They could see the pain etched on my face. They had never seen me like this before.

Nighttime was no better. The next morning, hoping to put all this behind me, I realized once again that I could not get up to go to work. Every twist and turn of my body produced massive amounts of low back pain. My wife felt terrible. My kids felt awful. My mother-in-law was upset to see me like this.

On day three, when I recognized that this was not going away by itself, I made an appointment with the orthopedist.

The next time a client of mine comes in and tells me how difficult it was for them to get into their car to drive somewhere because of their pain, I will be able to relate to exactly what they are talking about.

Getting into and out of a car is simple for a healthy person. We don’t even think about it. However, someone who is in terrible pain must go through endless maneuvers and small little steps to contort their body to get into a car. If you can imagine how painful it is to lay flat in bed, just imagine how much more difficult it is to be in a sitting position.

Pain is life’s window into hell. We do everything possible to eliminate and avoid pain. When we have a cavity, the dentist will give us medicine so we don’t feel pain. If we have surgery, the doctor will put us to sleep so we don’t feel pain. The pharmaceutical industry makes billions of dollars a year for creating pills to reduce and eliminate pain.

Our bodies are amazing. Our mind tells us when we have pain so that we stop doing the activity that is causing it. Our mind also tries to make us forget about the horrible pain we have experienced in the past. That is why when someone we know tells us they are in pain, we can relate on some level but never truly “feel” their pain.

My trip to the doctor confirmed that I have an acute clinical herniated disc. This was not exactly what I wanted to hear but explained the cause of my intolerable pain. Immediate treatment included steroids to reduce the inflammation in my low back.

Why do I tell you all this?

As healthy people, we take for granted what happens when an injured victim must live with their injuries and disabilities. Pain is just a word to people who have never experienced such an injury. Without truly understanding and being in the shoes of someone who has gone through that problem, we can never truly feel their pain.

When we bring a lawsuit seeking compensation for your injuries, we always include a claim for past pain and suffering and future pain and suffering. Those phrases have become so clichéd and overused that the majority of people simply don’t understand what they mean.

My goal as a practicing trial attorney is to get the jury to recognize that the pain you have experienced is unique to you. Our minds eliminate unpleasant experiences and it is my job to get the jury to visualize the pain you are experiencing on a daily basis.

Right now, I’m going to go lie down and reduce the pain I’m experiencing while writing this article.

To learn more about how lawsuits work in the State of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call since this is what I do every single day.

May you always be free from pain.

4 Things Your Accident Attorney Wants You to Know

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)69096 — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Hiring an accident attorney can be one of the best things you do for your accident injury case. He or she can not only guide you through the legal process, but can also let you know what to do and not to do to help protect your rights and get the settlement you deserve.

But keep in mind, it’s not all about you – you have to make our job easier too! After all, we're working hard on your accident case! The last thing you want is to be the annoying client your lawyer can’t stand – or you’ll soon be finding a brand-new lawyer. Here are some of the top things your personal injury lawyer will want you to know:

Tip #1: We’re not here for sympathy.
We do feel for you and the emotional and physical pain you’re enduring – but, we’re here to help you get the car accident settlement you deserve and not as a shoulder to cry on. If you call just to complain about your injuries, we’ll soon figure out what’s happening – and you may not get an immediate call back.

Tip #2: There are a lot of PI cases…don’t ask for pro bono “just because.”
One of the most annoying things a client can do is ask for the case to be free because “you’re under special circumstances.” Most lawyers already work on a contingency basis so they don’t get paid until after the settlement. And at that point, they’ve spent long hours on your auto accident case.

Tip #3: We know the law like the back of our hand. There’s no need to do your own legal research.
Another annoying thing some clients do is come into the office with stacks and stacks of “Internet research” they’ve done on their case. Rest assured that PI lawyers are highly skilled at what they do. They’ve passed the Bar Exam, worked with many clients, and had years of training in their area of expertise. Plus, most lawyers have better research tools at their disposal and can find the cases and information that are applicable to your car accident.

Tip #4: Don’t compare yourself to “someone else you know.”
The thing about PI cases is that they’re all different. Even if you have a friend, family member, or coworker who’s been involved in a PI case, there’s only a tiny, tiny chance that the circumstances were the same.

Think of it this way: It would be silly to expect the same outcome as someone else because the circumstances surrounding their accident were different and their injuries aren’t the same as yours. So don’t grill your lawyer about why so-and-so got a different settlement than you did.

Remember, one of the most important things in a trial is working well with your lawyer and making sure you have a healthy working relationship. After all, they’re the people who get to tell your side of the story.

About the Author:
Peter Nero writes for the Accident Injury Blog at Accidents.com.

Fall from Bed Paralyzes Fordham College Student

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)68963 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

In February of this year, Fordham University student, Kei Usami, fell from his upper bunk bed in the middle of the night and was left paralyzed due to a spine fracture. He is now suing the university for not installing guard rails on their beds.

Usami, 20, was a sophomore on the university tennis team when the accident happened. He returned from a night of drinking, only to fall, head first, in his sleep. Fordham's student EMS team transported him to St. Barnabas Hospital, but they did not cushion him with a neck brace, thereby sealing his fate, according to published news reports.

Although the school has sued two bed suppliers since the accident, they claim their neglect in not providing guardrails is not to blame for the accident. They blame Usami for drinking "large amounts of alcohol."

Usami spent four months in the hospital and was saddled with a $1.1 million medical bill. He is now confined to a wheelchair. Regaining movement in his left hand was a major victory for him after much physical therapy. This fall, he returned to Fordham to study business and hopes to be able to walk on stage to receive his diploma by 2013.

Commentary:
Let's see if I understand this correctly. College student gets drunk. College student climbs up onto the upper level of his bunk bed after a night of drinking. College student falls out of bed during the night causing him to become paralyzed. College student sues school claiming they should have bed rails on the bunk beds.

School sues manufacturer of bunk beds. School asserts a defense against college student claiming if he had not been drinking, this would not have happened.

The fact that the school sued the manufacturer does not, in and of itself, mean that the school is automatically responsible for the accident. From the facts presented, it appears as if each party bears responsibility for the significant injury this student suffered. I would be very interested to know whether the school had notice of other students who had fallen out of the upper bunk bed in cases where students had been drinking and maybe in cases where students were not drinking.

Should bed rails be installed in an upper bunk bed? In order to know that answer, research would need to be done on any State regulations requiring them. This situation does not appear to be similar to young children falling out of an upper bunk bed. Instead, you have young adults who should be able to navigate their way up and down the upper bunk bed. Also, even if we assume bed rails had been installed, a drunk young man may simply have climbed over it in his druken stupor to go to the bathroom and suffered the same fate.

Having said that, I still believe that the school bears responsibility especially if other incidents like these have happened in the past. The fact that the college has sued the manufacturer of the bunk bed clearly suggests that they're trying to shift the blame onto the manufacturer for making a defective product.

How Not to Die From Gall Bladder Surgery; Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyer Explains

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)67663 — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

In today's blog post, Spencer Aaronfeld, a Miami medical malpractice lawyer, writes about the dangers of gallbladder surgery. Read his post here; it's very informative.

As someone who has handled many laparoscopic cholecystectomy cases here in New York, I can relate to Spencer's article that also gives you questions to ask your surgeon before going ahead with gallbladder surgery. It's a worthwhile read.

Kidney Dialysis Leads to Bloodbath & Death

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)66863 — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

You would think going to dialysis is a routine thing. You have to go every other day to “wash your blood” of contaminants. Your kidneys are not working well enough to filter out all the impurities in your system, so you need to have dialysis on a regular basis.

How do they connect the dialysis equipment to you? Do they need to put a needle in like an IV every single time? How does the blood go in and come out after it has been rinsed clean?

The answer is with something called a “shunt." They shunt connects the arteries and the vein together and allows easy access for the dialysis center. To insert a shunt requires a surgical procedure. The nurses at the dialysis center are required to check that the shunt is clean, healthy-appearing and not infected. If the patient begins to bleed from the shunt or there is an infection, the patient requires immediate treatment before continuing with dialysis in that arm.

Here is how a woman came home one day to find her husband in a total bloodbath that led to his death. She came home from lunch and immediately noticed blood on the floor from the front doorstep all the way to the bathroom toward the back of the house on the first floor. As she followed the blood on the floor she found her husband dead on the bathroom floor. The scene that greeted her was horrendous. There was blood everywhere.

It was on the ceiling, it was on the wall, it was on the floor, it was soaked on a towel and bandages. The police officers arrived on the scene and they thought it was a murder scene. Further investigation by detectives quickly revealed that this had nothing to do with any criminal activity. Instead, it had to do with his shunt that had ruptured causing him to bleed to death on the floor of his home.

The New York City medical examiner did an autopsy, which is a physical examination of the patient, after he died. They came to the conclusion that the reason the shunt ruptured was because it was infected and the hole, through which dialysis access is obtained was had become severely enlarged, causing the rupture. Medical experts we consulted confirmed that the patient's infection should have been diagnosed and treated immediately. Had the nurses and technicians recognized that he had a problem with his shunt, he would have been sent to the emergency room and received treatment for the infection and likely had another shunt inserted into the other arm.

The dialysis center's failure to timely recognize and have the patient sent for immediate treatment led to his shunt rupturing leading to a bloodbath of a nightmare on that fateful day.

Why do I tell you this story? I tell you this because you may find yourself in a similar situation were you received medical care and treatment and you have questions about whether the treatment was appropriate. You have questions about why you or your loved one suffered significant injury and want to know whether everything was done right.

My suggestion is to pick up the phone and call me, since I answer questions like these every day. You can reach me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

How Do You Prove Liability in a New York Medical Malpractice case?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)65173 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

You might think you have the greatest case in the world but if you are unable to prove that there was wrongdoing, you'll never achieve a successful result.

What exactly are you required to prove in New York?

The legal terminology is that you must prove that there was a departure from good and accepted medical care. What does that mean?

You must show that the doctor deviated from what is acceptable care and treatment from other similar doctors in the community in which he or she practices.

More importantly, how do you prove there is liability, also known as a departure from good and accepted care?

It is not sufficient for you simply to get on the witness stand and explain to a jury what you think was done wrong. In fact, the law in New York requires that you bring in a medical expert to testify about what occurred and what actually was done wrong that caused you injury. Of course, the defense has an opportunity to cross-examine the expert witness to explore the testimony further.

At the end of your trial, a jury will have to decide these questions:

Did the defendant doctor depart from good and accepted medical care? In other words, was the defendant negligent?
Was the defendant's negligence a substantial factor in causing injury?
How much compensation do you award to the plaintiff? (There are subcategories of what types of compensation are available)

If the jury determines but the doctor did not deviate from good medical practice, they never get to answer the other questions and you will have lost your case without receiving any compensation.

If you have more questions about how medical malpractice lawsuits like these work in NY, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call. I answer questions like these every single day. You can reach me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail, lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

CDC: Carbon Monoxide is a Leading Cause of Poisoning

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)64443 — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a study on August 5, listing carbon monoxide (CO) as a leading cause of unintentional poisoning deaths in the United States. The authors of this comprehensive paper hope to use the data to assist further CO poisoning prevention.

CO is a colorless and odorless gas, the detection of which is nearly impossible before the incidence of serious injury or death. Though it is preventable through detection mechanisms and other measures, 15,000 emergency room visits and 500 deaths are attributed annually to the toxicity of CO in the United States. These figures look at unintentional and non-fire related CO poisoning, which comprises 0.29% of all poison exposures, though its incidence has been declining in recent years. Of 1 million people, 23.2 are subject to CO exposures on average.

Most CO poisoning studies have surveyed limited sources. However, this one used data from the National Poison Data System (NPDS), which highlights both poisonings that are managed on-site through poisoning call systems, or those treated at health-care facilities. Between 2000 and 2009, 68,316 CO poisonings took place. 45% were treated on-site and 54% were treated at a health-care facility. The remainder were unknown. Females were more likely to be poisoned, followed by children and then adults 18-44 years old. Most CO poisonings occurred between November and February.
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If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Medical Malpractice: Studying False Diagnoses

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)64444 — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Well-known physician and editor, Dr. George Lundberg, recently partnered with endocrinologist Dr. Clifton Meador to ask why more studies are not conducted on the prevalence of false diagnoses, as opposed to missed diagnoses.

The literature on the accuracy of disease diagnoses brims with information on missed diagnoses. Autopsies often uncover diseases that were missed at the doctor's office. On the other hand, false diagnoses are less obvious, are much harder to study, and are generally ignored by statisticians and others.

The authors were aware only of one such study, which looked at heart disease among children. The study looked at 100,000 Seattle school children in 1967.

Just over 100 of this group reported a diagnosis of heart disease. (For the purpose of this blog, let's keep the figure at 100.) Of these, only 20 actually had heart disease. Physical and psychological disabilities were measured in 15 of this group and in 60 of the 80 who did not have heart disease. In other words, "[f]our times as much disability came from the false label 'heart disease' as came from actual heart disease." Drs. Lundberg and Meador concluded that the "false diagnoses were harmful."

The authors believe there is reason for an inertia to any false diagnosis, which arises from the fact that any diagnosis is very convincing, both to the patient and to the doctor. The disease cannot get any worse, since it does not exist, and it can only disappear at the next test, to which an alternative explanation -- remission -- is a ready distraction from the false diagnosis.

As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with the negative consequences of medical errors like this every day. If you have experienced related problems, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can help. If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Medical Malpractice: Wrong Surgeries Program Indicates Success

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)64445 — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

A pilot project to reduce wrong procedures and wrong-site surgeries is citing progress, as of early last month.

In 2004, the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare created its "universal protocol," which sought to establish consistency among surgical teams to reduce the risk of planning errors. It consisted of a three-step process, including a pre-surgical verification checklist, a verification of the site of surgery, and a "timeout" discussion, in which all members of the team do a last-minute check that they are all on the same page.

The incidence of mistakes made and corrected during this process by members of participating hospitals has informed the program's monitors of its success. By this measure, the proportion of process-related errors, which could result in wrong procedures declined from 52% to 19%. In retrospect, participating institutions reported that without their new pre-surgical verification checklist, 40% of the errors spotted would have gone unnoticed.

As the three-step process was explored, certain hospitals made their own adjustments, for example focusing on consistency when it came to the type of mark made on the site of surgery and standardizing the moment at which the "timeout" occurs.

40 wrong surgeries are estimated to occur in the US per week. Wrong procedures have increased from 2002 to 2008 according to data from an October 2010 study in Archives of Surgery.

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If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Medical Malpractice Law for the Non-Personal Injury Attorney; Comments by Attorneys

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)64143 — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Did you know that every lawyer in New York is required to take continuing legal education classes to keep abreast of the current changes in law today? It's true. Recently, Gerry gave a videotaped lecture to the folks at Lawline.com about medical malpractice for the non-medical malpractice attorney. Listed below are comments taken from attorneys across the country who watched Gerry's continuing legal education lecture online. Take a look:

"Very informative.....best CLE I have seen yet" - Richard T. (REGO PARK, NY)

"Helpful introduction" - Paul J. (New York, NY)

"Very informative!" - June (Rockville, MD)

"Informative, clear and concise." - Jill (Marlboro, NJ)

"A great primer on the subject for a non-medical malpractice attorney. Excellent speaker." - Dede (Tampa, FL)

"Excellent speaker. Used lots of examples. Good information on what to know when referring medical malpractice cases out." - Evette (Cordova, TN)

"Great niche presentation on what makes a medical malpractice case worth a referral to a practitioner who handles such cases." - Juliet (Arlington, VA)

"Compact, high-yield summary of major issues facing attorneys handling medical malpractice cases, illustrated very well with clinically relevant examples, scenarios, and hypotheticals. As an attorney and soon-to-be physician, I found this lecture highly useful for my future practice, both as surgeon and as potential malpractice consultant/referral base." - Nirav (Rochester, NY)

"A good overview and informative" - Wallace (Long Beach, CA)

"Very good overall. Easy to follow, speaker did a good job of explaining medical law and framing the legal issues in malpractice cases in terms every lawyer could understand." - Joseph (Montville, NJ)

"Very involved and engaging." - Emily (Memphis, TN)

"I would recommend it to someone in New York. I would have liked more discussion about what things differ from state to state and how they might differ." - Susan (Memphis, TN)

"He kept my attention!" - Cher (Las Vegas, NV)

"Excellent! This is what CLE should be - no sales plugs, no war stories, no question/answer sessions, just an engaging speaker with superior knowledge of his topic who delivers in a very well-organized manner. " - Cynthia (Hidden Hills, CA)

"Great topic." - Ruth (charlottesville, VA)

"I've taken various CLE courses for over two decades and this one was, by far, the best I've ever viewed!" - Kevin (Hendersonville, TN)

"Excellent." - Robert (Salem, VA)

"Good overview for purposes intended" - Susan M. (Albany, NY)

"As a malpractice lawyer I rate this speaker first rate in all aspects.." - Sanford (Albany, NY)

"Lucid and well organized presentation beneficial to the non medical mal practice attorney." - Robert (Denver, CO)

"Energetic and clear presentation" - Paul (Bayville, NY)

"Great lecture" - Gilbert (Van Nuys, CA)

"A very helpful overview. " - Jeffrey (New York, NY)

"Clear and succint in presentation and content" - Vandana (new york, NY)

"Very useful - It provided the information I was hoping for. " - Erica (Chicago, IL)

"Excellent substantive content." - Ana M. (Sunny Isles, NY)

"Good." - Andrew Chad (Nashville, TN)

"Good basic overview." - Cynthia (Pacifica, CA)

"Excellent." - Cynthia (Dallas, TX)

"Information packed." - George (Jericho, NY)

If you want to watch a preview of Gerry's lecture, click here.

Teen Driving-Distraction is Greatest Factor For Teen Driver Crashes

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)63056 — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

A new study of New York State driving records blames distraction for causing the most young driver crashes. In 2007 and 2008, the leading cause of crashes for drivers 16-20 years old was speeding. In 2009 (the latest year of available data), driver distraction overtook speeding as the leading cause. For teens 16-17, the main factor was failure to yield right of way, followed by driver inattention. Still, these drivers were more likely to be ticketed for speeding in 2009 than for cellphone use, compared with the overall average. This inverse relationship between summonses and the causes of car crashes might hint at a cause-and-effect relationship.

Alcohol involvement has declined to 1% of injurious or fatal crashes among 16-17 year olds in 2009 from 1.5% in 2007. For 16-20 year olds, the figure went down from 2.3% in 2007 to 1.9% in 2009. For the general driving population, the figure dropped from 4% to 3.5%. Controlling for fatal crashes however -- ignoring simply injurious crashes -- finds that alcohol contributes to far more teen deaths than for the general driving population. 77% of fatal victims of young drivers also died because they were not wearing a seat belt.

Drivers between 16-20 were 3.5 times more likely to suffer an accident due to inexperience than general population drivers. In an effort to stem this trend in 2010, new state laws were passed to require 50 hours, instead of 20 hours, of supervised driving to apply for a license.

As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with accidents like these every day. If you would like more information about how negligence and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

NYC-Two Men Almost Drown in Elevator

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)63053 — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

Last week's heavy rains almost took the lives of two construction workers, who were stranded in a flooded elevator for an hour in Staten Island.

Around 9am on Sunday, August 14, Ed Tyler, 26, and Wendell Amaker, 48, had begun their workday at the old Staten Island Hotel in Graniteville. They were participating in renovating the hotel into an assisted-living facility. No one else was in the hotel at the time, and only a security guard manned the exterior.

The elevator door malfunctioned immediately, so the two workers decided to press all buttons in the hope that the door would open on one of them. Unfortunately, the basement was experiencing flooding at the time and when the elevator hit the bottom floor, it began to sink. Without anyone else in the building, no one could hear the two men's screams. They reached the fire department and could only recall the intersection of the building. Just as the phone call ended, their phone died.

The fire department finally came around almost an hour after the emergency began. The security guard reported that nothing was wrong, but they decided to try the back of the building anyway. When the two men were found, they were standing atop plastic transport carts, with water up to their necks, three feet from the ceiling. The firefighters then sent a ladder down and rescued the soaked men.

If you would like more information about how negligence and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Truck Hangs Precariously Three Floors Up

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)63049 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

Last week, a 15-ton salt-spreading truck crashed through a brick-and-window wall on the third floor of a Sanitation Dpartment repair depot in Queens. Two thirds of the truck remained suspended over the edge of the building, thirty feet up, with a frightened driver inside. Luckily, rescue workers were able to save the man and haul the truck back from the brink.

The incident took place Wednesday morning, August 17, at 9:30am, in Maspeth, Queens. The driver, Robert Legall, 56, had accidentally stepped on the gas pedal rather than the brake, according to the New York Daily News. However, investigators and the Sanitation Department remain uncertain of the causes.

Legall was initially saved because the back of the truck was lodged against the top of the solid brick wall, preventing it from tipping beyond its 45-degree angle. He was then saved by a cherry picker crane about thirty minutes after the crash. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center for back and neck injuries, but was released soon after.

Legall is a 10-year veteran of the Sanitation Department. His truck, worth $200,000, was one of two that plows and salts roads on Rikers Island. At the time, he brought it in for its seasonal servicing. After Legall was freed, workers hauled the truck back inside by pulling heavy chains from the back and pushing with a crane from the front. The incident was over by mid-afternoon.

So far, no charges have been made and Legall's drug test came out negative.

Commentary:
In reading this article, you could make a good argument that normal operation of a car or truck does not involve accidentally pressing the gas when you want to press the brake. No matter how the article describes the happening of the accident, unless there is some mechanical defect or failure with the brake system or acceleration system, there should be no reason for a $200,000 salt spreader truck to plow through a building. The fact that the driver is noted to have accidentally hit the gas when he intended to hit the brake is carless, which is synonymous with negligence.

Interestingly, if someone was injured because of this driver's carelessness, it would be up to a jury to decide whether he was careless and if so, what percentage of his carelessness caused the accident.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Bicycle Law Develops Niche in NYC

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)63055 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

The New York Times is reporting on a handful of lawyers in the city, who are working to fight what they believe are improper summonses leveled against cyclists, because many of the accused have broken state laws not applicable within the city.

The class-action they now undertake involves laws -- such as the requirement to keep to the right or to ride one at a time rather than two abreast -- which only apply outside New York City. Paul J. Browne, the Police Department's chief spokesman, maintains that all summonses in question were handed out "for observed violations."

The legal world of bicycling has taken on increasing significance in recent years. This year, police enforcement of cycling traffic laws has increased from red-light violations to wearing headphones in only one ear, to not riding with a bell or helmet. Last week, a lawsuit challenging a Brooklyn bike lane, which was thrown out, gained some traction in the news.

Both bicyclists and even police officers are now being caught in an increasingly complicated web of bicycle law, such as the whether a bicycle is allowed to move out of a bike lane. Violators usually have to explain the reasons for their violations in court because contextualization so often does count. There is also the additional contention that cyclists should not pay the surcharge that automobile traffic violators must pay.

This increase in cycling law activity adds to the standard personal injury docket volume, and has allowed for what the New York Times considers to be the birth of a new breed of lawyers in New York City.

As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with the consequences of accidents, such as those suffered by cyclists, every day. If you would like more information about how negligence and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Heart Attacks Now Treated Much Faster

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)63046 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

An encouraging new study shows that hospitals are now treating major heart attacks within 90 minutes of arrival, the time recommended by experts.

Heart attacks occur when clogged arteries prevent blood and oxygen from reaching the heart. A major heart attack -- one that involves a major artery -- affects 250,000 Americans annually and 3 million people worldwide. The preferred remedy is an angioplasty, which is the insertion of a tube into the artery. A balloon at the end of the tube is then inflated to flatten what clogs the artery and a stent or mesh is placed to prop the artery open thereafter. The amount of time it takes from hospital arrival to the angioplasty procedure is known as "door-to-balloon" time, and is recommended to be no longer than 90 minutes. A delay of a half hour raises the risk of death by 42%.

In 2005, the median door-to-balloon time was 96 minutes. Last year, the median time was cut to 64 minutes, according to a study published this week in the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation. These figures mean that fewer than half the heart attack patients five years ago had their arteries unclogged within the time it takes for almost all patients today.

Newsday tells several anecdotes about "warp speed" operating rooms, particularly the one at Yale-New Haven Hospital, which took one patient last month within 16 minutes and another last week within 26 minutes. Doctors thank research, which pointed to the importance of shorter waiting times, as the major reason for this sea of change in emergency room procedures.

It is encouraging to learn that hospitals recognize the need for speed when treating patients with life-threatening cardiac illnesses.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Suffolk Cracks Down on Distracted Driving

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)63047 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

Suffolk County authorities launched a short-lived anti-distracted driving initiative last week, during which time over a thousand summonses were issued and more for other traffic violations. They hoped this would strike a nerve on the roads to cut down on dangerous behavior while driving.

The initiative lasted from July 31 to August 6. In all, police handed out 1109 tickets for electronic-related violations and 1600 other vehicle violations. 78 motorists were arrested.

It is unclear what impact, if any, will come of this, but advocates including Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer are hopeful of its success. The goal is to change "drivers' behavior regarding cell phone use while driving," pursuant to the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. The police commissioner maintained that his forces will continue to enforce cell phone laws beyond the close of the initiative.

The law, NYS VTL Section 1225-D, had originally given police the power to issue a ticket for driving while texting if the motorist had been involved in another independent violation. The law has been amended in recent months to allow police to pull over any driver who operates any electronic device.

If you would like more information about how accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

$6 Billion in New York City Tort Payments over 10 Years

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)63057 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

The New York Post is reporting this week on an analysis of New York City comptroller records, which tell of $6 billion that the city managed to pay out in judgments and settlements between 2000 and 2010, or $600 million per year. Last year, the figure was $520.6 million. Most of the money from last year's cases went to suits against the NYPD, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and the Department of Transportation.

99% of tort cases were personal-injury claims. The largest payout was a $33 million class-action brought by city inmates, who alleged to have been illegally frisked. Many other payouts were low -- in the hundreds of dollars.

Within five years, claims against the NYPD rose by 43%, against the Department of Sanitation by 200%, and against the Department of Transportation by 100%.

The city has already budgeted $655 million for next year's budget, or $135 million more than this year. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) have spoken out against what they consider to be a too-quick-to-settle city judicial system. They believe this to be an incentive for frivolous lawsuits. On the other hand, settlements often drain the public coffers less than cases that go through the full legal grind. City Comptroller John Liu claims that settlements saved the city $18 million last year. Additionally, according to the city Law Department, spending on lawsuits last year experienced a decrease of 12% since 2001.

COMMENTARY
The title of the article is a bit deceiving. It would make you think that NYC is paying tons of money for a handlful of personal injury cases. In fact, these cases represent lawsuits over a ten year period. The report is sensationalistic and does little to explore or explain why these cases needed to be settled and why the large settlements or verdicts were so large.

The article does little to expose the carelessness and negligence that occurred leading to the injured victims bringing suit. Instead, it just seeks to lump together all payments in total to give the appearance that the City of New York is paying out lots of money. A better type of reporting would have been to profile each injured victim to determine whether they truly received full compensation from the City. That would have been a more revealing article dealing with people injured at the hands of someone else.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

NY Courts Should Adopt Google+ Video Hangouts

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)60845 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST

Traditionally, court systems have been slow to adopt new technology. Using video in the courtroom was a big stumbling block here in New York. Committees had to evaluate it. Conferences and meetings to determine the feasibility, efficacy and usability were held. After years of analysis, there is no live video streaming of court cases in civil cases in the New York Court system.

Here we are in the year 2011 where Google has just released Google+ with video chat capability called hangouts and Facebook has released video chat as well. I was recently in court on a status conference and spent the majority of the morning sitting in the back of the courtroom wondering how we as attorneys can better utilize our time and energy. I also contemplated how the court system could make better use of its resources by using relevant technology.

A status conference is where attorneys who represent the people in a lawsuit are required to appear in court and let either the judge or the judge's law clerk know what is happening in the case. There may be issues with exchanging documents, or one party may be stalling before producing a witness for deposition. In some cases, there may be no problem whatsoever and everything is on track. Regardless of what is actually occurring within the case, the attorneys must travel from their offices to the courthouse and then wait their turn among all the cases that are on for conference that morning.

Most judges will handle a large caseload on days that they hear conferences or motions. (A motion is a request by one party to a lawsuit for the court to take action.) Depending upon the judge's rules, it may be first-come, first-served in the courtroom as far as getting seen. That means that if your adversary does not show until late in the morning you may be waiting around for hours before being able to see the judge or the law clerk. After completing the conference the attorneys must then travel back to their office and resume working on their cases.

For years there was no other alternative to streamlining this process. Busy lawyers, or solo attorneys who were unable to attend a particular conference in court would often hire per diem attorneys to handle that a conference for them.

Here is what I propose: Since we have easily accessible technology such as Google+ video chat, the courts now have the ability to have a video conference with the attorneys at a pre-scheduled date and time. This would alleviate the time required to travel from an attorney's office to the court house and simplify matters greatly. All parties would still be heard and seen as if they were in the courthouse. I know some of my fellow colleagues will certainly raise the issue about what happens if their Internet connection is down or there are technical issues with their computer. Dealing with technology is always a potential challenge. However, the benefits of using videoconferencing in a simple, free and effective manner far outweigh the limited instances where technology prevents us from communicating effectively.

This suggestion is not for litigants or people who are observing what goes on in the courthouse. Rather, this is to streamline the court system, make conferences more effective and assist counsel by making them more productive without the need to travel to court for every status conference. This type of innovative thinking will help the public recognize that the Court system is trying to help and not hamper their ability to seek justice.

Hopefully, someone in the court system will read these suggestions and it is my hope that they will be ultimately implemented at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Surgeon Badmouths Me on YouTube Video Reply

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)60566 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST

It was inevitable. A surgeon had recently watched about six or seven of my videos on YouTube and began leaving comments on each one of them. Some of those comments were intelligent and well thought out. Other comments were simply childish and came down to calling me names because of what I do for a living.

At first I was taken aback that someone as educated and intelligent as a surgeon would take to calling another professional childish names. They were nasty names. Names I did not particularly like reading.

However, two calming thoughts occurred to me while I was reading the rantings of this surgeon.

1. This doctor was actually taking the time to sit and listen to my videos, and
2. He felt compelled to join my conversation and leave passionate comments about the topics I was discussing on video.

I was once against struck with the realization that we live in a wonderful country where we have free speech and enjoy the opportunity to speak our mind. I also recognized that the physician was not directly pointing his rants toward me personally, but rather to attorneys who represent injured victims and that I was simply the lightning rod by which to channel his frustrations.

Reading his comments again, I recognized quickly that many of his disagreeable comments were nothing more than frustrations being verbalized. I had two options after reading those comments. I could have easily deleted those comments so no one online could see them. Or, I could enter the conversation and begin a dialogue with this physician. Before I tell you what I did, ask yourself, if you were in my position, what would you have done?

My Decision

I chose not to delete those comments and instead decided to engage this doctor in conversation by replying to his comments. I was not aggressive but acknowledged his frustrations. I was not apologetic, but instead stood up for the rights of every citizen in New York and explained that they had every right to seek compensation if they believe they were injured as a result of somebody else's wrongdoing.

I made it extremely clear that no matter who we are in our society, we are accountable and responsible for our own actions. Regardless of whether you are a janitor or a cardiac surgeon. If you cause injury or harm to someone else because of carelessness, you must stand up and take responsibility for your actions. It is that simple. The surgeon did not agree with me, and I certainly was not going to waste my time and energy trying to convince him otherwise.

Instead, I offered him an opportunity. I offered him the chance to write a guest blog post on my website. In fact, I challenged him to write a guest blog post that I would gladly put up on my website without editing. I asked him to write about his concerns and frustrations with lawsuits and why he feels that injured victims should not receive compensation for their injuries.

When I proposed this challenge to him, I truly hoped that he would take me up on my offer since it would be a great opportunity to let readers of my website see a contrarian viewpoint coming directly from a physician who is passionate about these issues. Despite offering him the opportunity to write whatever he wished on my website, he has failed to take advantage of my highly unusual offer.

Who knows, he might think that it is taboo for a physician to post an article on an attorney's website who deals primarily with helping injured victims obtain compensation for their injuries. For whatever reason, he has not risen to the challenge.

Lawyers ask me all the time what they should do if someone posts a negative review online about them. My answer is the same as the one I've discussed here in this blog post. Don't delete it, and don't ignore it. Instead, start a conversation which now gives you an opportunity to explain to the reader. Embrace it as an opportunity to teach and educate even though it may initially sting.

Motorcycle Biker Who Protested Helmet Law Killed While Riding Without Helmet

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)59091 — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST

An ironic accident recently has shed some light on the controversy over motorcycle helmet laws. A motorcycle rider protesting the state helmet laws crashed and died. He was not wearing a helmet. Authorities and doctors claim the man would still be alive had he been wearing a helmet.

The accident occurred near Route 11 in LaFayette, NY at 1:30pm on June 2. Philip Contos, 55, hit the brakes on his motorcycle, but lost control. He was sent flying over the handlebars of his 1993 Harley Davidson. Contos then skidded on the pavement and was still alive when emergency crews arrived. He was pronounced dead after he was transported to Upstate University Hospital.

Contos was involved that day in a protest with his group, American Bikers Aimed for Education (ABATE) of Onondaga County. The group believes in the safety inherent in motorcycle helmets, but they believe the freedom of choice should be left to the discretion of bikers who know the risks at hand. Despite the loss of life, ABATE representatives remain undeterred. They point out that in 11 years of protesting, this is the first incident of injury.

Police are investigating why Contos's motorcycle spun out of control and whether the protest had violated the parameters of the "parade" for which they obtained a license to ride without helmets.

This tragedy is ironic because of how this man died and what he'd been protesting earlier that day. While it is true that helmets do not prevent all types of injuries, they provide a specific level of protection if you fall and injure your head. If you recognize and accept that risk and yet still choose to drive a two wheeled vehicle at a high rate of speed knowing there is a distinct possibility you could fall and severely injure your head, doesn't it make sense for motorcyclist to wear a helmet?

There are times when people are injured or killed because they disregard the risks associated with a dangerous activity. The injured victims, in that instance, have little recourse when trying to bring lawsuits against manufacturers of the product that may have caused the injury or a state or local municipality that contributed to the injury. A common defense is that the injured victim, knew there were inherent risks, recognized them and accepted them.

While not all risks are recognized or related to a particular dangerous activity, the question for an experienced personal injury attorney who evaluates such a case is whether those risks were open and obvious and also whether the victim knew about them prior to engaging in this particular activity.

If you would like more information about how negligence and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Helmetless Biker Dies After Protesting Helmet Law

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)58778 — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST

How ironic.

A 55 year old upstate New York man, Philip A. Contos, died after going over his handlebars on his motorcycle. He hit his head on the ground on Saturday, July 2, 2011.

Why is this ironic and tragic at the same time?

Earlier that day, Contos had participated in a protest ride against helmet laws in New York. Police troopers say Contos hit his brakes and fishtailed, causing him to lose control of his motorcycle and flip over the handlebars. An emergency room physician told the NYS Trooper that Contos’ death could have been prevented had he simply worn a helmet.

How ironic.

New York has mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists. One helmet company has a three-word slogan to market their helmets: “It’s Your Head.” How true. While helmets will certainly not prevent all injuries in every accident, it’s a simple and effective way to minimize injuries to our heads.

Two Car Accidents Plague Long Island Tuesday

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)57768 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

Long Island suffered a difficult road day on Tuesday, sustaining two accidents, as reported by a Newsday rundown.

The first crash occurred just after noon, at 12:30 pm, on Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury. An 82 year old woman was in a 1983 Buick heading west on Jericho Turnpike, when her car hit another westbound automobile, sending the automobile into the eastbound lane before hitting yet another vehicle. The woman did not survive the accident. According to police, the driver of the car, and 82 year old man, did not suffer life threatening injuries. The driver of another car also sustained nonlife-threatening injuries. Investigators could not yet find any apparent criminality.

A second accident occurred at 4:20 in the afternoon. A Honda was driving westbound along Lido Boulevard, Long Beach. The driver had exhibited wavering control before hitting a utility pole guide wire and driving into two other cars on the other side of the median. Emergency vehicles arrived immediately to pull victims out and place drivers and passengers on stretchers to take them to Long Beach Medical Center and South Nassau Communities Hospital. An investigation is ongoing.

Why do I tell you this? To illustrate the type of cases that I handle on a daily basis. Importantly, we do not feel the need to highlight the names of people who were actually involved in the accident. If you would like more information about how accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Pharmacty Error: Family Claims Wrong Prescription Caused Death of 12 Year Old

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)57769 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

The New York Post this week reported on a tragic medical error that is now on its way to court. 12-year-old Phillipe Galette died on April 2, 2010 because of a mistaken prescription. His family believes someone should have realized the mistake ahead of time.

Galette's suit, which is pending in Queens County Supreme Court, was filed by his adoptive mother, Pearl Pastor, who is also his half-sister. According to the NY Post, the suit refers to the error as an "obvious mistake."

From May 2009 until his death roughly a year later, Galette attended Queens Children's Psychiatric Center in Bellerose for depression, mood swings, and aggressive behavior. His doctor, Marie Gisele St. Felix, wrote Galette two prescriptions for Bupropion, an anti-depressant drug. The prescriptions were filled at a Walgreens without question or concern. Pastor followed the dosage instructions on the bottles, causing Galette to overdose. He was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, but passed away before arrival.

Why do I tell you about this tragic death case? To illustrate the type of case that handle on a regular basis. Pharmacy errors are still prevalent today despite the fact that many doctors are using electronic medical records. Prescriptions are still written by hand. You are the typical types of mistakes I see involving pharmacies and pharmaceutical errors:

A doctor writing a prescription with the wrong dose or wrong decimal number leading to an incorrect dosing
A pharmacy not being able to correctly read the doctor's handwritten prescription
The pharmacy mistaking the dose for a different one
A pharmacy giving a patient a different pill than the doctor prescribed

If you would like more information about how pharmacy error cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Failure to Timely Diagnose Recurrence of Breast Cancer in NY; Viable Case?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)57729 — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

I recently evaluated a failure to diagnose a recurrence of breast cancer case involving a woman who'd been diagnosed with stage IIIB breast cancer. When she was diagnosed years earlier, she underwent a bilateral mastectomy and was told she required chemotherapy because of the advanced stage of her cancer. She religiously had chemotherapy treatments and continued to follow with her oncologist every six months, as instructed. Four years after originally being diagnosed, she began to experience significant deep pain in her bones and throughout her body. Further evaluations revealed the cancer had recurred despite the chemotherapy treatments. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with advanced metastatic stage IV cancer. Her prognosis is not good.

Although the statistics for achieving a five-year survival rate following the initial diagnosis of stage IIIB cancer was not ideal, she believed that she lost the opportunity to have the recurrence caught earlier.

Patients who lose the opportunity for successful treatment or a successful outcome may have a viable claim if we can show that earlier treatment would have altered the outcome and the damages would be different.

In this case however, we were unable to show through medical expert review, that this woman's treatment or outcome would have been significantly different had her doctor recognized the recurrence at an earlier point in time. Importantly, the recurrence was found, not within the breast area that had long since been removed, but in distant sites and in distant organs.

Why do I tell you this? Because if you believe that you have suffered a delay in diagnosis of your cancer, these are just a few of the things that an experienced trial attorney looks at to evaluate whether or not your case may be worthwhile to pursue.

To learn more about how medical malpractice and breast cancer cases work here in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me since I can answer your legal questions at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

While US Beats E.coli Back, Salmonella Remains Nuisance

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)56965 — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

A new report out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explores the gains made against E.coli and the lack of results achieved against salmonella over the past 20 years in the United States. They are both potentially deadly bacteria that arise from food poisoning.

Reuters considers this year's devastating outbreak of E.coli in Germany to be, "the deadliest outbreak of E.coli ever seen." Already, over 2400 people have been infected and 23 have died.

The United States suffered from a deadly E.coli strain in 1993 when 4 died after eating hamburgers at the Jack in the Box chain. Ever since, the focus on that strain of E.coli has successfully diminished the bacteria's effects: infections were decreased by one half between 1997 and 2010. Still, other, less-prevalent E.coli strains increased by 58% in America last year alone. This includes the strain in Germany, which was discovered in several visitors returning from the country.

CDC attributes the successes to "improved slaughter methods, testing, better inspections and other efforts," including cooking meat more. However, a pathogen research director at the University of Florida is not confident this nation could yet handle an outbreak like the one in Germany.

The unsuccessful battle against salmonella highlights this concern. It is the most common foodborne illness in the nation, and has not diminished in 15 years, since the CDC began monitoring. Last year, a salmonella outbreak caused 2300 infections and 29 deaths.

The report is titled, "Vital Signs," and was compiled by the CDC's Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet).

According to the CDC, about one of six people in America suffer from food poisoning annually and about 3000 die each year.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

New Hospitals Collective Seeks to Improve Services on LI East End

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)56966 — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

An association of hospitals known as the Physician Hospital Organization (PHO) is being set up on the east end of Long Island. Each of the three hospitals in the region are forming the organization to share information that will help them lower insurance costs for doctors, streamline reimbursement from insurers, improve patient care, and enhance treatment practices. This collective will include 63 of the 200 practicing physicians on the East End.

To lower costs, the PHO will implement two goals: to use a computerized system to determine best practices and procedures, and to negotiate lower premiums from insurers.

All coordination efforts will take some time to achieve, but the first efforts are set to be conducted on diabetes patients. Data from the care given to all patients will be compared between the hospitals and then compared to national standards.

The vice chairman of the East End Health Alliance, a similar group, praised technology as a medical instrument and as a tool for his own association's collective efforts. However, he also mentioned that it challenged patients, who are often wary of the quality of the unknown inherent in new technology. Still, he praises the idea of the collective hospital system, particularly because he believes it will help hospitals navigate through the changing health care system as new federal laws kick in.

This collective organization has precedents elsewhere in New York City and in Boston.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Why do Upstate Doctors Pay Less for Medical Malpractice Insurance Than Do Downstate Doctors?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)56944 — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

A new study by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield has released a report that pegs liability insurance costs for doctors in the New York City area are 3.5 times the rate that upstate New York doctors pay.

Rochester rates are lowest, at $7 thousand. Most locations upstate are $10 thousand, and the highest rate, in Long Island, rises to $35 thousand. Manhattan was the cheapest of the downstate premiums, at $27 thousand. The figures were culled from Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company (MLMIC). Did you know that yearly insurance premiums for an Ob/Gyn on Long Island are $188,000? Neurosurgeons and Ob/Gyn's in Metropolitan New York and Long Island pay the highest medical malpractice insurance premiums in the State.

The senior vice president for MLMIC believes the rates are lower upstate because jury awards are generally lower there. Reforms are currently being aimed at lowering malpractice liabilities. Albany recently legislated a fund for infant injuries or wrongful deaths, to compensate the victim's family in lieu of the doctor's compensatory damages. This report by Excellus believes the new law will "significantly lower malpractice premiums."

This news comes on the heels of a report that the Syracuse Veterans Affairs clinics experiences one of the best track records for medical errors among VA clinics in the nation. Hospital officials attribute this to their continual efforts to keep up with changes in patient protection protocol.

The state insurance rates are set by New York's Insurance Department, which divides the state into seven separate rating districts. All data are averages, as medical professionals in different specialties pay different insurance premiums.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Obstetrical Malpractcie: Medical Errors Revealed in Obstetrics Care Report

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)56945 — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

CRICO Strategies, a health care risk service provider, has compiled a report on obstetrical (OB) medical malpractice statistics since 2005. Obstetrics is the medical field concerning women's reproductive system and childbirth during and after pregnancy. Of the 800 cases in their data pool, 77% showed evidence of clinical error.

The most common risk claims were delays, improper management of childbirth, and poor management of pregnancy. The most common errors were miscommunication, at 36%, followed by technical error, inadequate documentation, administrative failures, and ineffective supervision at 15%.

The crucial news that comes from this report is that medical errors rarely occur because of a single mistake, but because of a set of mistaken decisions or actions. This study is invaluable for determining the patterns of critical moments in similar chains of events. CRICO hopes to use this information to "focus on education and training initiatives designed specifically to help clinicians avert those mistakes." They also hope partner companies and organizations will use the information to develop protocols and technologies that also target weaknesses in OB practice.

Although OB claims are rare at less than one case for every 1000 births, the average damages for a case is almost $1 million, which is far above the average for medical malpractice.

CRICO titled the report, "2010 Annual Benchmarking Report: Malpractice Risks in Obstetrics." Its data was derived from CRICO's own uniquely large database of over 120,000 malpractice claims.

As a practicing medical malpractice trial attorney in New York, I deal with cases involving improper labor and delivery. If you would like more information about how cases like these work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Handicapped Chasidic Jew Sues NYC Businesses That Are Not Handicap Accessible

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)56445 — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

There is something to be said for standing up for one's rights. In fact, that's what I do as personal injury and medical malpractice attorney every single day. However, there comes a time when bringing a lawsuit reaches ridiculous proportions. Here's what I mean.

Zoltan Hirsch, a double amputee in a wheelchair, goes around the five boroughs of New York looking for stores that do not allow handicapped access. When he finds such a store or business, he takes a photograph and immediately notifies his Florida-based lawyer who then contacts an investigator and begins an immediate investigation.

Within the last year, Mr. Hirsch has filed 87 federal lawsuits seeking damages and legal fees. In each of the lawsuits, he claims actual damages of only $500. However, his attorney is entitled to receive fees which, according to the New York Post, can reach $15,000 per case. One lawyer who is defending a business in a case brought by Hirsch said that Hirsch's lawyer appears to be exploiting the Americans with Disabilities Act which specifically allows the payment of lawyer fees.

It is perplexing why Mr. Hirsch is only seeking $500 for limited access to various stores and business. In fact, in the Sunday New York Post, dated June 5, 2011, the report actually questions the validity of some of his lawsuits. For example, they do not believe that Mr. Hirsch, an Orthodox Jew, would ever frequent a strip club. Hirsch Says he's entitled to do whatever he chooses. Another questionable claim, reported by the Post, was against a seafood restaurant that serves nonkosher food. Being an orthodox Jew, he would never eat such food. He also brought a claim against a spa salon that specializes in giving pedicures. The New York Post raised the question of how a double amputee could realistically ever frequent such a business.

So, is this handicapped crusader bringing these claims to fight for handicapped victims who simply cannot gain access to the stores, or is there some hidden agenda in bringing 87 lawsuits within one year? The answer is not clear cut, nor does the New York Post answer the question though they raise certain innuendo. We will know the answer when the courts decide the validity of his claims.

Medical Malpractice: Does Teamwork Cause or Contribute to It?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)56415 — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

A piece in the NY Times questions a long-held assumption that physician fatigue contributes to medical error. Instead, the article advances the theory that the makeup of an operating team determines its efficacy.

The former theory has reigned over much conversation among the health community for over a decade. In 2003, a law was passed prohibiting doctors-in-training from working over 80 hours per week. That law arose from the LIbby Zion case involving doctors-in-training who were working in excess of 80 hours per week and found to have fatigue contributing to patient errors. Hospitals have since focused on improving their doctors' lifestyles.

However, transplant surgeons have to be on call round the clock, as determined by a donor's time of death. Kidney and liver transplants have recently been studied. The results have determined that late-night transplants leave greater adverse effects upon patients than do those during the day. This therefore supports the fatigue theory.

On the other hand, a report published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association conducted a more comprehensive study. As opposed to surveying just one institution as the former two studies did, this one investigated each of the nearly 30,000 chest (heart and lungs) transplants in the United States over the past decade.

Surprisingly, equal results were found when comparing late-night chest transplants to mid-day chest transplants. Upon closer examination, the study noted that most of the teams at night and during the day consisted of the same surgical team. After all, chest transplant surgeons are in short supply and they tended to handle other, non-transplant operations during regular hours. Many surgeons keep the same specialized assistants around for non-transplant duties.

Therefore, if a specialized team is gathered for other operations like they normally are for cardiothoracic operations, then the incidence of medical error will not necessarily depend on fatigue.

As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death attorney in New York, I deal with malpractice issues like these every day. If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational medical malpractice website. If you have legal questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Ex-Yankee's Plane Manufacturer Cleared of Blame for Crash

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)55729 — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

The plane manufacturer of ex-Yankee Cory Lidle's plane has been cleared of charges that an airplane defect killed the pitcher.

In fall of 2006, Cory Lidle's flight killed him and his flight instructor, Tyler Stanger, when it flew into a building on Manhattan's East Side. Three others were injured. In 2007, the widows of Lidle and Stanger filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Cirrus Design Corp., the manufacturer of the single-engine SR20 plane. The case was tried in US District Court in Manhattan over the last four weeks.

In May 2007, the National Transportation Safety Board released the results of its investigations. The report blamed poor piloting for the crash. The Board did not find a problem in the plane's manufacturing.

Today, the six-juror panel found Cirrus Design not culpable for any of the damages the plaintiffs sought.

The widows' attorney, Hunter Shkolnik, had expected the verdict since the judge refused to allow evidence that the company changed their manufacturing process after this accident. In New York, evidence that someone has altered their conduct as a result of the injury-causing accident is not admissible to prove that there was wrongdoing initially.

Here is a perfect example: You live in an apartment building and are walking up the steps to the front door. You trip and fall over broken step, and break your leg. Shortly after the accident, the landlord repairs the step, so now it is in perfect working condition. The mere fact that the landlord repaired the defective step cannot be used as evidence to show that there was a problem at the time that you fell.

Plaintiffs attorney also tried to get into evidence the fact that another pilot had a similar problem with a different plane less than a year earlier. That is almost like saying that if you've gotten five speeding tickets in the past and now you're heading to work and get pulled over your history of speeding automatically says that you were speeding this time. The law is supposed to look at each individual action separately. A person may have a history or a pattern of carlessness over time, and it is up to the judge to determine whether or not to admit that evidence during trial.

Shkolnik was looking for $43.5 million in damages, $40 million of which would go to the Lidle family. Still, he remains confident as he plans to appeal the case.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

6 Year Old Boy Dies at Dentist Leads to $5M Lawsuit

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)55624 — Mon, 23 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

A $5 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a dental clinic that is accused of improperly applying anesthesia to a 6-year-old boy one year ago.

Crystal L. Lewis, the mother of Jacobi Isiah Hill, filed the lawsuit on behalf of her son this week against Virginia Commonwealth University Pediatric Dental Clinic.

On May 11, 2010, Jacobi entered the clinic to crown his teeth. Crowns, or caps, are usually used for cosmetic or restorative purposes. Jacobi died shortly after the procedure. The suit alleges the defendants "negligently diagnosed, treated and cared for Jacobi."

According to the state medical examiner's office, Jacobi suffered an abnormal heartbeat as soon as his breathing tube was removed. He was then pronounced dead after being transferred to the VCU Medical Center.

The dental team is alleged to have failed to monitor Jacobi's condition before, during, and after anesthesia was applied. They "failed to monitor the boy's respiratory condition, cardiac condition and vital signs, along with his oxygen saturation levels," according to the suit. Jacobi, who suffered from asthma but no other health issues, was "suffering from an inadequate and/or obstructed airway." The suit claims that the team "negligently failed to timely and adequately respond to and treat the boy's signs, symptoms and conditions — 'all of which led to his death'."

According to the news report about this case, none of the defendants -- VCU Dental Faculty Practice Association, Dr. Michael D. Webb, and two nurses -- returned messages for comment or responded to the suit, which "seeks $5 million in damages plus prejudgment interest from the date of the incident, along with costs."

Anesthesia-related deaths in dentist's office are a real fear. The anesthesia is usually not given by a board certified anesthesiologist, but rather by a dentist who has received some anesthesia training. The reason these cases are so traumatic is that the doctor is busy working on the patient and often does not recognize when a problem arises relating to the patient's airway. When a patient is deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time, it can result in brain damage and in severe cases, death. In a related case earlier last week, a New London, CT woman, debilitated by an anesthetic error, was awarded $10.5 million in damages.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and improperly administered anesthesia cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational medical malpractice website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Children's Motrin Causes Severe Burn Reaction-Lawsuit Alleges; Jury Is Out

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)55625 — Mon, 23 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

A suit against Johnson & Johnson over warnings on Children's Motrin and Children's Tylenol is now awaiting the deliberation of a Philadelphia jury.

The family of Brianna Maya filed the suit after Brianna developed an allergic reaction to Motrin in 2000, when she was 2 years old. She is now blind in one eye and has sustained burns over 84 percent of her body.

Her condition is known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), "A rare and potentially lethal skin reaction that permanently disfigures." This painful disease has been linked to other medications before: "It can cause the skin to burn, producing blisters, severe rashes and the skin may begin to separate from the body." Burns of 30% or more of the body is known as "Toxic epidermal necrolysis" (TEN). Treatment in Intensive Care Units or Burn Units are usually required, and the syndrome is sometimes fatal.

The lawsuit alleges Johnson & Johnson should have done more to warn parents and doctors of the risk.

Johnson & Johnson, a veteran defending medical lawsuits regarding Children's Motrin, questions whether Motrin actually cased Brianna's SJS. Furthermore, their defense lawyers argue that the company has complied with the FDA's labeling regulations since Motrin was allowed onto the market 20 years ago.

The trial ended earlier this week and is awaiting the jury's deliberation.

A relevant case in February involved a claim for punitive damages in regards to a Motrin-SJS reaction. A California appeals court accepted the argument that Johnson & Johnson had inadequately warned of the drug's risks, in a manner constituting malice. Specifically, the company "Misrepresented study results to the FDA and did not tell the agency the entire truth about the risk of SJS from Motrin when it asked to be able to sell the drug over-the-counter."

Should the pharmaceutical company be held liable for putting into the marketplace a product that they knew, or should have known, of the risk of injury and side effects to patients? Let's wait and see what the jury has to say.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and negligence cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational medical malpractice website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Jury Misconduct in Nassau County Results in Arrest in Medical Malpractice Case

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)55529 — Sat, 21 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

A juror has been charged with juror misconduct in a Long Beach medical malpractice case this week. Deonarine Persaud, 53, solicited a bribe from the plaintiff last Sunday, May 15, in exchange for a favorable jury verdict.

According to the Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, Persaud called the plaintiff's mother on Saturday, purporting to have important information about the defendant, without indicating that he was a member of the jury. The family notified their attorney, while the plaintiff's father agreed to meet with Persaud the next day at the Freeport Home Depot.

When the father greeted Persaud, he immediately recognized him from the trial. There, Persaud asked for 5 percent of the verdict amount in exchange for a favorable decision, which Persaud was prepared to deliver.

The father and his attorney reported this to the judge as soon as they could. The judge notified the DA, an investigation ensued, and Persaud was arrested when he entered the courthouse yesterday.

His charges were, "bribe receiving by a juror, a Class D felony, and first-degree misdemeanor misconduct by a juror." His court proceedings begin tomorrow, May 19, and he is represented by the Legal Aid Soociety of Nassau County. His maximum prison sentence is seven years.

DA Kathleen Rice believes, “Juror misconduct undermines the constitutional rights of plaintiffs and defendants and threatens the sanctity of our justice system.” Indeed, this juror's actions artificially tip the scales of justice, thereby nullifying the possibility of a fair trial for the parties involved.

Although this sounds like a scenario for a movie (there was a recent movie starring Gene Hackman as the defense strategist who carefully took pains to ensure that his big money clients got favorable decisions), the unfortunate reality is that this really happened. Jury selection is supposed to obtain jurors from all walks of life who claim to be fair and unbiased. Clearly, trying to solicit a bribe from the injured victim's parents go beyond any ethical or legal conduct for a juror.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Player's Death at Ole Miss Results in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)55530 — Sat, 21 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the University of Mississippi, football coach Houston Nutt, and the NCAA for the death of Bennie Abram, 20, a university football player. The lawsuit also includes "gross negligence, medical malpractice and a violation of civil rights."

On February 19, Abram, a walk-on safety, collapsed during the first formal offseason workout. He died a few hours later at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Mississippi from complications due to sickle cell trait.

The university has yet to respond to the lawsuit, but it has claimed that its employees did not do anything wrong.

After the NCAA proclaimed mandatory sickle cell trait testing last year, the team was aware that Abram carried the trait. This trait does not preclude participating in athletics and it is normally not symptomatic. However, strenuous exercise might "occasionally trigger sever problems." For this reason, the NCAA has mandated that sickle cell players are given a "slow and gradual" workout routine. They are ordered to "stop immediately upon struggling."

But the lawsuit claims that the workout that triggered Abram's collapse was "carelessly and recklessly excessive." It claims that Abram was not given proper medical attention, but was pushed to continue. Also named in the lawsuit on Tuesday were assistant coaches, trainers, the team doctor, and the hospital. It seems the civil rights claim has to do with the fact that 8% of African-Americans in America carry the sickle cell trait.

One of the lawyers on Abram's case also represented Rice player Dale Lloyd II, whose 2006 death triggered the NCAA to mandate sickle cell trait testing.

If this case were pending in New York, the victim's family would have to prove that the coaches, trainers and team doctors knew or should have known that this was likely to occur in light of having the sickle cell trait. If they had no way of knowing, or if the sickle cell trait had been identified as having a contributory factor to a premature death in some limited instances, the defense may be able to claim that the risk of this happening were so low as to be insignificant. I'm curious to learn the outcome of this case against the University of Mississippi.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

$10.5 Million Awarded to Woman Debilitated by Anesthetics Error

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)55098 — Sat, 14 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

$10.5 million was awarded to the wife of a retired naval officer for complications arising from improperly-administered anesthesia. Karla Rosa, 44, suffered permanent injuries as a result of her surgery at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London in 2006.

According to the lawsuit, "carelessness and negligence" on the part of the anesthesiologists led Rosa to suffer "serious, severe, painful and permanent injuries." She was "permanently deprived of her full ability to carry on and enjoy life's activities," the suit continued.

Subsequent to the error, Mrs. Rosa spent months in the hospital, having suffered nerve and brain damage. She required a feeding tube and venous catheter, as well as a tracheotomy, which left a scar. She sustained foot pain and "other physiological, psychological and neurological side effects."

In all, Mrs. Rosa spent 26 days in a coma, 29 days in the ICU, and 45 more days of verbal and orthopedic rehabilitation and therapy.

Today Mrs. Rosa lives in Ohio and is given regular care by her two daughters.

The malpractice suit was brought against Anesthesia Associates of New London in 2008, specifically against Dr. Thomas Meitt, Dr. Bart Calobrisi (recently deceased), and nurse anesthetist Jean Richeimer. The hospital was originally sued but was eventually dropped from the case.

The most important thing is, as Sean McElligott, attorney for Rosa and her husband, notes, "We're glad to finally be able to bring some peace to the family."

Many people think that we receiving anesthesia is no big deal. That is incorrect. Receiving anesthesia can be deadly. During surgery, if an anesthesiologist does not recognize a patient who vomits during surgery, it can result in aspiration pneumonia. That is a condition where the vomit literally gets inhaled into the lungs. If that happens, the patient's ability to breathe and receive oxygen is significantly impaired and can result in brain damage or even death.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational medical malpractice website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

New Study Links Acid Reflux Rx to Bone Fractures

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)55099 — Sat, 14 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

A new study confirms prevailing opinion that proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, render the user more susceptible to bone fractures. Proton pump inhibitors are medications that inhibit the creation of acid in the stomach.

This study found an increased risk of fracture among new PPIs, as opposed to older acid reflux medications, known as histamine-2 receptor antagonists.

After a study last year, the Food and Drug Administration placed a warning on PPIs for their fracture risk, but then lifted the cautionary label from over-the-counter PPIs, because the latter is not meant for long-term use, and only long-term use produced a statistically significant increase of bone fractures.

The new analysis combed through 11 studies and concluded patients using PPIs increased their chances of bone fracture by 29%. Longer-term users were 30% more prone to fractures, while high dosages garnered a stunning 53% greater rate of hip fracture.

A staff physician and senior scientist on the new study, Dr. Seung-Kwon Myung, agreed with the FDA's results: "Long-term or frequent use of P.P.I.’s should be avoided."

Proton pump inhibitors inhibit proton pumps, which are molecules in the stomach that create acid. The molecules attract potassium atoms and expel hydrogen atoms, or protons, which are the ingredient necessary for stomach acid. Sometimes, stomach acid causes acid reflux, indigestion, ulcers, GERD, and other digestive disorders. PPIs are meant to reduce these conditions. Sometimes they are prescribed with antacids or with antibiotics.

As beneficial as PPIs may be for acid reflux alleviation, the results of this new research -- that PPIs increase the risk of bone fracture -- should be made clear to anyone who is prescribed PPIs, or to anyone who buys it without a prescription.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational medical malpractice website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

Bullying a Cause of Medical Errors; Report on NY Times Op-Ed Piece

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)54747 — Wed, 11 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

An important, yet often overlooked cause of medical errors is workplace bullying, a phenomenon that is tackled in a NY Times weekend op-ed by practicing nurse Theresa Brown.

Bullying, Brown explains, may take various forms, like a doctor dismissing a nurse with the remark, "I'm important." Even the most subtle hierarchical attitudes foster workplaces, where many employees view their coworkers as either not worthy of engagement or too demeaning to approach. To nurse Brown, the danger is not so much in bruised emotion, but in communication breakdowns, which "can make the difference between life and death."

Indeed, this environment fosters real and dangerous consequences for patients. According to a 2003 Institute for Safe Medication Practices survey of "more than 2,000 healthcare professionals," 7% of "respondents indicated that they were involved in a medication error during the past year in which intimidation clearly played a role." Approximately 200,000 deaths in the U.S. are due to preventable medical mistakes each year, according to the Hearst media corporation. Therefore, we can extrapolate roughly 14,000 deaths in the U.S. as due to workplace intimidation.

Brown's solution is a top-down approach, in which workplace conduct rules are treated with greater deference. She also advocates that physicians -- who she admits are mostly "kind, well-intentioned professionals," with whom she "rarely [has] a problem talking openly with" -- should institute change among their ranks by setting a tone for proper professional behavior.

Writing in his Medpagetoday blog, physician Kevin Pho, M.D., applauds Brown for exposing a sordid workplace reality. Unlike Brown, Pho would like to see bottom-up reform, starting with medical education, which he believes incubates adverse hierarchical inclinations.

But Dr. Pho cautions Brown's "inflammatory" criticisms of doctors, who she blames for the entire medical bullying climate. To Dr. Pho, Ms. Brown's one-sided account "only serves to drive a bigger wedge between doctors and nurses." Unintentionally proving his point, he highlights evidence of bullying in the nursing culture and complains that Ms. Brown unfairly uses her own NY Times media bullhorn to bully physicians.

Whether change occurs from the top or from the bottom, a more collegial environment in the professional medical world is certainly necessary if we hope to see greater workplace cooperation and fewer medical errors.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational medical malpractice and personal injury website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

$212 Million Awarded for Botox Damage; News Report

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)54746 — Tue, 10 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

Dateline: Fredricksburg, Virginia

$212 million was awarded 2 weeks ago for damages related to Allergan's Botox, a drug used for muscle spasms, migraines, and neural issues, in addition to its well-known cosmetic purposes.

Douglas Ray, Jr., 67, of Virginia, "claimed injections of the wrinkle-smoothing drug Botox to treat hand tremors and writer’s cramp left him brain-damaged and disabled" in 2007.

In response, the company spokesman for Botox's manufacturer, Allergan, claimed that reliable medical and scientific test results dispute the charges. The drug's strong history of treating 21 different medical conditions speaks for itself. Additionally, Allergan is known to warn about all risks associated with Botox, she said.

Still, it was a letter sent from Allergan that tilted the case against them. The federal jury was presented with a cautionary letter that was sent to Europe in mid-2007, warning of the dangers of Botox. Allergan specifically did not send this letter to U.S. doctors "because they didn’t want to hurt sales in their biggest market." Had they sent the letter, it was argued, Allergan may have warned Americans that Botox could lead to an autoimmune reaction that might have spurred brain damage. A month later, Ray Jr. was ill.

Douglas Ray, Jr., lives with his wife and requires regular care. He has a personal home attendant 16 hours per week. He was awarded $12M in compensatory damages and $200M in punitive damages. The cap in Virginia, however, is $350,000 for punitive damages. Ray's lawyer is set to challenge the cap. Allergan has yet to determine whether it will appeal.

Botox is Allergan's highest-selling drug, accounting for about 29% of its revenue. Allergan's stock price took a hit of 13 cents the day of the verdict. This only goes to show that even if it is in pharmaceutical company's best interests to inform the consumer, it is not always the case that it does.

In New York, it is difficult if not impossible to obtain punitive damages in medical malpractice cases. The reason? We have to show almost that the carelessness or wrongdoing was intentional in order to seek punitive damages. Carelessness by its' very definition is synonymous with 'negligence' or neglect. That alone does not rise to the level where punitive damages would be warranted in NY.

$7 Million Awarded to Massachusets Family for Bungled Pre-Birth Diagnosis: News Report

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)54745 — Mon, 09 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

Dateline: Worcester, Massachusets

Last Friday, a Massachusetts couple was awarded $7 million because their baby girl was born "with a rare genetic disorder known as cri-du-chat syndrome." Had they been given proper prenatal genetic counseling, they may have been made aware of their child's chromosomal abnormality in order to then be able to decide whether to proceed with the pregnancy.

This case blamed two doctors for the fumbled diagnosis. Indeed, the diagnosis is the point of greatest contention in malpractice suits, according to the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS).

Last week, the ARRS met for their annual conference, where they determined that medical malpractice suits, including frivolous suits, seem to be declining. However, radiologists remain particularly vulnerable, especially in the areas of breast and lung cancer. According to the ARRS, a first review of lung cancer misses its diagnosis anywhere from 40-90% of the time. Additionally, "guilty verdicts are most common in birth injury and breast cancer suits at about 50 percent," though 10% of mammographers are likely to face a legal challenge in the near future.

Radiologists so often suffer the possibility of failed diagnosis because of the subjectivity of test results and computer images. Indeed, they often rely upon colleagues' second opinions. Furthermore, failure to properly communicate the medical record to physicians is often a cause of medical problems.

Leonard Berlin, MD, a conference participant, believes "incidentaloma" will be the next frontier for medical malpractice law. Incidentalomas are, "the psuedoabnormality detected on an advanced imaging study." In other words, they are small abnormalities that doctors generally believe are not worth the tests that normally accompany greater abnormalities.

However, as the doctors in the $7 million Massachusetts case can attest, it may sometimes be a good idea to be a little more careful in the diagnosis stage.

In New York, there are instances where a radiologist will err on the side of caution and recommend additional diagnostic studies because of a minor or inconclusive finding. Problems can arise when the patient's treating physician gives little credence or weight to an 'incidental' finding and it turns out to be malignant and cancerous.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

3 Reasons Why You Think Your Injury Case is Worth More Than It Really Is

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)52414 — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST

(1) A lawyer told you that your case is worth “millions.”

This can happen when you first walk into an attorney’s office and they want to impress upon you that you have a great case and that they can, of course, handle your matter. Any personal injury or medical malpractice attorney who tells you that your case is worth millions on the first visit you meet them is telling you something that no lawyer could ever do.

If they tell you that, ask them to put it in writing. They won’t.

(2) You think your injuries are more significant than your neighbor’s injuries and she got tons of money in a lawsuit settlement.

Let’s get it on the table right now. Your injuries are different than your neighbor’s injuries. They affected you differently. They impacted your life differently than your neighbor. You are a different age than your neighbor. Your injury didn’t cause you to lose time from work. It did from your neighbor. Your injury didn’t require corrective surgery. It did for your neighbor. Your injury didn’t result in a long-term disability. It did for your neighbor.

Your injury didn’t require you to need medications and regular follow-up visits with various medical specialists. Your neighbor’s injuries did.

Even though you may have suffered a “similar” injury, I guarantee that your neighbor’s injuries and how it has affected his daily activities are different than yours. It’s that simple.

(3) You have unrealistic expectations about the value of your lawsuit.

There are some litigants who think that because someone was careless and caused injury, they are automatically ENTITLED to a large amount of money. That feeling of entitlement is prevalent through our society and not just in New York.

However, when you experience injuries because someone was negligent and careless, our laws require that you be compensated for the harm you have suffered. That’s known as “damages.”

What exactly are your “damages?”

In New York, there are two types of damages:
Economic damages and
Non-economic damages.

Economic damages are typically specific amounts and include these issues:
Did you lose time from work?
How much income did you lose?
Will your injuries prevent you from working in the future?
Did you have to pay medical bills for your care and treatment?
Did your health insurance pay for your medicals?
Did you lose job opportunities or advancement because of your injuries?
Non-economic damages include:
Past pain & suffering and future pain and suffering.

The term “pain and suffering” is often used and even more often misunderstood. It represents a single component of the agony and living with a debilitating and significant injury. When you explain to a friend how much pain you’re in, nobody really wants to hear you complain about how agonizing your recovery is. They don’t want to listen to a whiner.

Many injured victims keep their suffering inside to limit the harsh feedback from friends and family members. Pain can be insufferable and require medication to combat. Physical disability affects everything we do. There is a saying that pain is “Life’s window into hell.” If true, then it’s easy to understand why the pain and suffering awards made to injured victims represent the larges component of any award.

There are other types of awards, like that of a spouse seeking the loss of services of an injured spouse and an award in a wrongful death case where a child is seeking compensation for loss of a parent.

CONCLUSION

The only way to truly know the value of your case is for your attorney to fully evaluate your case after a thorough investigation. Even then, the true value of your case may not be known since you may be in the middle of getting medical treatment. Only when you know the full extent of your disabilities and how this injury affects you on a daily basis can your lawyer make an educated observation about the value of your case.

To learn more about how accident or medical malpractice cases work in New York I encourage you to explore my popular website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have questions about a particular case, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can answer your legal questions; that’s what I do for a living. You can reach me at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

292 Foreign Objects Left Inside of Patients 2008-2009 in New York

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)51618 — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

That incredible statistic comes from the New York State Department of Health, and reported recently in the New York Post. Can you believe that? Those ‘objects’ are not things that were designed to be left inside a patient. Things like surgical clamps, lap pads, sponges and more.

You might be wondering how it’s possible for a doctor to leave a surgical instrument inside your body and not realize it. Well, the reality is that the surgeon is focused on identifying and fixing your problem. It is the job of either the circulating nurse or the scrub nurse to keep track and count all instruments.

Most hospitals have procedures to try and insure an accurate instrument count. Unfortunately, the count is not always correct. Here’s a perfect example. I did a deposition (a question and answer session) of a nurse who was involved in a patient’s surgery. The patient had abdominal surgery and three days after surgery, while still in the hospital complained of tremendous belly pain. An x-ray revealed the culprit; a surgical clamp was left inside.

The circulating nurse claimed that the surgical instrument count was correct and all instruments were accounted for. I couldn’t wait to ask her the key question in the case. It was the fourth question I asked her. It took all of 35 seconds to get to the heart of the case.

Q: You participated in this patient’s surgery?
Q: You counted all instruments following the surgery?
Q: All instruments were accounted for?
Q: How then do you explain how a surgical clamp was found inside the patient on post-op day #3?

She had no explanation. “I can’t explain it.”

I asked her ten more minutes of questions, then called it a day, satisfied I had exactly what I needed.

The Post reported that Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn is using a new device to prevent this type of incident from happening. It’s a large round wand that doctors and nurses pass over the patient’s body before finishing surgery. It detects small chips that are attached to surgical instruments, sponges and lap pads. It’s a lot like the electronic tags we see in the stores. If you walk out through the metal detector without paying, the alarm goes off. Same concept here, just a bit more sterile and smaller.

Hopefully, this technology will prevent incidents like the 292 reported by the Department of Health.

To learn more about foreign objects and how much time you have to file a lawsuit in New York for retained surgical objects, click here.

If you have questions about surgical errors, I encourage you to call me at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Hospital bigwigs earn big bucks while your health insurance premiums skyrocket

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)51052 — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

Do you think there's any correlation between your ever-increasing health insurance premiums and the fact that hospital administrators are earning millions of dollars a year? According to today's New York Post, March 16, 2011 top executives at certain “not-for-profit” hospitals are doing very well with their income.

Top earner on the list was Enrico Ascher, director of vascular surgery at Maimonides medical Center in Brooklyn. He reportedly received $3.56 million in income. The CEO of Continuum Health Partners that include Beth Israel Hospital St. Luke's Roosevelt received about $3.5 million. David Rosen, former CEO of Medi-Sys hospitals that includes Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital and was apparently just indicted in a bribery scandal is noted to have made more than $2 million. The CEO of Bronx Lebanon Hospital, according to the Post, runs a hospital that receives among the highest taxpayer subsidies to serve poor people, collected $1.8 million. Three more executives at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx earned $1.5 million.

And you wonder why your health insurance premiums never go down.

Surgical Instruments (plural) Left Inside Patient During Surgery

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)49137 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

These were not small instruments. These surgical instruments were no supposed to be left inside the patient. Yet for some unknown reason, SIX surgical forceps (clamps) were left INSIDE this hapless patient.

A Phillipino man had been a gunshot victim during a robbery in the Phillipines and underwent corrective surgery. He survived and was left with an open wound that was being monitored. Two days later, he was dead.

"A report from the police's Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) unit said he died from gunshot wounds, but the police said the instruments left inside him could have contributed to hastening his death."

The hospital replied and said they do not see any malpractice in the incident. They said they meant to leave the surgical equipment inside the body for the medico-legal to examine.The family is planning to sue the hospital for negligence, and for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.

FOREIGN OBJECTS IN NEW YORK

In New York, if a doctor leaves a surgical instrument that was designed to be left inside that caused harm, an adult victim has only 2 1/2 years from the date of the medical negligence within which to start a lawsuit against a private doctor or hospital in NY.

If the instrument was not supposed to be left inside, an injured adult would have only one year from the date of discovery in which to start a lawsuit against a private doctor or hospital in NY.

[WARNING! The time limit to file a claim against a State or municipal hospital is drastically different as is the time limit for a child. Best practice: YOU CANNOT RELY ON THE TIME LIMIT IN THIS BLOG POST. Why not? Because by the time you read this, the time to bring a claim or a lawsuit may have changed. The only way to know whether your potential matter is timely is to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207.]

Man suffers blindness because of improperly performed surgery-Can't take case

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)47875 — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

A man had surgery to fix a detached retina and is now totally blind.

He comes to me asking whether he has a valid case.

After talking with him and his wife for an hour I came to the conclusion that there was no possible way I could take on his case. Although he clearly believed that something was done wrong during the course of one or more surgeries I still came to the inescapable conclusion that there was no way to help them. Why not?

Because there was only two months left for them to file a lawsuit. The time to file a lawsuit is known as the statute of limitations. In New York, the time to file a lawsuit against a private doctor or private hospital is only 2 1/2 years from the date of the malpractice. There are very few exceptions such as if the case involves an infant and other limited reasons.

This couple came to me with only two months left in which to file their lawsuit. I told them that this would be impossible. In order to even begin a thorough investigation, I must obtain all of the treating medical records in the past and current medical records. That can take anywhere from weeks to months to obtain all the necessary records to read once I have obtained all the records, then I must have them reviewed by a medical expert, in this case it would be an ophthalmologist. That can take weeks for the expert to review all the records and get me a decision on whether the case has merit.

To properly investigate a medical malpractice case in New York, can take anywhere from a few months up to a year depending upon how long it takes us to get all the records necessary to properly evaluate a case. In addition, sometimes our potential clients are still receiving medical care and treatment and we do not know the full extent of their injuries or disability. In that instance, we must continue to follow with them their course of medical treatment so that we can document their progress, or lack of progress.

As much as I wanted to help this family I told him that there was simply no way I could accomplish everything that I needed to do within the extremely short time period of only two months.

If you have doubts or questions in the back of your mind about whether you received appropriate medical care by Dr. hospital and think that you suffered injury or harm because of that, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me immediately. The longer you wait, the greater chance your memory will fade and there is the possibility that by the time you do speak to an attorney it may be too late to start a lawsuit on your behalf.

If you have questions, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at L. a WNED 10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Cataract Surgery Nightmare; Woman Loses Vision in One Eye; $725,000 Settlement

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)46849 — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

Cataract surgery is supposed to make you see better. Unfortunately, when a doctor recommends having surgery when you don’t need it, the outcome can be life-altering.

When someone has a cataract, it means that the lens has become clouded. This can impair their vision. There are two options to treat cataracts. You can do nothing and wait for it to get worse, which may be a viable option for patients who have a mild cataract. The other option is to have surgery. Cataract surgery involves removing the cloudy lens and putting in an artificial lens, also known as an intra-occular lens.

I had the pleasure of representing a woman who decided to have cataract surgery because she was told that she had a cataract. Her vision was described as “near perfect” and that if she had the cataract surgery her slightly blurry vision would improve. She had had LASIK eye surgery (PRK surgery) 10 years earlier and had no problems or complications with her eyes for 10 years.

After the surgery was performed, she came back the next day for her follow-up visit and was unable to see. Upset and distraught, her doctor told her to give it time and take steroid drops to try and reduce the swelling. She returned again two more times, still unable to see. Her eye doctor began to question whether the calculations he made for the strength of the lens that he inserted were accurate. The doctor was defiant. He claimed that every calculation he made was correct and he double and triple checked. He used the most sophisticated devices and equipment to reach the appropriate calculation, yet for some "unexplained reason" this patient could not see.

After less than two weeks, he decided that he was going to remove the original lens that he put in and switch it out with a different strength lens hoping that that would allow the patient to see clearly. The patient was desperate to see clearly again and agreed to have a second surgery, known as an intra-ocular lens exchange.

The second surgery was complicated. The eye doctor had difficulty removing the first lens and had great difficulty putting in the second lens. The day after the second surgery, when the patient returned for her follow-up visit, she still could not see. Her entire eye was bloodshot and the center of her eye looked pale and gray, almost like a dead fish. The patient was inconsolable. Again, she was told to give it time to heal and to use steroid drops to minimize swelling around her cornea.

She returned to the ophthalmologist's office multiple times without any improvement. Months later, with no change in her condition and still unable to see clearly, she lost all faith in her doctor and decided to seek out experts at New York Eye & Ear Hospital in Manhattan. Her doctors there confirmed that she had corneal damage that would not improve. She continued to treat with these doctors month after month, year after year, hoping that there would be some miracle or some new procedure that would allow her to get her eyesight back.

As of today, she has permanent damage to her cornea and has been told that she needs a corneal transplant. However, the risk of undergoing a transplant at her age outweigh the benefits she might receive. In addition, as with any type of transplant there is a risk of rejection of the cornea. It is not a simple procedure.

It was our claim that the eye doctor never should have recommended or performed the initial cataract surgery because this patient had near-perfect vision. We argued that she was not an ideal candidate for cataract surgery and the better option would have been to advise the patient to wait and do nothing. The defense argued that the patient demanded surgery and refused to wear eyeglasses. We also claimed that the doctor rushed to do the second surgery (the intra-occular lens exchange) much too early and did not give the patient enough time to heal.

Mediation or Trial?

Jury selection was scheduled to begin in Kings County Supreme Court in one week. Both sides decided to try mediation to see if we could settle the case immediately prior to trial. Mediation is where both sides present their case to an impartial judge known as a mediator. The mediator learns about the details of the case through presentations by the attorneys and then begins shuttle diplomacy between the two sides. Our mediator set aside three hours for this medical malpractice case.

The mediation was held on the 34th Floor of the New York Times building in Manhattan. The views from the conference rooms were stunning.

I gave a mini-opening using a powerful slideshow presentation that highlighted the key points I would be using at trial. My adversary was a highly skilled, experienced trial lawyer. He made some very powerful counter-arguments that tried to poke holes in our theories of the case. He was convincing. Back and forth; point, counterpoint. This went on for almost an hour before beginning actual negotiations.

If we did not resolve this case during mediation, we would be guaranteed to begin jury selection in one week. I was actually looking forward to going to trial. I had a likable client and felt we had a stronger case than the defense did.

However, I am pleased to report that after extensive hard-fought negotiations, I was able to settle this case for $725,000. Although my client will never get back good good vision in her eye, she is comforted knowing that she received full and fair compensation for the damages she sustained.

Snowblower injury-Man loses four fingers in New York

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)45769 — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST

We had a foot and a half of snow today in New York. Today was the day I was going to try out my brand-new snowblower. For years I had resisted getting a snowblower, believing that shoveling was good for me. Last year we had especially large snowfall and I decided to take the plunge and buy a 22 inch gas powered dual-stage snowblower made by Sears.

Before today, I made sure to read the owner's manual twice. I filled the snowblower with gas and tried it out, just to make sure I knew how it operated and how to work the controls. When I awoke this morning I felt like a kid in a candy store. I couldn't wait to go out and play with my new toy. I pulled the snowblower out of the garage and it started right up without a problem. It was actually a lot of fun. I had been using it for about an hour when I decided to clear a path toward the door. We have a thick doormat and apparently I got underneath the doormat and the next thing I knew, I heard an immediate grinding and I shut off the power and propulsion. I turned the machine off and removed emergency key.

As I stepped around the front of the snowblower I realized that the doormat got pulled into the auger and was now firmly fixed there. No matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't budge the mat out. This was a real bummer. I didn't have much left to do, but this really threw a monkey wrench into my plans. I wheeled the snowblower into the sun and decided to leave it there for an hour hoping that the sun would melt some of the snow, making it easier to remove.

I remembered while reading the owner's manual there were multiple warnings saying "Never stick your hand into the auger or the impeller to dislodge foreign objects or snow or ice." In fact, the snowblower comes with a 10 inch hard plastic stick designed specifically to loosen snow and ice from within the auger and impeller shaft.

An hour later I returned to the snowblower and began to tug on the doormat which had become wedged inside the snowblower. Luckily, a large piece of it was still outside which gave me the leverage to pull and immediately loosen it. Thankfully, I was able to free it up completely. This was good news. I started the snowblower and finished up 15 minutes later, really pleased to see how well the snowblower had done today.

Later this evening however I learned a terrible story involving a man in my town who, while using his snow blower, with the blades spinning, stuck his hand into the auger area in an attempt to loosen and free snow and ice. Without even reading the headline of this blog post, you can imagine what happened next. Four of his fingers were cut off instantly. He was rushed to the hospital and hopefully trauma surgeons will be able to successfully reattach his fingers where he can regain movement and sensation.

I reread the owner's manual at the dinner table and counted literally 50 warning signs throughout the manual describing how dangerous this device is if not used properly. It clearly says that if there is something stuck, then the unit is to be turned off, the emergency key removed, and in some instances the spark plug is to be removed to prevent an accidental engine ignition that might cause the engine to start up while you are fixing or repairing it.

The reason why snowblower manufacturers create these manuals is because they have significant experience with people who use them inappropriately and have suffered significant injury. The warnings are designed to be read and followed. Where a user disregards the warnings, then an attempt to bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer for failing to properly warn will be extremely difficult to prove.

I feel really bad for the gentleman who lost his fingers today. It's also a good thing I did not learn about this tragedy when my doormat got stuck in my snowblower. When using a snowblower, the best advice is to read the owners manual thoroughly, be totally familiar with the equipment and exercise caution at all times.

Diabetics: Top 10 Strategies for a Successful Vacation

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)45319 — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST

GUEST BLOG POST

When you have diabetes, being prepared on vacation can mean the difference between a great vacation or a miserable one. So how do you plan your travel for a worry-free vacation?

Listed here are 10 methods for traveling if you have diabetes:

Keep your supplies readily available. Whether you're traveling by plane, train, or automobile, be sure your diabetes supplies are easily accessible. If you are flying, make sure you put all of your supplies inside your carry-on bags. Back-up insulin also needs to be placed inside your carry-on, because checked baggage might be subjected to extreme cold or heat which could spoil insulin, and ruin glucometers. In case you are employing a device to maintain your insulin cool, be sure it's a cold pack, and never a freezer pack--freezing insulin destroys its usefulness. The identical rules apply for storing supplies while driving or on the train.
Make an effort to stick to your routine. Traveling will surely throw people who have diabetes off schedule, at no-fault of their own. The delay of your flight may mean sitting on the runway all day, or if you're traveling out of your time zone, it may well mean feeling hungry whenever you need to be asleep. In the event you pack extra snacks for the plane, you might want to store them within an insulated bag through an ice pack.
Get documentation. Carry a note from the doctor proclaiming that you have diabetes, and need to keep your medication all the time. If you are seeing a country where they speak a language other than your native tongue, translate the note into that language. Produce a few copies of the note and distribute to the people vacationing with you.
Inform airport security you have diabetes. When flying, be sure you put your diabetes supplies in the quart size plastic container that's separate from your other non-diabetes liquids you are bringing aboard. By doing this, screeners can immediately separate diabetes medications from other liquid items in your carry-on baggage.
Be continually ready to treat low glucose. Once you travel, you might disrupt your normal routine for both eating and dosing insulin. As a result of these changes, you should be prepared for low glucose whenever it strikes, so pack a good amount of glucose tablets - these usually are the very best simply because they won't melt, explode in heat, or leak and become sticky.
Investigate what food you're eating. For mealtime insulin, do your very best to find out the carbohydrate grams within the foods you're eating so that you can go ahead and take the right pre-meal insulin. Moreover, test out your blood sugar before and after meals to determine how new foods are affecting your control. It is essential to keep the glucose numbers in balance to prevent medical problems.
Raise your stash of supplies. You may well be visiting Hawaii for just a week, but it's smart to pack diabetes supplies just like you were staying twice as long.
Consider time zone changes. If you're wearing an insulin pump and will also be touring a spot that's in another time zone, make sure you adjust your insulin pump's clock to reflect the progress.
Test out your blood glucose levels. Travel might have all kinds of effects on diabetes management. Remember that deficiency of activity may prompt your blood sugar levels to become elevated; conversely, sightseeing along with other physical activity may lower your blood glucose levels. Due to the alterations in your schedule, it is important to check your glucose before and after meals.
Tell others you have diabetes. While it might not often be comfortable, you will need to tell the people with whom you're traveling that you have diabetes. Tell them everything you need to do to be healthy and active on your trip, and the things they ought to do in the event there is an emergency. Always wear a medical identification bracelet when you're traveling (although you ought to be wearing one constantly anyway) and ensure that it states you've diabetes, if you take insulin, and if possible, list an emergency phone number.

About our guest blog author: J. Lenard is writing for the diabetes meters comparison blog, her personal hobby blog specialized in suggestions to aid website visitors to stop Diabetes and increase the awareness on healthy eating.

Elizabeth Edwards dies of breast cancer

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)44700 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST

Elizabeth Edwards died today of metastatic breast cancer. Her fight with cancer became national news as a result of her husband's affair and his failed run for President.

According to national news reports, Edwards' breast cancer was initially diagnosed in 2004 after she had felt a half-dollar sized lump in her breast. Her recent condition was treatable but not curable, according to the newspapers. As the case with many failure to diagnose cancer cases, the key is always in determining when the cancer should have been detected and what treatments would have been available had the cancer been recognized at an early stage.

Typical cancer treatments involve surgical excision in addition to radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. The goal for any physician as to attempt to identify suspicious masses early since the patient will have the best chance of success with early diagnosis and treatment.

Despite the most advanced medical and technological advances in the history of mankind, we still do not have a cure for cancer. Cancer cells grow uncontrollably and fail to 'listen' to their genes which should be telling them to stop growing. Most oncologists and surgeons recognize cancer and using different stages to identify how advanced the cancer is. Those stages range from pre-cancerous cells to Stage I, being an early, localized cancer, all the way to Stage IV which is typically recognized as advanced metastatic cancer.

When someone as famous as Elizabeth Edwards dies as a result of advanced stages of breast cancer, people take notice. It should be clear that breast cancer, as with most diseases, are indiscriminate and pay no attention to a person's social status in life.

If you believe you have a suspicious breast lump that you didn't feel before, you must get it checked immediately. You owe it to yourself and your family.

Wrong way drunk drivers. What's the deal?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)44623 — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST

In the past few weeks, there have been a number of catastrophic wrong-way car accident cases here on Long Island where drivers were under the influence of alcohol causing fatalities, trauma, broken bones and hospitalizations. These were horrific accidents. Unnecessary death and destruction. Just awful.

Frankly, it's extremely frustrating to read the newspaper each day to see one drunk driver after another causing fatalities without regard for their life or anyone else's. In yesterday's Newsday, Sunday, December 5, 2010 edition, an article titled “High-tech help to stop wrong way cars,” offers an innovative solution to significantly limit the chances of wrong way drivers.

Most highway exit ramps have “Do not enter” signs, however these are generally insufficient and offer no comfort when a drunk driver barrels past it heading in the wrong direction. Intelligent transportation systems range from sensors built into the pavement to detect wrong way movement and roadside video cameras. This is the future of transportation technology.

Another preventive accident system attempts to alert wrong-way motorists with flashing lights on roads and through the use of electronic signs.

The article also points out that in Texas they use the most advanced transportation avoidance system in the country. The impetus for this system was a pair of fatal highway accidents in 2006. In that system, radar detectors are built into the side of the road to detect wrong way drivers. Road signs then activate and tell the driver he is going wrong way. Importantly, electronic signs along the highway flash a warning to all motorists on the highway saying “Wrong way driver ahead. All motorists pull to the shoulder and stop.” Not only does this system attempt to alert the driver who's heading the wrong way but also attempts to alert all other drivers on the highway of the impending tragedy and tries to prevent it.

Why can't all states implement this novel system? Simple. The cost is prohibtive. It costs $350,000 just for one road.

Here's my question: "Isn't just one life worth much more than that?"
Let me know what you think.

911 caller gives correct address. Dispatcher doesn't get it right. Patient dies.

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)44277 — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

That’s what happened November 14 when a frantic woman called 911 after her husband was gasping for breath in Wainscott on the East End of Long Island. The dispatcher failed to ask the caller for the nearest cross-street and also failed to recognize the address that popped up on the computer screen. Newsday reported today that since the emergency call was made from a landline, the caller’s address immediately showed up on the computer. The dispatcher ignored it.

Here’s where the problem arose:
That address, 419 Montauk Highway is the same address for four different adjacent towns on the East End of Long Island. Those four towns are Wainscott, East Hampton, Montauk and Amagansett.

A transcript of the conversation at 12:51 minutes into the call said “You killed my husband! You killed my husband! What’s your name? You sent the police to Amagansett. How dare you?

Another ambulance was dispatched once the error was recognized and arrived 13 minutes after the initial call.

Ok, here’s the dilemma from a legal standpoint:
There’s clearly a departure from good care here. There’s carelessness, also known as negligence. The key in this case would be whether this patient would have lived had an ambulance arrived there earlier. The patient, Lanny Ross, had a history of heart problems. There is a quote by the Village of East Hampton administrator Larry Cantwell who said that he didn’t believe the mistake contributed to Ross’ death. Now, how could he possibly know that?

If a wrongful death lawsuit were brought, the key element in such a case would be to prove, by a preponderance of evidence, that Mr. Ross would have survived had an ambulance arrived within an acceptable time limit. What’s acceptable? According to Cantwell, the goal is to arrive within 9 minutes of the call. Given Mr. Ross’s prior heart condition, his unfortunate outcome may have been the same regardless of when the ambulance arrived.

Often, in a case like this, a family will want to know whether an autopsy should be done to determine the cause of death. Autopsy results are a double-edged sword; they can help a potential case or they can hurt a case. The defense will argue that he would have died anyway. The family will argue that he lost the opportunity for timely life-saving efforts that would have prolonged his life. The defense would then argue that he would have had a limited life expectancy given his prior heart problems, especially since he was only 51 years old.

Regardless of what would have been, there’s no excuse for the dispatcher sending an ambulance to the wrong town. None.

*This date this happened has been changed from 'yesterday' to Nov. 14. Thanks to Taylor Vecsey, Editor at East Hampton Patch for pointing this out.*

Prostate staging doesn't matter according to recent study

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)44129 — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

In a report coming out of the University of California, San Francisco, researchers have determined that prostate cancer staging just does not appear to matter after surgery. Staging is used to determine the size of a tumor, such as T1 or T2, as well as the chances that the cancer will recur. Oftentimes, cancer staging helps physicians and patients decide what treatments and options they have following initial surgery.

The study, published in the Journal of Cancer, determined that the staging for prostate cancer was improperly assessed 35.4%.

In 55.1% of those cases, the patient was given an inaccurately low clinical staging and in 44.9% of those mistakes, the staging consisted of an inappropriately elevated staging.

Importantly, the researchers found that these errors did not matter. How ironic. The report commented that even after the errors were corrected, staging did not predict the chances of the disease returning.

So here's my thought. If the staging is often inaccurate following surgery, and it makes no difference in predicting whether or not the cancer will return, what then is the point of creating a staging system to allow doctors and patients the opportunity to make educated decisions about treatment when the basis for those decisions are inaccurate?

Brooklyn is deadliest borough for pedestrians

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)43896 — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Newsday reported today that Manhattan has the most traffic related pedestrian deaths throughout all the boroughs in New York City. A four year study between 2005 and 2009 revealed 1467 people were killed in traffic accidents in the city. 770 of those deaths were pedestrians, and 200 of those took place in Manhattan. Here's an important statistic that the news article described, “Of the 770 pedestrians killed, 150 had the right-of-way at an intersection.”

If a pedestrian has a right of way at an intersection, that means that a driver failed to yield to the pedestrian, and in all likelihood, would be setting himself up for liability if a lawsuit were brought against that driver. Of course the issue of exactly who had the right-of-way is often a question of fact and that is why eyewitnesses to an accident scene are vital to establish liability.

Interestingly, the title of the Newsday article is “NYC walkers, beware.” Despite pointing out that Manhattan had the most deaths per square mile, “Brooklyn had the highest percentage of pedestrian deaths, with 32%.”

This report comes hot on the heels of two recent car crashes on Long Island where drunk drivers entered highways going in the wrong direction. "What's going on here?!”

1 out of 7 Medicare Patients Harmed in Hospital

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)43735 — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Newsday reported about a new report confimring that 1 out of 7 Medicare patients suffer injury in hospitals. That is an astounding number.

Medicare's new chief has called for improving patient safety following that report. In fact, the article reported that 15,000 people per month suffered a complication that contributed to their death, according to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

This stunning statistic is not new. In fact, only ten years ago, the Intitute of Medicine warned that up to 98,000 people a year die from medical malpractice. The report confirmed that hospitals are dangerous, especiallly since infections run rampant and there are always opportunities for errors, omissions from communication mistakes and inexperienced health care doctors, nurses and technicians.

The inspector general's report described that 134,000 Medicare patients suffered at least one adverse event while in a hospital. Here's a key statistic from that report: 44% of those errors and mistakes were preventable. Unbelievable.

Faulty Heart Defibrilators-Cardiac Negligence

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)43524 — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Newsday reported today that the Food and Drug Administrations wants manufacturers of heart defibrilators to fix the faulty devices.

The FDA reported yesterday that heart defibrilators have been faulty and crippled by design flaws for many years. They noted that these cardiac defibrilators have failed to work in life-and-death instances.

In 2009 there were 17 recalls of heart defibrilators by the FDA. According to Newsday, over 28,000 problems have been reported to the FDA for the last five years concerning these implantable defibrilators. These devices are commonly seen in airports, schools, gyms and offices in the form of AED's or automatic defibrilators.

The FDA argues that the manufacturers including Cardiac Science Corp., Philips Healthcare and others have failed to fix problems that forced the FDA to recall hundreds of thousands of the defibrilators. The chief of the FDA's medical device group, Jeffrey Shuren, M.D. said that these defibrilator problems are preventable and fixable.

One problem with the defibrilators has been faulty circuitry causing an inability to timely fire, or even misfire. Why are defibrilators useful? They attempt to fix the electrical signals going to the heart that are not correctly firing on their own. According to Newsday, the manufacturers refuse to fix the problem globally, preferring instead to address each on a case-by-case basis.

Here's a common dilemma for a patient with a known defective heart defibrilator:
The patient has the device implanted. They may have other co-morbid conditions that prevent or inhibit a doctor from removing the defibrilator. A risk v. benefit analysis must be conducted to see whether the patient is at risk for a defibrilator known to have design defects that could fail compared to surgically removing it.

If you have questions about whether your defibrilator may be defective and prone to failure or recall, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

You Do a Google Search-Why Does Your Name Show Up on a Personal Injury Lawyer's Website?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)43316 — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

You're online looking for information and you decide to do a Google search for your name. You see a lawyer's website with your name on it and you can't understand why your name would be on a lawyer's website, so you click on it. What do you find?

You may see your name mentioned in a sentence about an accident you were in. Buy you still ask yourself, "Why would my name show up on a lawyer's website?" There are a few reasons why, but let me tell you the most likely reason:

There are law firms who subscribe to news feeds of car accidents in their local area. They will usually include the victim's name and the location where the accident occurred. Why would a law firm do this? To catch your attention. It's as simple as that. They hope that because your name somehow appears on their website that they can somehow help you with a possible car accident lawsuit.

Let me ask you this question...

If someone you don't know knocks at your door on a Sunday afternoon and tells you they were just driving by and noticed that your house could use a paint job and they happen to be a painter, do you automatically invite them in and tell them to get started painting your house?

If a dentist sent you a postcard telling you that you need a root canal without ever having met you, do you rush out and get a root canal just because you got a postcard in the mail? If your name shows up on a lawyer's website, without you ever meeting or knowing anything about this law firm, does that make you rush to call them to see if you have a valid case?

It's one thing if you know the lawyer or the law firm and they're educating the public about something involving car accidents and giving information that injury victims need to know about. It's another thing when someone you don't know simply throws your name up on their website in the hope that you will search for your name, see it on their website and call them to handle your possible car accident case.

Before you jump the gun, you need to do a lot more research to find out if this firm is right for you. What information do they give you about the type of accident you were in? Do they offer you free books and free reports that explain how these cases work? Do they have educational videos that explains the process of what happens with a car accident lawsuit?

Or, do they make you call for an appointment before ever giving you any real useful information?

So the next time you see your name on a lawyer's website, ask yourself "Why is my name showing up there?" and ask yourself whether this is the type of law firm you want to represent you. Become educated and learn how to choose a New York personal injury attorney.

CT Scans Screen for Early Detection of Lung Cancer

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)42183 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

An article in today's Newsday describes a recent study done by the government that cost $250 million to determine whether CT scans are a reliable and effective method of screening for early detection of lung cancer.The government project showed a 20% reduction in mortality through spiral or helical CT scanning. As of yet, private insurers do not cover CT scans for routine lung cancer screening according to Dr. Harold Varmus, director of the National Cancer Institute, a sponsor of the CT scanning research.

As with any new diagnostic test that is expensive, many medical policy skeptics decry the use of diagnostic imaging based on ever-increasing health care costs. The Newsday article says that some medical policy experts have questioned the cost of cancer screenings of all kinds, citing false positives. I have written extensively on this topic before, and whenever medical policy experts get involved, you must always ask what their hidden agenda is. Typically it involves trying to reduce healthcare costs associated with diagnostic tests and treatments. Many of the so-called “policy experts” believe diagnostic tests and treatments are “unnecessary.”

The next time somebody tells you that you may have the early stages of a fatal disease, ask them what they would do if there was a test available that would detect this at an early-stage. Ask them whether they are willing to forgo early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in order to save an insurance company from paying $500-$1000 for diagnostic test. According to this government study, a CT scan is effective in diagnosing early lung cancers.

Dr. Harry Raftopoulos, a medical oncologist at North Shore-LIJ's Monti Cancer Center was quoted as saying there are no screening standards currently. The only ones in use are the ones created for this project to determine which patients would be right for this study. Interestingly, he asked a pressing question: "What are doctors supposed to do when they diagnose an abnormal finding? He said there may also be a risk of exposing patients to unnecessary biopsies as a result of abnormal findings. However, both experts noted above predicted that their hospitals would eventually develop CT screening criteria that would allow patients to undergo this lung cancer screening test.

The article also quoted Dr. Jeff Schneider, director of lung cancer program at Winthrop University Medical Center saying that this study is groundbreaking. Hopefully, with early detection, patients can receive early diagnosis and treatment, which is exactly the goal for both doctor and patient.

Elevator Accidents in New York

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)42181 — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Most people fail to realize that elevators are mechanical pieces of equipment. We take for granted when we walk into an elevator and push a button that it is going to take us to our destination without fail. However, that is not always the case. There are instances when the elevator will mislevel causing someone to trip into the elevator or to fall out of the elevator from an elevated platform.

There are instances where an elevator cable has been known to snap causing the elevator car to unexpectedly plunge to the pit below causing traumatic injury and death. There instances where the elevator may not have been maintained properly causing the elevator car to rise or descend without warning. There were also instances of the elevator doors closing unexpectedly trapping its victim and causing significant injury.

There are also rare instances when the elevator doors will open, and an unsuspecting rider, without looking, enters what should have been an elevator car waiting for him. Instead, the elevator doors open and there is no car and the person plunges to their death below.

In many instances of elevator accidents, the attorneys who represent the property owners, the maintenance companies and the property management companies routinely try to put the blame on the person who was entering or exiting the elevator for causing their own injuries. It's the old “We didn't do it, and if you had been more attentive, this never would have happened."

Any time elevator accidents occur, it is extremely important for the attorney to obtain as much information as quickly as possible. This includes obtaining photographs of the elevator as well as the control mechanisms and structures that house the elevator. When a lawsuit is brought, one of the key records that an attorney looks at are the maintenance records for that particular elevator. We look to see when the elevator had last been maintained and serviced and whether there were any complaints or problems that the maintenance company knew about or should have known about.

Elevator accidents usually result in significant injuries with extended hospitalizations and surgery. A victim of an elevator accident needs to consult with an experienced attorney immediately to preserve evidence and begin an investigation into the root cause of what happened.

New York law firm uses sympathy to attract you

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)42170 — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

In today’s blog post I want to tell you about something that disgusted me.

I recently came across a NY lawyer's website. On his home page he had two feeds. For those of you who don’t know what a feed is, it’s a continuing source of news and articles from other websites. The first feed was a column about local car accidents with names of victims. The second was a twitter feed column. What caught my eye was the twitter feed. It focused exclusively on the accident cases that resulted in death.

Most people use twitter to form a relationship and enter into a conversation that’s going on online. Some attorneys use twitter to try and sell their services. As you can imagine, it’s often difficult to sell your services with a maximum of 140 characters per entry. This law firm was different.

In virtually every one of those accident cases that resulted in death on their news feed, there was a corresponding twitter feed comment that said “The law firm of (redacted) wishes to express its condolences to the family of ________ who just died.”

Wow. A sympathy tweet. How awful. First of all, I assume that this law firm doesn’t know the family, nor do they know the details of the accident, other than what their news feed reports.

While there is no ethical prohibition to putting out 'sympathy tweets', in my opinion and in the opinion of other attorneys and bloggers I have spoke to, it is distasteful.

Why would a law firm do this?

To optimize the chance that when a family member is searching online for details about their accident, they will find this law firm talking about their accident. The pedestrian thinking is that if a family member has legal questions and is looking for an attorney to represent them, then the person who is offering this sympathy tweet stands a better chance of getting that call compared to someone else. I don't know about you, but to read a condolence note from a law firm that does not know me or my family simply sounds less than genuine.

Don’t be surprised the next time you see a law firm website with a newsfeed describing all the local car accidents and then right next to that seeing a twitter feed with condolences. Simply ask yourself why they would do this and whether this is the right law firm for you. What do you think about this? Let me know in the comments below.

NY Personal Injury Law Firm Uses Sympathy To Attract You

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)42027 — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

In today’s blog post I want to tell you about something that disgusted me.

I recently came across a competitor’s website. On his home page he had two feeds. For those of you who don’t know what a feed is, it’s a continuing source of news and articles from other websites. The first feed was about local car accidents. The second was a twitter feed. What caught my eye was the twitter feed. It focused exclusively on the accident cases that resulted in death.

Most people use twitter to form a relationship and enter into a conversation that’s going on online. Some attorneys use twitter to try and sell their services. As you can imagine, it’s often difficult to sell your services with a maximum of 140 characters per entry. This law firm was different.

In virtually every one of those accident cases that resulted in death on their news feed, there was a corresponding twitter feed that said “The law firm of _________ wishes to express its condolences to the family of ________ who just died.” Wow. A sympathy tweet. How awful. First of all, this law firm doesn’t know the family, nor do they know the details of the accident, other than what their news feed reports.

While there is no ethical prohibition to putting out sympathy tweets, in my opinion and in the opinion of other attorneys and bloggers, it is distasteful.

Why would a law firm do this?

To optimize the chance that when a family member is searching online for details about the accident, they will find this law firm talking about their accident. The pedestrian thinking is that if a family member has legal questions and is looking for an attorney to represent them, then the person who is offering this sympathy tweet stands a better chance of getting that call compared to someone else.

Don’t be surprised the next time you see a law firm website with a newsfeed describing all the local car accidents and then right next to that seeing a twitter feed with condolences. Simply ask yourself why they would do this and whether this is the right law firm for you.

Ductal carcinoma in situ-what is it and do you believe the hype?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)41579 — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Let me ask you this question:

If a doctor tells you that you have cancer but it has not spread, is it still cancer? That's like asking the age-old question “If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, does it make noise when it falls?”

Ductal carcinoma in situ is a noninvasive form of breast cancer. According to published news reports, about 26% of US women diagnosed breast cancer have ductal carcinoma in situ. According to a Newsday report yesterday, the American Cancer Society estimated that for the year 2010, 54,000 new cases of noninvasive cancer of DCIS. will be detected. Separately, the American Cancer Society estimates that for this year, 207,000 cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed.

Newsday raised a controversial issue. Should patients who are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ be treated? The Newsday headline is “Cancer treatment a matter of debate.”

This takes me back to the first question I asked above, if someone tells you that you have cancer do you need treatment? The article points to semantics being played between the American College of Pathologists, and the American Council on Health and Science in Manhattan. In fact, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, director is quoted by Newsday as saying “DCIS. is noninvasive and may lose its official status as 'cancer' in the future.” “DCIS its stage 0, which means it's noninvasive and may or may not become invasive,” Dr. Whelan stated. Other physicians quoted in the Newsday article confirmed that DCIS is cancer and not pre-cancer.

Importantly, this condition poses a risk to the breast and if undiagnosed and untreated can go on to ultimately become invasive.

Any time you see an article questioning whether treatment is necessary or required, look deeper to see if there is a hidden agenda by the researchers who performed those studies. Many times you will find that there is a cost factor involved where researchers are trying to inhibit the cost of healthcare by weighing the risks of patients needing further care compared to the risk of developing the full-blown disease.

Dr. Karen Kostroff, the chief of breast cancer surgery at North Shore-Long Island Jewish health system raises a very important point. She says that some forms of DCIS stay contained while others become invasive. Those researchers who believe that DCIS do not require treatment are unable to determine when those noninvasive cancers will turn into an invasive cancer.

The key goal with treating any type of cancer is the early detection, diagnosis and treatment.

Sepsis can impact the elderly-Newsday reports

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)41577 — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

By its very nature, sepsis is an overwhelming infection that occurs throughout the body. If unrecognized and untreated, it can lead to death. Today's Newsday report discusses research published for the first time saying that sepsis patients had a threefold higher risk for developing cognitive problems such as forgetfulness, new physical limitations and often persistent disability.

The article correctly points out that “Unless antibiotics and life support are delivered quickly, the condition can lead to organ failure and death."

When that happens, that's typically when I get a call from a family member asking if they have a valid case because their loved one has died from sepsis. This has been known to occur during abdominal surgery where the surgeon fails to recognize that a hole has been made in the intestines or bowel. As a result of an unrecognized bowel injury during surgery, the contents of the bowel leak into the abdomen causing an inflammation of the peritoneal cavity, known as peritonitis. The offensive fecal material then causes a localized infection which then spreads throughout the body to become sepsis.

If unrecognized and untreated, the patient will die. An autopsy result is usually helpful to establish where the offending bowel injury occurred as the precipitating factor for the source of the massive infection.

Those patients who survived, according to these researchers, have significant physical disabilities.

Worried about your 1st visit to a New York lawyer? Let me ease your fears.

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)41336 — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

It's your first visit to an attorney's office. You may be worried about what will happen.

"What do I wear?"
"Who will I meet with?"
"What do I have to bring?"
"I'm worried I might say something wrong..."

All of these concerns are valid especially if you've never been to an attorney before. Let me put your mind to rest right now. When you come into my office to discuss your legal questions, we're going to chat for about an hour. We're going to have a conversation about what happened and what injuries you suffered because of that wrongdoing. I'll ask lots of questions. If you don't know the answer to any question, just tell me. That's ok.

What do you wear? Whatever is comfortable. If you prefer to wear a suit and tie, be my guest. If you want to wear a dress with heels, go right ahead. Most importantly, I want you to be comfortable.

What do you bring? Anything that may relate to your legal problem including a police report, accident report, medical records, health insurance information. If you're missing information we can get that as part of our investigation.

"What if I say something wrong?" There is nothing right or wrong that you could say. My goal is to keep an open mind and listen to what your legal problem is. Then at the end of our conversation I have one choice to make: (1) Do I accept your case for investigation or (2) Do I let you know that this case is not the right one for me and then tell you what your options are.

No matter what, your experience in my office should be a pleasant one. It's an opportunity for you to meet me in person, and a chance for me to meet you in person and see if we're a good fit.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)40637 — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

This October, we are reminded about the devastating effects of failing to timely diagnose breast cancer.

Whenever someone I know tells me that "This week is Red Ribbon day," or "National Newspaper Week," or "World Smile Day," I always ask the same question: "Why only one day, or only one week?" It should be every day. Especially when it involves a failure to diagnose cancer. I've written extensively on this topic, and it always starts the same way.

A woman tells her doctor about a lump in her breast.He takes a look, examines it, and determines that it's nothing and that they will follow it closely when she returns for follow-up visit. The lump goes away, and she forgets about it. In follow-up visits, the doctor forgets about it too. Then one day, while taking a shower, she feels that lump again. Except this time it's bigger. It's in the same place. It's firmer. She makes an appointment, and this time, the doctor recognizes that it is much bigger and prominent compared to last time. He immediately sends her off for the appropriate workup to a breast surgeon were a needle biopsy is done as well as a breast sonogram and mammogram.

The tests results come back and they are not promising. There is a suspicion that it has spread. It is malignant. She will need a lymph node biopsy and lymph node sampling to truly determine whether it has spread. those results are not promising either. Surgery is done, and an option such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy are discussed. Depending upon the staging of the cancer, her options may be limited.

This month, as October breast Cancer awareness month, you are encouraged to remind your physician again to do a thorough breast exam and to follow through and follow up on any suspicious findings that you had in the recent past. By early detection you stand a much better chance of receiving early treatment and a better prognosis.

Is this the end of medical malpractice lawsuits in New York?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)40046 — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Today, Renal and Urology News reported that five hospitals in New York city would be participating in a $3 million dollar, federally funded program to reduce medical malpractice errors. That's a good start. Here are some of the details.

Beth Israel Medical Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, and Montefiore Medical Center will focus their efforts on reducing errors in obstetrics. The fifth hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital, will focus on the prevention of surgical errors.

Why are these hospitals focusing on just one area each? Shouldn't all hospital be focusing on all departments to reduce careless mistakes? The report did not explain what the money would be used for except to say that judicial mediators would be involved to help families and injured victims recover early, timely compensation. The also mentioned the program would reveal medical errors early, offer settlements quickly, and use judges to help negotiate settlements rather than have cases go to full blown jury trials.

Here's what I can't tell from this news report:
Who will determine what is appropriate compensation for the injured victim? The hospital? Clearly, they have an interest to save as much money as possible. Are attorneys permitted to represent injured victims in this program?

You know, years ago, insurance companies representing drivers involved in accidents would quickly get on the phone with an injured car accident victim and tell them they can get cold hard cash now. If they get a lawyer, they'd be giving up 1/3 of any settlement and have to wait years for any money. It was a hard-sell, high pressure tactic to get uninformed and unknowing victims to settle quickly.

The problem was that those victims learned too late that the compensation they quickly agreed to was totally insufficient to cover their medical expenses, their permanent pain and suffering, their future lost earnings, benefits that they would have been entitled to had they not been injured and many more elements of compensation. They simply didn't know any better. The insurance companies took every advantage of the unsuspecting victims by befriending them with promises of immediate cash money now.

Will this federally funded program turn out to the be the same? Only time will tell. It would be nice if we had more details about this program.

Is a ruptured appendix evidence of medical malpractice?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39713 — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Guest Post by Charles A. Pilcher MD FACEP

Appendicitis is the most common acute abdominal surgical condition in medicine, yet there is probably not a single physician in practice today who hasn’t missed the diagnosis at least once. Often that results in “simple” appendicitis becoming a “ruptured” or “perforated” appendix. I have reviewed several such cases which have prompted this review.

The appendix is a tubular extension of the cecum, in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen at the beginning of the colon or large bowel. Because of its structure, it acts as a “catch basin” or blind pouch where a variety of bacteria and mechanical obstructions can cause problems. One can think of appendicitis as a boil or abscess. Germs get in, propagate, and cause an infection. If the infected appendix is not removed, it can swell to the point where pressure causes rupture, spilling the infection into the abdominal cavity.

Diagnosing appendicitis is easy – when it presents in classical, textbook fashion, which occurs in only about 50% of patients. The typical symptoms are:

A sense of being ill
Generalized abdominal discomfort
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Pain in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen
Fever
Vomiting

Classically these symptoms appear over a period of about 24 hours in the order listed. Combined with tenderness in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen on examination, further testing rarely changes the diagnosis or alters the treatment, especially in children.

But when 50% of patients with appendicitis “don’t follow the rules,” the diagnosis remains one of the most commonly missed in medicine. Nationally, about 30% of appendicitis cases progress to perforation before the diagnosis is made. Sometimes that is because of delay on the part of patients in seeking medical care, and other times it is because the patient’s symptoms do not suggest to the physician a “surgical abdomen.” If the problem has not progressed to the point where surgery is considered a reasonable option at the time of first evaluation, regardless of the diagnosis, “watchful waiting” is often the best option. The reason for that is that there is still no “gold standard” for the diagnosis. CT scans, nowadays considered our most accurate study, still fail us, leading to both missed diagnoses and unnecessary operations in 5% and 10% of cases. The scans themselves are known to increase the risk, though marginally, of abdominal cancer in later life.

Clearly, once the diagnosis is made, surgical removal of the appendix is the treatment of choice. That said, there are numerous reported cases where non-operative management has been successful, or where a “healed appendix” was diagnosed at a subsequent surgical procedure. This shows that it’s not just that the diagnosis that can be obscure, but that the treatment is not as well-defined as we might think.

Below is an algorithm by Santacroce and Ochoa from their chapter on appendicitis in Sabiston Textbook of Surgery.

Figure 49-3 Algorithm for the evaluation and management of patients with possible acute appendicitis based on surgical assessment of clinical probability of the diagnosis.

The key question any physician faced with a patient with abdominal pain must first ask is, “Does this patient have a potentially surgical abdomen?” If so, a full court press to define the cause – whether that is appendicitis or something else – is urgent. If at the time of examination a “surgical abdomen” is not present – in other words, regardless of the diagnosis, surgery is not immediately indicated – a physician may reasonably elect to postpone further studies.

However, choosing that pathway comes with added responsibility on the part of both patient and physician. The physician must inform the patient of the possible causes of the problem, almost always including appendicitis in the list, and warn the patient of the symptoms that would warrant re-evaluation, and within what time frame. Since the classic symptoms of appendicitis develop over a period of about 24-48 hours before rupture, time is a key component of the physician’s advice.

When some 30% of appendices are ruptured at the time of surgery, and 50% of patients present with atypical symptoms, missing the diagnosis of appendicitis is not uncommon. However, if the medical record reveals classical findings and the diagnosis was missed, care is likely to be found to be substandard. The reality, though, is that any time the diagnosis is missed, the medical record is likely to include few if any classic findings. The fact that a physician has even thought of appendicitis, yet classifies the patient as low risk, can be a valid defense, and the chart will usually support the physician’s impression. A good follow-up plan remains mandatory for all such abdominal complaints.

Although morbidity can triple (from 1% to 3%) when the appendix ruptures, fortunately for the patient the impact is rarely more than a few extra days in the hospital, a slightly higher cost, and a scar that might have been avoided if diagnosis had been made earlier and a laparoscopic appendectomy could have been done. Because of these factors, demonstrating that a physician’s care has been below acceptable standards can be an uphill climb with relatively little return for an unhappy patient and his/her attorney.

As summarized by Dr. Benson Yeh in an article on “evidence based medicine,” “Appendicitis will continue to be a diagnosis that calls for a composite approach that integrates all available factors and uses clinical judgment to determine the need for further imaging.” (Annals of Emergency Medicine. 52:301-303, Sep 2008.)

About Chuck Pilcher

Chuck provides expert witness review and testimony in medical malpractice cases related to the fields of emergency medicine, urgent care, EMS and general inpatient and outpatient hospital practice.

Experience:

He has 35 years or experience as an emergency physician, most of those years as Medical Director of a now 50,000 visit per year suburban Emergency Department. Board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine, he has has helped both plaintiff and defense attorneys with malpractice litigation for over 25 years. He is proud that attorneys on both sides have found his assistance valuable, and is especially honored when he has been retained by opposing counsel in a subsequent case following a deposition or trial. His CV can be found here.

Charles A. Pilcher MD FACEP

206-915-8593

chuck@pilchermd.com

Medical Practice Guidelines-Are They Useful?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39712 — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Guest Post by California Emergency Medicine Physician Charles Pilcher, M.D.

The Institute of Medicine has been an advocate for clinical guidelines for many years. Although the value of guidelines has never really been established, both clinicians and medical malpractice attorneys often want to ascribe greater credibility to them than they deserve.

A few years ago Dr. Robert Ewart discussed the ethics of using guidelines to screen patients for medical conditions in a review entitled “Primum Non Nocere and the Quality of Evidence: Rethinking the Ethics of Screening” (J Am Bd Fam Pract. 2000:13(3):188-196). Dr. Ewart concluded that many of the “guidelines” in use at that time had insufficient evidence to be used as a standard for clinical practice. He pointed out that there is a marked difference between “investigation” (seeking to better define a known problem) and “screening” (seeking to find if there is a problem) in terms of four ethical principles: beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and distributive justice. Since the healthy bear the harms of screening, nonmaleficence takes ethical precedence over beneficence in individual cases. Both the cost of and the consent for such screening programs for both the individual and society have ethical implications and differ for screening vs. investigation. This review/essay is worth the consideration of attorneys, especially, for example, those who may be involved in situations where “loss of chance” is an issue.

Now, Dr. Pierluigi Tricoci et al. have revisited the value of clinical practice guidelines in an article in JAMA, (JAMA. 2009; 301(8): 831-841). While guidelines published by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have become important benchmarks for quality of care, the vast majority are based on inadequate evidence or biased expert opinion. They find that the evidence from which clinical practice guidelines are derived as well as the process of writing guidelines needs improvement. A variety of print and online media provide more comprehensive analysis. Check out the articles in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and USA Today.

In an accompanying editorial titled “Reassessment of Clinical Practice Guidelines: Go Gently Into That Good Night” (JAMA, February 25, 2009. 301(8):868-869), Dr. Terrence Shayneyfelt and Robert Centor find that:

Guidelines have become marketing and opinion-based pieces with a widely recognized financial bias.

Guidelines are being developed and used as “marketing tools for device and pharmaceutical manufacturers.”

As many as “87% of guideline authors had some form of industry tie.”

Guidelines need greater individualization for specific patient situations.
The guideline development process needs major changes to prevent conflicts of interest, reduce bias, improve flexibility and decrease redundancy.

In summary, they state that “clinical guidelines are supposed to be guides, not rules.” Because one size does not fit all patients, the authors suggest that “perhaps guidelines should be avoided completely,” and add that, given the present state of guidelines, “clinicians and policy makers must reject calls for adherence to guidelines. Physicians would be better off making clinical decisions based on valid primary data.”

They conclude that, because of the disarray found in guidelines, many clinicians (appropriately) do not use them.

Nor, in this editor’s opinion, should malpractice attorneys for either plaintiff or defense use them as a place to hang one’s hat.

About Chuck Pilcher

Chuck provides expert witness review and testimony in medical malpractice cases related to the fields of emergency medicine, urgent care, EMS and general inpatient and outpatient hospital practice.

Experience:

Charles A. Pilcher MD FACEP

206-915-8593

chuck@pilchermd.com

MRSA Infections-Are They a Big Deal?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39709 — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Guest Post by Emergency Medical Expert Charles Pilcher, M.D.

There’s lots of recent hype about infections with MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus). The media uses that hype to sell ad space, but for the medical profession it’s old news. Here’s a reality check: Many of us are infected with MRSA already and don’t know it. Blame your friends, blame your family, but it ain’t always the doctor’s fault.

As a medical student many years ago, one of my tasks was doing cultures on my patients. Lots of germs would grow, some bad, some common and innocuous. Out of curiosity one morning at Harborview Hospital in Seattle, I decided to culture the floor of the nurses station. Picking an area near the baseboard where I thought germs would likely be lurking, I did a swab and submitted it to the microbiology lab. Expecting to find a veritable menagerie of single-celled killer bacteria, I was surprised a few days later to find that the only things growing were 3 colonies of common staph. Is the hospital really a bastion of infection? Or is the housekeeping staff that good?

In the hopes of reducing some of the hoopla regarding MRSA, here’s a bit of background. (References are available for each of the items in the list below list, but this is “common knowledge” among physicians:

•   Methicillin is a drug that commonly treats germs such as staph.
•   Staph is short for a group of germs called staphylococci. These are common germs that in certain situations can cause infection. Methicillin and its derivatives historically have cured such infections.
•   Germs can develop resistance to antibiotics.
•   Methicillin doesn’t kill MRSA. This germ is “resistant.”
•   Resistance develops when germs are repeatedly exposed to antibiotics. Resistant germs are naturally selected and survive.
•   Over prescribing antibiotics by physicians has been a major cause of drug resistance. Physician education in this area has been ongoing for decades.
•   Over demanding antibiotics by patients, i.e., the expectation that every cold, flu, bronchitis, ear infection, sinusitis, etc., needs an antibiotic, is equally causative. Patient education in this area is relatively recent.
•   Staph have been around for millennia, MRSA have been around for at least the past 20 years.
•   MRSA became common about 10 years ago. The Puget Sound region was one of the first areas of the country to experience an upsurge.
•   MRSA is now the most common cause of skin abscesses (boils) seen by physicians.
•   There are at least 3 common antibiotics besides methicillin used to treat MRSA: sulfa (commonly trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, aka Bactrim or Septra), doxycycline (a long acting drug similar to tetracycline) and clindamycin (aka Cleocin, a drug in the “mycin” class like erythromycin.) All are effective. Sulfa is probably the most effective currently.
•   The mainstay of treating skin infections of any cause, especially when they have developed into boils/abscesses, remains incision and drainage (I & D). Just “letting the pus out” cures most of them.
•   Healthy people carry MRSA (and many other bad germs) around on their skin, hands and in their nostrils all the time.
•   Germs can be passed on from a healthy person to another who then develops an infection.
•   Some MRSA infections do progress to major infectious illness with resultant loss of life or limb. This is extremely uncommon in comparison to the prevalence of MRSA itself.
•   MRSA is one cause of the problem often referred to as “flesh eating bacteria”. Regular staph germs and streptococci (germs similar to those that cause strep throat) are also causes.
•   Hand washing by everyone is vitally important in preventing spread of not just MRSA but all potential infections. More germs are spread by hand contact than by coughing or sneezing.
•   Checking for MRSA in patients and clinicians, especially in hospitals and specifically in pre-surgical patients, is not cost-effective. The same precautions to prevent hospital spread of infection or post-operative infection should be taken for all patients, as there are many germs besides MRSA that can wreak havoc, and a large percentage of healthy people carry MRSA in their body, especially their nose.
•   Treating a healthy patient who is found to have MRSA will cause other germs to develop resistance to other antibiotics, thereby magnifying the problem of drug resistance.

Bottom Line: Each situation needs to be managed thoughtfully with good science. Lots of people are suing doctors because they got an infection, often in the hospital. Many infection suits are defensible. Doctors and hospitals often win, and rightly so.

About Chuck Pilcher

Chuck provides expert witness review and testimony in medical malpractice cases related to the fields of emergency medicine, urgent care, EMS and general inpatient and outpatient hospital practice.

Experience:

Charles A. Pilcher MD FACEP

206-915-8593

chuck@pilchermd.com

How Can a Doctor Fail 3 Medical School Classes & Not Remember?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39803 — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

I was on trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court (Kings County) last week in an orthopedic malpractice case. The defendant doctor was a physiatrist (a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor) who evaluated and treated my client.

During the discovery phase of the lawsuit I learned during the doctor's question and answer session, also known as a deposition, that it took him 5 years to graduate medical school instead of the usual 4 years. He had a memory lapse when I asked type of research he did in a year following medical school.

Immediately prior to the start of trial, the defense attorney requested a motion in limine, which is an oral request made to the trial judge. Defense counsel asked the court to prevent me from inquiring into the doctor's medical school credentials, claiming that they're not relevant to the issues in the case. The fact is that a doctor's credentials are always at issue, as is their training and education. The judge permitted me to inquire.

At trial, I asked the doctor to explain to the jury why it took him five years to graduate instead of the normal four. His answer?
"I failed three medical school classes and had to re-take the entire year over again."

When I cross-examined the doctor later in the trial, he had been telling us about additional classes he had taken involving sports medicine, yet he had neglected to mention which three classes he had failed. I asked him. His answer?

"I don't remember."

Do you believe that? I didn't.
I asked the jury in closing argument how an educated man could possibly ever forget the three classes he failed that required him to repeat an entire year of medical school. While his classmates graduated on time, he was still in school. Yet the doctor claimed he couldn't remember which classes he failed. Bull.

You've Been Taking Avandia-Is There Really a Risk?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39707 — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Today's Guest Post is by California Emergency Room Expert Charles Pilcher, M.D.

Avandia, an oral hypoglycemic agent (OHA) used in treating diabetes, has been in the news recently because of concern that it is associated with an excessive number of adverse events in users of the drug.

“Avandia users experience 30% more heart attacks,” headlines read this summer. The FDA on July 14 determined that existing warnings regarding the drug are sufficient and that the drug does not need to be removed from the market.

So what’s the truth? Why the hype? Why the confusion?

On June 28, 2010, JAMA published an article by Graham et al. entitled “Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, Heart Failure, and Death in Elderly Medicare Patients Treated With Rosiglitazone or Pioglitazone” (JAMA. 2010;304(4):(doi:10.1001/jama.2010.920). The authors’ research found Avandia to be more dangerous than a comparison drug Actos, another OHA.

But what are the facts?

Here are some pertinent points about the study and others leading up to it:

Included only Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and over, with 70% of the patients being 70 years of age or older.

Compared Avandia with only one other drug, not with a placebo group who took neither drug.

The comparison drug, Actos, actually improves outcomes in those using it, so the question is really not which drug is “dangerous,” but which drug provides the desired effect more safely.

Previous studies on Avandia have shown inconsistent results.

Previous studies showing a “statistically significant” difference do not necessarily mean that there is a “clinical significance” to the difference, when all mitigating factors are considered.

The study followed patients for a maximum of 3 years.

So what did Graham and his colleagues actually find and report?

The “danger” of Avandia is calculated based on 100 person-years of use. (How many diabetics will live another 100 years?)
Heart attack occurs 1.83 times for Avandia vs. 1.68 times for Actos during 100 person-years of use.
For stroke, the numbers are 1.27 vs. 0.95
For heart failure, the numbers are 3.94 vs 3.00
For combined heart attack, stroke and heart failure mortality, the numbers are 9.10 vs 7.42
For mortality from all other causes, the numbers are 2.85 vs 2.40
For combined mortality, the numbers are 9.10 vs. 7.42

This is where the hype begins. Remember that Actos, the comparison drug, actually improves mortality. Thus, presumably so does Avandia, but that argument is beyond the scope of this “Perspective.” Avandia is thus beneficial, but just associated with more potential risks.

Let’s look at relative vs. absolute risk. Suppose my chance of winning the lottery is one in a million. Suppose I develop a “system” that improves my chances of winning the lottery to one in 100,000. Do I now have a 90% better chance of winning the lottery? Yes. Do I now have a 90% chance of winning the lottery? No. My chance of winning increased from 0.000001 to 0.00001, or only 0.000099. The former number is my “relative” increased chance of winning. The number 0.000099 is my “absolute” increased chance of winning the lottery.

Based on this analysis, should I buy a lottery ticket? It depends.

The same holds true for Avandia vs. Actos. For simplicity’s sake, let’s just look at the “all cause mortality” numbers of 9.10 vs. 7.42 per 100 patient-years of use of either drug. The media reports that Avandia is “24% more likely to cause” death than Actos because 9.10 is 24% greater than 7.42. In reality, one’s chance of dying while using Avandia is only 1.78% greater (9.71 – 7.42) than with the other drug. And that’s for a person taking Avandia for 100 years.

To summarize, let’s give each patient in the study a 20 year life expectancy during which they continue to use Avandia. Five patients will make up 100 patient years of use. Accepting the authors’ numbers in this study, during their remaining 20 years, 4 of those 5 patients will be unaffected by their use of Avandia, while only one patient will have a 1.78% increased risk of dying as a result of taking the drug. The “per patient” risk is thus reduced by 80% to 0.356 (1.78 / 5) over their 20 year life expectancy.

Bottom line: Only 1 in 281 [(100 / 0.356] diabetic Medicare patients 65 year of age or older will are affected by taking the drug between age 65 and 85.

When the media blares that Avandia causes a 30% increased chance of death, many patients hear “I have a 30% chance of dying from this drug.” Not true. Nor do they have even a 30% chance of having a worse outcome.

Absolute risk is important. It puts relative risk in its proper perspective.

We have undoubtedly not heard the last of this, but the question is, “Did the FDA make the right decision.” In this author’s mind, the answer is a definite “Yes.”

About Chuck Pilcher

Chuck provides expert witness review and testimony in medical malpractice cases related to the fields of emergency medicine, urgent care, EMS and general inpatient and outpatient hospital practice.

Experience:

Charles A. Pilcher MD FACEP

206-915-8593

chuck@pilchermd.com

I lost a trial yesterday. Want to know why?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39668 — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

I'll Tell You Why

by Gerry Oginski, Esq.

I lost a trial yesterday in Brooklyn Supreme Court. But the most amazing thing happened today. My client called me today to thank me for what I did for her. She thought I was amazing. Her praise was so wonderful and unexpected that I asked her to put her feelings in an e-mail to me so I could put it on my website for others to see. She happily agreed. Although disappointed with the result of her case, she felt that my representation of her was outstanding.

You might be asking why I would tell a story involving a case I lost at trial. I’ll tell you why. Every trial lawyer has lost a case at trial. It’s the nature of the business. No matter what type of case you handle, no matter how good you think your case is, no matter what experts you have, if you take your case to a jury you never know what they will do. That’s a fact.

Ask any trial attorney if he has ever lost a case at trial. The answer will be yes. Most will not want to admit it, at least not publicly. Trial lawyers don’t want to give people the perception that they have ever lost a case. The reality is that every trial lawyer has lost a case. If they have never lost a case, then I would seriously question their credibility and how often they go to trial.

Because of the uncertainty of taking a case to trial and not knowing with any precision what a jury will ultimately do, both sides will often attempt to settle a case either prior to trial or during trial. A very small percentage of cases are unable to be settled prior to trial. Of those medical malpractice cases that proceed to verdict, most are won by the doctors and hospitals. That’s a fact.

Want to know what my case is about? I’ll tell you.

This case involved a 22-year-old woman who was riding her son’s scooter in her driveway and fell injuring her left elbow. Five days later she went to an orthopedist’s office for evaluation. The doctor did a proper examination and took x-rays. He told her that there was no fracture seen on x-ray and that he wanted her to return for follow-up visit in one week. She was to put her arm in a sling and to get an MRI.

Later that day, the doctors office called to let the patient know that her health insurance had expired and therefore they could not get authorization for an MRI. She never returned to the doctor’s office, as he instructed, and was unable to obtain an MRI since she did not have the money or health insurance to do so.

The patient said that the doctor told her that since her arm was not fractured she could take her arm out of the sling and exercise it a few times a day so would not be stiff. A few days after her office visit, the patient experienced severe pain in her arm while exercising her elbow. Despite the severe pain, she did not seek medical attention for almost 2 more weeks. When she finally went to Coney Island Hospital emergency room, she was diagnosed with an avulsion fracture and now required surgery with hardware to fix the severe fracture.

We claimed that the doctor failed to diagnose the fracture when she was seen in his office, and if he had diagnosed at that time, she only would need a splint to fix or fracture. Instead, because of the delay she now suffered a more severe fracture that required surgery to correct.

Interestingly, the key issue in the case involved whether the x-rays were properly read. However, the doctor’s office lost my client’s x-rays making it impossible to know for sure whether he properly read her x-rays.

Despite being able to show credibility problems with the doctor who treated my client, together with the defense expert and an office manager, the jury came back with a decision in favor of the doctor finding there was no departure from the standard of care in treating my client.

Despite the outcome against us, I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to represent this young woman in her quest for justice. I know from her wonderful praise of my legal abilities, that I have gained a friend for life. That makes all the difference.

Mommy Makeover Surgery Results in Death

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39615 — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Pregnancies and the birthing process can take a heavy toll on a woman’s body. As a result, many women undergo one or more operations after bearing children to help them recover their appearance from before having kids. Women undergo these operations to have a better future but mistakes made by plastic surgeons can mean that these women have no future at all.

That is what happened to a 36 year old woman in Virginia Beach, California, who had a breast lift, tummy tuck, and liposuction to help return her appearance to the way it was before she had four children. Within forty hours of having the operation, the woman was dead. After an autopsy, it was revealed that the woman suffered from aspiration pneumonia after contents of her stomach went up her esophagus and then went down into her lungs. Aspiration pneumonia is mostly seen in anesthesia cases where the anesthesiologist fails to recognize that the patient has vomited during surgery and then the stomach contents are inhaled into their lungs. The stomach contents are highly acidic and when they go into the lungs, can have a devastating and deadly effect.

Before leaving the hospital, the woman reported having shortness of breath and the attorney who represented the woman’s estate claimed she was “whisked out the door” by the hospital. A jury returned a $1.9 million dollar verdict.

To learn more about how medical malpractice cases work here in New York, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Unnecessary Nasal Operations

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39613 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Patients routinely rely on their doctors. When a doctor says that surgery is needed to correct a medical condition, that is usually all someone needs to become convinced to undergo the procedure. When doctors betray that trust for their own advantage, not only are patients ripped off, but they also suffer an unnecessary surgery.

That is what one nose doctor was doing with his patients. He would tell patients that they needed to have procedures performed for their health, meanwhile the procedures were often unnecessary causing nothing but trauma for the patients.

Recently, a jury awarded $300,000 to a victim of the doctor. In this case, the doctor showed the patient x-rays of a bloody nasal cavity when in fact the x-rays were for a different patient. The doctor performed an operation to correct the alleged bloody cavity. Making matters worse, the doctor did not inform the patient about an irregular heartbeat that was discovered. Apparently this doctor did a similar thing to almost three-hundred additional people.

Most doctors are good practitioners and trustworthy people. However, patients should be skeptical of a diagnosis for something when there are no matching symptoms.

To learn more about how medical malpractice cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

A Morphine Cocktail Gone Wrong

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39614 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Newborns come into the world in a fragile state. Even a simple mistake in medical treatment can mean life or death for a baby. That is why it is so shocking to hear about incidents in which a hospital makes careless errors in infant care.

That is what happened to a newborn when a nurse mixed up the baby’s intravenous line with that of its mother. The result was that the baby received 400 times the recommended amount of morphine for a baby. The baby stopped breathing and had to be revived. The baby was able to survive but only with the help of a feeding tube.

Making matters worse was that the mother was accused of being a drug addict after hospital staff realized the baby was full of opiates. The theory was that the mother was passing the drugs to the baby via breast feeding. However, this theory was quickly dismissed because the baby was a triplet and its two siblings were healthy with no traces of opiates in their system.

After an investigation, it was discovered that the nurse who made the mix up was at the end of a rough twelve hour shift. The fact is that most hospitals today are overworked and understaffed making them prone to these sorts of accidents. Babies are especially vulnerable because they cannot tell someone what is wrong with them and even slight maltreatment can have a disastrous impact on their small bodies.

To learn more about how medical malpractice cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Michael Douglas has Stage IV Throat Cancer

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)39381 — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Famous actor Michael Douglas has been diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer. He says he's upbeat about his situation too. He's been promoting his new movie where he plays character Gordon Gecko in Wall Street Money Never Sleeps. He tells everyone on TV that he's getting chemo and radiation and now throat cancer is at the top of the minds of lots of people.

His famous actress wife, Catherine Zeta Jones has stated publicly that she is outraged that her husband's doctors failed to detect this cancer in a timely fashion. She's rightfully upset. Although the details of what complaints he had and what his doctors observed or failed to observe are not public, the basics of failing to diagnose cancer is the same.

Many types of cancer present with symptoms. In Douglas' case, his cancer is at the most advanced stage. Cancer is typically described as four stages. Stage I is the smallest and most localized. Stage IV is the most advanced and has usually spread to other parts of the body.

In it's most basic definition, cancer means that cells have grown out of control and our body cannot control them. The treatments typically available to treat different types of cancers range from surgery to radiation therapy to putting toxic chemicals in our bloodstream, known as chemotherapy. Each cancer reacts differently and not all therapies are appropriate for every cancer.

The key in any cancer case is timely diagnosis and treatment. The earlier the cancer is detected, the better chances the patient has for a better outcome.

In Michael Douglas' case, his wife has made it clear that his doctors dropped the ball and failed to diagnose his cancer earlier. Does he have a valid case? It's impossible to tell just from what's been reported in the media. In order to fully evaluate a failure to diagnose case, all of the medical records must be obtained and reviewed. The attorney needs to know when the patient went to the doctor; what complaints they had; what the doctor did about them; what testing, if any, was done, and what follow-up occurred.

I will typically as a potential client what they believe was done wrong that caused permanent harm?

In a failure to diagnose cancer case the harm is that the patient's life expectancy has been severely diminished. Had their cancer been detected early enough, you can argue that his life expectancy would have been much greater.

Good luck to you Mr. Douglas with your treatments.

Filing Complaints against Hospitals: How to Be an Effective Advocate

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)38513 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Today's blog post is from guest blogger Alexis Bonari.

Many hospitals consistently provide quality care to their patients, but there are always instances where certain individuals don’t receive the professional attention they deserve. This is to be expected in any business, but in hospitals, the consequences can be more serious and could lead to life-threatening situations. Hospitals also present more difficulty because patients are not always in a sufficiently stable mental or physical state to be their own care quality advocates. The following are steps to be taken by patients or their family members and should serve as a guide to proceeding through the proper channels to achieve fast and effective results.

Based on which section of the hospital is administrating your care, choose the right representative when you decide to inform hospital staff that you or a loved one is receiving inferior care. If you’re in a room at the hospital, speak to the nurse manager, but if you’re in the emergency room, it’s best to inform the ER supervisor. When communicating with these individuals, try to accurately and quickly describe the severity of the care deficit or abuse so that they don’t feel that their time is being wasted. Nurse managers and ER supervisors have an increasing number of responsibilities and patients as hospital staff downsizing occurs, so being respectful of their time constraints may help you gain their attention. Once you’ve contacted the manager or supervisor, request a prompt investigation and ask to be notified as soon as anything has been found or decided.

If you are dissatisfied with the results of contacting the nurse manager or ER supervisor, address the hospital’s patient representative. This person is there to address concerns and special needs, so take advantage of that fact by communicating with him or her. Patient representatives are often responsible for collecting information about patient dissatisfaction, so the one at your hospital would be a primary contact in the potential lodging of a complaint.

If action is still not taken, talk to the nurse supervisor of your patient care unit, then the vice president of nursing. If you have any way to connect your mistreatment with potential legal action, you can contact the hospital’s risk manager as a way to get the ball rolling. Another option is to contact the chief operations officer (COO), whose duties include ensuring patient satisfaction. This person interacts a lot with the CEO, so he or she should be able to inform the right parties of your complaint. If this fails, go directly to the president or CEO before filing your complaint with an outside organization.

When all else fails, lodge a formal complaint. Try your State Agency, which is the Health Department for the state of New York. Complaint concerns are redirected to IPRO, where you are encouraged to call 1-800-331-7767 to describe your concern. You can also contact your hospital’s corporate headquarters, news media programs, or The Joint Commission. This organization is responsible for accrediting almost every hospital in the country and reviews all quality of care complaints that are submitted to it. These complaints are also recorded in the Commission’s database so that they can be referred to in the case of investigation.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at Online Degrees, researching areas of online colleges. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Spinal Injection Causes Paralysis

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)38560 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

One of the few comforts that a patient can rely on when undergoing a major procedure is that they usually get to meet and talk to the doctor who will be performing their operation. When that trust is betrayed, patients have a right to be upset.

For example, a man was admitted to a hospital to receive an acrylic injection to his spinal column. The procedure was supposed to help the man with his back pain. The man decided to undergo the procedure after discussing the risks with his doctor. After the procedure, the patient was paralyzed. Apparently the injection was performed incorrectly and the inserted fluid spread to inappropriate parts of the spine. Additionally, the patient found out that the doctor who performed the operation was not the one that he consulted with.

In response, the doctors’ medical licenses were suspended for three months. The patient is also suing for more than $23 million. Whether and how much the patient will ultimately get from the hospital and the doctors is unknown at this time. The fact is that the patient will never be able to enjoy the use of his legs ever again is a disability that he will live with for the rest of his days. Perhaps more disturbing than the botched spinal injection is that the doctors pulled a switch on the patient, with a different doctor performing the operation than he expected.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Falling Off an Operating Table

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)37689 — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Many say the best place to sustain an injury is in a hospital because then immediate care can be provided. However, it is unlikely these people would suggest that falling off an operating room table is a good thing.

For a man in Minnesota this is what happened. While undergoing a lumbar drain and unconscious from anesthesia, the man fell off the operating room table. Making matters worse, the man fell on his surgically exposed head. The surgeons did their best to repair the damage but the man subsequently suffered a stroke and died; events directly related to his fall.

Hospital officials say that the hospital was not equipped to handle the man because he weighed about three-hundred pounds. However, a lawsuit has been filed alleging that the surgical table’s Velcro straps were insufficient to prevent such an incident from occurring. The complaint alleges that hospitals routinely handle patients within this weight range and more adequate safety measures should have been taken.

In New York, if a patient falls off an operating room table while under anesthesia, we would claim "Res Ipsa Loquitor" which is a latin term that means "The thing speaks for itself." Where the patient was under the exclusive control of the hospital and their employees, it would not even be necessary to bring in a medical expert to explain to a jury why this was a departure from good and accepted practice. It's just common sense. Despite this, it still is often helpful to bring in a medical expert to help explain to the jury what injuries the patient suffered and why, as well as what would have happened if this medical error had not occurred.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Improperly Performed Sinus Surgery: Permanent Injury

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)37688 — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

The intricacies of the human body are complicated. One of the most perplexing areas of the human body is the human head which houses the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Each body part is as important as the sensory ability they enable. That is why a mistake during a medical procedure on one of these areas can be tragic.

That is what happened to a woman in New Jersey who suffered permanent and debilitating eye damage while undergoing a "routine" sinus operation. The operation was supposed to relieve the patient from sinusitis. However, the doctor operated on the wrong sinus and cut through tissue that was connected to the orbit of the eye. The puncture severed a muscle that helps the eye move. The patient now suffers from permanent damage to her eye leaving her unable to continue working.

A lawsuit was filed and the patient was awarded $3.9 million. Although the recovery seems substantial, it will not fix her condition. The fact remains that the woman’s life will permanently suffer over a mistake during a routine procedure.

Sun Goes Down, Birthing Risks Go Up

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)37250 — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

When a woman goes into labor is hardly something that can be controlled. Often it happens at the most inopportune time. We have all heard at least one story of a pregnant woman traversing a snowstorm, hailing a cab, or rushing to the hospital in the middle of the night.

As much as the timing of going into labor can catch a mother to be with her guard down, it can also catch hospital staff when it is down. A recent study of 700,000 births indicates that complications are much more likely at night then during the day. Specifically, the study indicates that children born between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. were 32 to 47 percent more likely to die than children born during the day.

There are many possible explanations as to why birth risks go up at night. For example, one explanation is that night shifts often have fewer senior doctors and staff leaving less experienced medical professionals to handle emergencies. Another explanation is that overnight staff is more fatigued than their daytime counterparts.

Under either explanation, the result is that mothers and their newborns are in more danger when born at night than during the day because of the hospital and its staff. Since pregnant women can not choose when they go into labor, it is unfair that their treatment, and that of their newborns, are decided by whether the borth happens during the day or night.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Some Mistakes Cannot Be Corrected

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)37242 — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Learning that you or someone you love has cancer can be the worst news that you ever receive. Normally, finding out that there was a lab mix-up and that there is no cancer would be tremendous news…unless it comes after receiving surgery for the cancer.

That is what happened to a man in Massachusetts. He was told he had cancer, underwent surgery, and the surgery has left him incontinent and with erectile dysfunction. The man thought these side effects were the consequence of an otherwise life-saving surgery. However, upon learning that he never really had cancer and that his prostate exam results were mixed up with another patient, the man was simply devastated.

Exam mix-ups are more frequent than one might think. Take another case in which the opposite happened. A man underwent a prostate exam and was told the exam had favorable results. However, eight months later the man underwent a second prostate exam and it was revealed that he unfortunately had cancer the whole time.

Patients routinely rely on the information provided to them by their doctors. Doctors equally rely on information provided to them by labs. That is why labs play such a crucial role in the medical industry. Doctors and patients may be making what they consider to be informed decisions but may be relying on purely incorrect information.

What makes matters only more troubling is that when there is a mix-up, two patients receive incorrect data. While one may face the consequence of receiving painful and permanently disfiguring treatment, the other may not be receiving the treatment they need to save their life.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Sepsis Misdiagnosis

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)36905 — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Most patients do not have any background in medicine and even one’s that do, usually blindly rely on a doctor’s diagnosis and suggested treatment when confronted with a medical problem. But what happens when the doctors get it wrong? What happens when they miss a diagnosis and fail to provide necessary treatment?

The unfortunate instance of a woman in Jacksonville, Florida illustrates what can happen. The woman went to the hospital (where she coincidentally works as a nurse) suffering from fever, aches, and a racing heart but was sent away with only pain medications. Her attorney’s allege that the doctors failed to notice a textbook case of sepsis. Sepsis is a system-wide infection that if not timely treated can result in massive infection and often death.

Six-hours later, a test result came back indicating a strep infection so the woman was called back to the hospital. Ultimately, the woman’s flesh began to die and she had to have her legs removed in order to save her life.

If there were signs of sepsis when the woman first went to the hospital, immediate treatment could have saved her legs. Not having made this initial diagnosis, the woman’s condition worsened over several hours to a point beyond full recovery. At the very least, the woman was able to keep her life.

Whether or not this woman’s condition could have been diagnosed in her initial visit will be worked out in court. However, her unfortunate situation provides a lesson to the rest of us that misdiagnosis happens more frequently then we may think and can have life altering consequences.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Child Chemotherapy Mishap

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)36904 — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Most of us have had a family member or loved on go through a battle with cancer. While some people are fortunate enough to be victorious, others are not. Although most cancers affect people later in their lives, some people face the disease while they are still children.

Children who suffer from cancer have some things working in their favor, namely their energy and ability to quickly recover from trauma. However, their smaller bodies make administering medicines such as chemotherapy more difficult.

For instance, a child in the Bronx, New York, was able to survive an operation that removed a malignant tumor. After the surgery, the child needed chemotherapy. However, because of the child's small size there was a complication in the administration of the chemotherapy. The drugs were supposed to be inserted into a vein in the child's chest via a catheter but instead the drugs were simply being poured into the child's chest cavity.

Since chemotherapy is so toxic, the child quickly went into cardiac arrest. The surgeon placed a needle in the child's chest and a fountain of clear fluid, the chemo, came pouring out. The child then slipped into a coma, suffered partial blindness, and took months before making a recovery.

The hospital staff knew they were having difficulty setting up the catheter. Nonetheless, the hospital began to pump the child full of the toxins. There is really no excuse as to why a decision to insert toxins into the child was made without any certainty that the catheter was set up correctly. The child in this case was lucky to escape with her life.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Diseased Heart Transplant

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)36903 — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Organ transplants are a medical advancement that has saved countless lives. For people on an organ transplant list, waiting to receive a heart, kidney, lung, etc. can be one of the most anxious periods in one's life. After all, successfully receiving an organ often means life itself.

But even after an organ becomes available, there are still risks involved in the procedure, and even after the procedure, in post-op care. Despite these inherent risks, patients almost always opt for the chance at a healthy life rather than the certainty of death.

However, patients would not undergo the risky transplant procedure if they knew they were receiving an organ that may be worse then their own. That is what happened to a father of three in Queens, New York. After being on a transplant list for only eight months, the man was given a new heart. The problem was that the heart was actually diseased. In under a week the man suffered great pain and agony as his new heart hemorrhaged causing his death.

The man’s family is stricken with sadness and left wondering why the hospital would implant a diseased heart. Especially when the man could have survived for years waiting for a proper heart. The family has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get some answers. So far, the hospital has failed to demonstrate that the did any of the required tests on the heart before implanting it into the victim.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Nursing Home Neglect

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)35845 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

The decision to have an elderly or sick family member go into a care facility is never easy. When we put our family members in the care of a nursing home or rehabilitation center, we do it because we feel as though it is best for our family member. That is why it is so shocking to hear about cases in which patients in these centers are neglected to the point where their preexisting conditions are accelerated or suffer from wholly new accidents. This is especially true when these situations could have been prepared for and easily avoided.

For example, a woman in Florida was admitted into a rehabilitation center. Even though the center was aware that the woman was at risk of slipping and falling, the woman was allowed to suffer a severe injury from falling down. The problems after her fall were only exacerbated by bedsores, overmedication, malnourishment, and dehydration. Due to these conditions, the woman died.

How can something like this happen in a facility that is designed to care for people? How could such negligence go on in a place filled with trained professionals? These are some of the questions that the woman’s family wanted answers to when they filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the rehabilitation center. After a jury trial, the woman’s family was awarded $14 million in damages and another $100 million in punitive damages.

The woman’s family said that they hope this will help prevent it from happening to someone else. When a family member suffers from negligent care in a medical facility such as a rehabilitation center, the family is entitled to compensation and the center should be held accountable.

Residents Performing Unsupervised Operations

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)35846 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

Anyone who has been operated on or has someone close to them who has, knows that every surgery has its risks and the value of the words, “everything went well.” Whether patients are being placed asleep with anesthesia or remain awake during the procedure, they are left in the hands of their doctor.

As with most professional careers, medicine is an industry where nothing can take the place of hands on experience. That is why even after four years of college and two more in medical school, aspiring physicians are required to obtain hands on education. After medical school, these students perform residencies in their field under the supervision of experienced practitioners. In residency, which may last anywhere from 3-7 years, depending on the specialty, these doctors-in-training are supposed to be supervised by the senior physicians.

The system works fairly well so long as the rules are followed. However, a trend is emerging in which understaffed hospitals are having residents perform operations without the necessary supervision of an experienced doctor. The risks that such a situation can create can be deadly.

A recent lawsuit filed in Illinois illustrates these dangers. A medical center and several of its doctors are accused of having medical students or residents perform operations without supervision and sometimes in an entirely different building than their supervising doctor.

The risk is exacerbated by the increasing demands being placed on doctors to be in two places at once. Doctors are thus tempted to have one resident perform a procedure while the doctor is overseeing another. Having residents perform operations without supervision means more surgeries can be performed and the doctors practice can be more profitable.

The unfortunate reality is that the majority of medical mistakes are made by new doctors and medical students. This is especially true in the early summer months when senior residents graduate and new residents start their training. This is just simply a cost of training the next generation of doctors. However, when experienced doctors begin cutting corners and having their residents do work without supervision, the risk becomes too great.

Norwich, CT Obstetrician Sued for Baby's Death

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)35847 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

Nothing could be scarier for an expecting mother than experiencing complications during child birth…except experiencing child birth complications and not being able to get in touch with your doctor.

That is what happened to a woman in Connecticut when she went into labor and her obstetrician did not respond to calls placed on his home and office. The obstetrician was by her side only an hour earlier when he prescribed Pitocin, a drug that stimulates contractions. After prescribing what may have been an excessive amount of the drug, the doctor left without noticing that the unborn baby was suffering from distress related to its heart. The baby was born via an emergency Cesarean but suffered a lack of oxygen causing brain damage and five weeks later, death.

No one knows why the doctor was unable to be reached because a wrongful death lawsuit is pending against him. After the incident, the doctor was sanctioned by the Connecticut health department to the tune of $5,000. The doctor’s medical group also shut down, closing its doors on an estimated 5,000 patients.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for the injuries the baby suffered and the wrongful and untimely death suffered because of medical negligence. In New York, medical negligence is defined as a departure from good and accepted medical care by a physician in the community. If that departure is a substantial factor in causing the patient injury that could lead to the doctor or hospital having to pay compensation to that injured patient or their family.

Are you more likely right than wrong? Proving a medical malpractice case in New York

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)35772 — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

When you bring a civil lawsuit in New York, the burden of proof is on us to prove your case at a trial. What exactly is the “burden of proof?” It is that level of proof that is known as the “preponderance of evidence.”

Well what exactly does that mean?

It means that we have to show that we are more likely right than wrong. It means that we only have to tip the scales ever so slightly in our favor in order for a jury to award a verdict in our favor. You may be familiar with the burden of proof in a criminal trial which requires that a prosecutor prove their case “beyond a reasonable doubt.” That is an extremely high burden for the prosecutor to meet, and does not apply in civil cases.

Civil cases do not require that jurors debate endlessly to make absolutely sure that what an injured victim is claiming is correct. Instead, we need only show that your claim is more likely right than wrong. Once a jury determines that what we are trying to say is more believable, then they are required to render a decision in our favor.

But what exactly does the jury have to do in order to render a verdict in our favor?

Juries are provided with specific questions that they must answer at the end of a trial. This is known as "jury interrogatories." In a medical malpractice trial here in New York, the first question a jury will generally be asked is whether there was a departure from good and accepted medical care. If the answer is “yes,” then the jury has to determine whether that departure was a substantial factor in causing injury.

If the answer is “yes,” then they proceed to the next series of questions concerning how much compensation to award to the injured victim. While there are many variations of questions that a jury can answer, generally, they are asked to consider how much to award for past pain and suffering, as well as future pain and suffering. In addition, if there is a claim for lost earnings they will be asked how much money this individual has lost in earnings and over what period of time it's going to apply for. There can also be claims for economic losses as well as medical expenses.

Gerry Oginski wins $1.5 Million Verdict in Podiatry Malpractice Case

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)35769 — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

On Friday, July 23, 2010, a Westchester County jury in the Supreme Court of the State of New York determined that my client, Annemarie Flannery was entitled to be compensated $1.5 million as compensation for injuries caused by a podiatrist during bunion surgery. Her husband, David Flannery was entitled to be compensated $50,000 for his lost services claim.

The case involved a claim of a failure to properly perform foot surgery involving my client's bunion on her right foot. It was our claim that the podiatrist removed too much bone during the procedure, and improperly positioned the first metatarsal. As result, this changed the dynamic forces of her foot and forced her to bear most of her weight underneath the second and third metatarsals in her foot. We also claimed that the patient should have had her second and third metatarsals surgically shortened during her first bunion surgery. This would have prevented the problem from arising.

Instead, the patient developed pain, pressure and discomfort on the bottom of her foot following surgery. The podiatrist recommended corrective surgery to shorten the second and third metatarsals eight months after her first surgery. The patient became quite frustrated and no longer had confidence in the ability of the podiatrist. She then went to an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in foot and ankle surgery in Manhattan. He performed surgery to shorten the second and third metatarsals, but because of the damage already taken place, his surgery was unable to fix the primary problem.

Since conservative treatment failed she's been offered additional surgery to correct the problem to shorten bones in her foot, or as an alternative, to undergo destructive surgery that will fuse bones in her foot. There are no guarantees that these surgeries will help improve her condition. At the present time, she has elected to deal with the pain and discomfort on a daily basis and may need to have one or both of these surgeries in the future.

After two weeks of a hard-fought trial in Westchester, and after listening to testimony from the podiatrist, the podiatrist's expert, our expert, the treating physician and the plaintiffs, the jury determined that this podiatrist departed from good and accepted podiatric and surgical care; that this departure was a substantial factor in causing my client injury, and that she was entitled to be compensated.

The jury awarded her $375,000 for past pain and suffering, for the last five years.
The jury awarded her $1,125,000 for future pain and suffering, representing future injury over the next 30 years.
The jury awarded her husband $50,000 for his loss of services claim.

This verdict represents a remarkable statement by a unanimous jury.

Scanning the Dangers of MRI's

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)34841 — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

Gadolinium Based Contrast Agents Cause NSF

Doctors routinely make difficult decisions as to what drugs and substances to give patients and in what circumstances. Patients rely on their doctors to make safe decisions on their behalf. That is why patients become upset when doctors administer substances to patients after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identifies such substance as harboring potential health hazards.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a common diagnostic procedure that provides images of the internal structures of the body. Doctors inject contrast agents prior to performing an MRI because they are dyes that make the internal structures of the body more clear during the scan. Many of these contrast agents contain a chemical called Gadolinium.

Gadolinium is removed from the body via the kidneys. Its use is a risk for people who are prone to kidney problems and has recently been found to cause Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF). NSF is a painful and incurable illness that causes fibrosis on the skin and several organs. Recent reports indicate that Ominscan, Magnevist and Optimark may be the most likely Gadolinium based contrast agents to cause NSF.

Consider a case where a woman was given a Gadolinium based contrast agent despite the fact that she was on Dialysis. The FDA has issued a “black box” warning for these sorts of contrast agents because of its correlation to cases of NSF. Nonetheless, the doctors still injected the chemical into the woman and she wants to know why.

The woman is now bedridden and cannot perform daily activities without becoming exhausted. NSF typically hardens the skin around the joints making even minimal movement painful. Further, the mortality rate of NSF patients increases to fifty-percent after two years.

There are other contrast agents that can be used in lieu of Gadolinium based agents. These alternatives may have not have put this woman’s life at risk. She and her family want to know why her doctors gave her a Gadolinium based contract agent despite her already suffering kidneys and the strictest of warnings from the FDA.

There can be little doubt that doctors are burdened with making difficult decisions over drugs and treatments. However, in the case of Gadolinium base contrast agents, such decisions are hard to understand.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

NY Medical Malpractice lawyer has solution for medical malpractice

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)34585 — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

The answer is simple. But first, some background.

Doctors typically don't want anything to do with lawyers. Lawyers are viewed with scorn and villified by many doctors.
Lawyers, just as the general public, rely on doctors for their own health care. There are some doctors who claim that they over-order tests in order to practice 'defensive medicine'. Others cry that lawsuits are responsible for outrageous verdicts that drive up health care costs. Doctors also blame lawyers and lawsuits for their outrageous medical malpractice insurance premiums. Yet, the more I hear these same arguments, the more I wonder why nobody focuses on the real problem.

I've been following the arguments on both sides of the malpractice issue since 1985, when I first entered law school. My family was all doctors; my father too. Some say I was the black sheep of the family. It's been almost 22 years since I first started practicing medical malpractice law in New York and I continue to be amazed at how little is given to the actual problem; Medical Malpractice.

Remember I said the solution was simple? It is, at least in theory.
Get rid of the malpractice and there's no problem any more. There, I've said it. Now, let's see it happen.

Here's the logic and ripple effect behind that argument:
If you have no malpractice, then there's no injured victim.
There's no extended hospital stay; no extensive surgical repair; no untimely deaths due to medical carelessness.
That means there's less costs to the patients; less revenue to the doctors and hospitals; less money paid by medicare and medicaid for medical costs.

That means that doctor's malpractice insurance companies will wither away and go out of business since there will be no need to insure any doctors. That means lots of lost jobs and income for insurance executives. Baaad news for them. Good news to obstetricians, neurosurgeons and orthopedists who pay almost $200,000 per year, if not more, just to get insurance coverage.

If there's no malpractice, then there's no lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. That means there's no business for medical malpractice lawyers like myself. Looks like I'll have to go into the real estate business instead. If plaintiff's lawyers are not bringing any medical malpractice lawsuits then medical malpractice defense attorneys and their large Manhattan law firms will go out of business, since they rely on lawsuits to keep them in business and on retainer by the insurance companies. Baad for them, and for me.

If there's no injured victims, and doctor's insurance rates disappear, then there should no longer be any friction between doctors and lawyers. Patients will love their doctors; doctors will love the lawyers (if that's somehow possible) and the insurance and legal industry for medical malpractice will head off into the sunset, never to appear again.

It's at this point that I wake up from my daydream and shake my head. "This will never happen," I think. Too idealistic. Although it would be ideal if there were no carelessness by physicians in NY, the reality is that only a small portion of doctors are responsible for the vast majority of malpractice lawsuits today.

Why aren't the critics of health care reform focused on the injured victim? Instead, they're more worried about health care costs than the permanent disability of an innocent and helpless patient who was injured at the hands of an incompetent doctor or hospital.

Stay tuned for my next daydream, when I explain the solution for world peace.

How Does a Hospital 'Lose' a Patient?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)33448 — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

With all of the procedures and staff at medical facilities, it is hard to imagine a patient becoming lost. Nonetheless, this happens more often than one would expect and can often have tragic results.

For example, a Pittsburgh woman suffering from dementia was routinely placed in a well-respected medical center. The woman, left unattended, wandered onto the roof of the medical center where she remained overnight. With temperatures dropping as low as twenty degrees that night, the woman was found dead the next morning as a result of hypothermia.

With the recent turn in the economy, hospitals and medical centers are becoming routinely understaffed. This is particularly so during night shifts in which many medical facilities operate on a skeleton crew. This unfortunate reality results in patients, like the woman from Pittsburgh, receiving less than standard care.

Mistreatment due to understaffed centers is frequent although the situation in Pittsburgh is an extreme example. More frequently, injury comes from patients being left unattended in their rooms when an accident like a slip and fall occurs, treatment or medicines not being delivered due to oversight, or even worse, the wrong treatment or medicine is given to the wrong person.

Medical facilities do face a seemingly insurmountable challenge when facing such a large number of patients while dealing with budget constraints. Nonetheless, patients come to medical facilities to become healthier, not suffer additional injuries due to negligent care. The Pittsburgh woman’s family was ultimately awarded a large financial settlement but their family member is gone forever. Not because of the disease she suffered from, but because of the care she received for it – or lack thereof.

There is no shame involved when a medical facility lapses in care due to being understaffed or overworked. It has probably happened to all of us from time to time. However, when dealing in healthcare the stakes in these cases are literally life and death.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Mysterious Pain or Telltale Sign? Should Doctors be Liable for Failing to Diagnose Illnesses?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)33134 — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

What is the most important tool in communication? Speaking? Writing? The most important tool in communication is listening. When patients communicate with their doctors, this is what they should be focused on, listening. Doctors are taught in medical school to listen carefully to what complaints the patient has since the patient is in the best position to tell them what’s going on.

For three years, a woman in Maine told her doctor that she suffered from chronic pain in her back and hip. Unbeknownst to her and her doctor, the pain in her bones was actually cancer spreading throughout her body. Although the woman is now being treated with chemotherapy, irreparable damage was caused by the delay in diagnosing and treating her cancer.

This story is echoed by a case in South Carolina where a woman went to a hospital reporting that she had back and stomach pain. The hospital diagnosed her with kidney stones and sent her away. Merely 48 hours after being discharged she died from sepsis, which is a system-wide infection throughout her body.

In the fast paced world that we all live in today, it is no surprise to see a decrease in attentive care throughout the medical profession. Primary care physicians are people like the rest of us. Living in a fast paced society means that they can not afford as much face time with patients as they may want and their patients may need. The result is that patients, like the woman in Maine and the woman in South Carolina, may not be receiving medical care from a doctor that communicates effectively with them.

On the other side of the coin, doctors do not want to test patients for life threatening illnesses every time someone comes in with a cold. Also, patients do not want to go through time consuming, potentially embarrassing, and expensive tests that may end up being unnecessary. The real issue in these cases and in healthcare across the country, is that doctors just need to listen more and stop making decisions on whether a patient’s health care insurance will or will not pay for certain tests.

Although both sides of the issue have defensible positions, the jury in Maine awarded the woman with cancer one million dollars. Similarly, the jury in South Carolina awarded three million dollars. These cases illustrate how important it is to have doctors that actually listen when patients discuss their symptoms.

Doctors should not feel obligated to inundate patients with unnecessary tests. Instead, they should listen to what patients have to say. In situations where patients report an issue and it goes undiagnosed, the reason may not be that the issue is simply too much of a mystery to solve. Rather, it might just be that no one is listening.

To learn more about how these cases work, I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, and I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Groin-Punch "Game" Harms More Boys

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)32916 — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

“Childish Game Can Result in a Very Grown Up Condition”

The old adage “boys will be boys” is taking on a new meaning. A recent study indicates that teen boys are engaging in a game referred to as “sack-tapping” in which they slap or punch each other in the groin. Popularized by the television show “South Park,” this game can result in traumatic and permanent injury.

Trauma to the groin in young men can result in testicular torsion. This condition involves the twisting of veins and arteries that carry blood to the testicles. Testicular torsion can be treated early after its onset. However, if left untreated, the condition can kill the testicle and require surgical removal. I recently represented a young boy who had testicular torsion where doctors in an emergency room failed to timely recognize that his testicle was twisted and dying. I even created a video to help people understand what testicular torsion is. You can see the video here.

Even though testicular trauma can result in such a serious condition, “sac-tapping” has only become increasingly prevalent. The number of pubic region injuries in boys 10-20 has increased 63% over just the last two years. Further, 30% of doctors have indicated that they have seen “sack-tapping” injuries in the last year.

Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of the condition is that many children are getting it as a result of the increasingly popular “sack-tapping” game. As if young boys are not already reluctant to talk about their genitalia, these children are often the victims of bullying and therefore even more reluctant to come forward. Making the issue worse is how this behavior is minimized through language and popular media. Calling it a “game” can be used as a guise for bullying. Despite giving the behavior playful names or popularizing it through TV, it can lead to serious and permanent damage. Doctors have stressed that the behavior simply cannot be tolerated.

Parents have begun to look to school officials to help prevent this behavior. Some have even suggested that laws should be passed placing an onus on schools to prevent it from happening. While doctors and public surveys make communities aware of the problem, school officials have yet to do anything to prevent it. School administrators are the closest to the issue and therefore in the best position to thwart this behavior. Once school officials become aware of the issue within their schools, there is no reason that they should not be held accountable for children who become injured from these harmful acts.

“Sack-taping” is not just a game; it is a serious problem that leads to serious injuries. Something needs to be done to prevent it from happening and the indication is that schools need to start taking on responsibility.

To read actual deposition testimony of a doctor in a testicular torsion case I handled click on the link below. Actual testimony by a surgeon in a failure to timely recognize and treat testicular torsion resulting in death of the testicle

Kidney Cancer-Losing a case you should have won

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)32899 — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

There are few things more frustrating to a trial attorney than losing a case he should have won. Obviously, there are never any guarantees when taking a case to trial. However, in the recent case involving a failure to timely diagnose kidney cancer resulting in death of a 60-year-old man in Queens County this is exactly what happened.

Mr. Liew needed a kidney transplant. The kidney he received had unknowingly had cancer. The patient's family claimed that the hospital should have taken steps to determine whether the kidney was cancer free, and once they knew about it should have made every effort to remove the kidney in order to prevent spread of the cancer. The hospital claimed that once they learned the donor had cancer, even though the chances were very slim of the kidney having some type of cancer they recommended that the kidney be removed. They stressed that they repeatedly offered the option to the patient, but the patient refused to have it removed.

Should this case have been won by the patient? If you believe the patient's attorney, they had medical experts who claimed and firmly believed that the treatment rendered by the hospital was inappropriate and that it was improper for them to have given this kidney if the donor had cancer. The experts also argued that the kidney should have been immediately removed once it became clear the owner had cancer.

What happened here? The jury determined that the hospital was not responsible, and the patient lost not only his life but his lawsuit as well.

A patient's attorney relies on the medical experts who have reviewed the patient's records to determine whether there is a valid basis to proceed forward with a medical malpractice lawsuit in New York. Should this case have been won at trial? The patient, his family, his attorney and his experts believed so. The jury didn't. That's frustrating.

Why Getting Sick at St. Vincent's Hospital In New York City May Be Hazardous To Your Wealth

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)31941 — Thu, 20 May 2010 08:00:00 EST

Did you know that getting sick and going to a hospital that has declared bankruptcy may be hazardous to your wealth? It's true.

Here's why: In cases where you are injured by a doctor or hospital, your only recourse is to bring a lawsuit to recover compensation for your injuries.

When the hospital has declared bankruptcy, it is impossible to bring a lawsuit against the hospital until the bankruptcy proceeding has been completed. Declaring bankruptcy means that the hospital does not have enough money to pay their bills; similar to a personal bankruptcy. Where a hospital is self-insured, which means that they do not buy malpractice insurance from an outside company to pay any judgments or settlements arising out of a lawsuit against them. Instead, they set up a fund (where they are self-funded) and set aside money in the event they have to pay out money for any lawsuits; both accident cases and medical malpractice cases.

In a bankrupcty proceeding, the bankruptcy court will try to work with the parties to re-structure the debt that is owed to the many creditors. In many bankruptcy cases involving a self-insured hospital, there may be no money left over to pay any judgment or settlement as a result of any injuries you suffered by that hospital.

Here's what you need to know if you've been the victim of wrongdoing by a hospital, like St. Vincent hospital in New York City that has declared bankruptcy:

1. You must file a claim within the specific time period required by the bankruptcy court.

When you file that claim, you are then listed as an unsecured creditor of the bankruptcy estate. This is legal-speak meaning that you are at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to getting paid for your injuries. In a bankruptcy proceeding, secured creditors are paid first. These are people with specific agreements with the hospital that demand they be paid first. Whatever money is left over is then used to pay "unsecured creditors" such as injured patients. Nice, isn't it?

Unsecured creditors are paid only after everyone else has been paid first. This means that whatever money is left over must now be distributed to the remaining people who are owed money by the hospital.

In reality, that means that if you are owed $1000, you'll probably receive 10 cents on the dollar, which means you'll probably wind up with $10 in your pocket after two years worth of litigation. The practical reality is that most experienced New York accident or medical malpractice attorneys will refuse to accept a case knowing that a patient has been harmed at a hospital that is currently in bankruptcy. That's not to say they won't; only that it's difficult to convince an attorney to take a case, knowing that there is a chance that you, their client, will receive very little, compared to what you should be entitled to receive if there were no bankruptcy.

The bottom line is that if you suffered injury as a result of improper medical care and treatment at a bankrupt hospital, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible for you to get full and fair compensation for your injuries New York. Beware of going to a hospital for medical treatment that is known to be in bankruptcy.

Physical Therapy You Can Expect to Receive After a Car Accident

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)30410 — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST

Today's guest post is written by Shannon Wills, who writes on the topic of Physical Therapy.

An automobile accident is a traumatic experience, one that brings on various mixed feelings. On the one hand you’re grateful to be alive, but on the other you’re wondering how you’re going to cope with the injuries the mishap has left you with. Different accidents give rise to different kinds of mishaps, so your treatment needs tend to vary accordingly. In general, if you suffer broken bones and sprained muscles, you may need surgical care first before moving on to physiotherapy.

Once you’re out of the hospital and ready to resume normal life, a physical therapist’s work is to help you re-learn all the activities that you did with ease before you were injured. Your joints and muscles need to be coaxed into working the way they did before the accident, and the exercises designed by your therapist help you achieve this.

If you’ve suffered neurological injuries, physical therapists can help you regain a sense of normalcy in your life. They work with you and train you to re-learn simple things that allow you to live independently – like how to brush your teeth, bathe and dress yourself, and even fix a simple meal to stave off hunger. Of course, the outcome of the treatment depends on the extent of your injuries, but there is proof to show that healthy parts of the brain can learn to do what the dead or injured cells normally did as a matter of routine.

Physical therapy also helps car accident victims when there is damage to the spinal cord; in tandem with neurological therapy and massage therapy, physical therapy has been used to improve the lives of patients with injuries to the spinal cord that disable them and leave them confined to bed or a wheelchair. Therapy helps them keep their muscles strong and prevent them from atrophying because they’re not using them. Also, massages are relaxing and also help release toxins and excess fluids which are trapped in your system and which cause debilitating pain.

The most common application of physical therapy after an automobile accident however is for joint, bone and ligament injuries. Once the corrective or reconstructive surgeries are done, it is up to you to do what it takes to get back to normal. Your therapist will set up an exercise program which you have to adhere to everyday. Once you reach a certain stage and are able to do certain things, your therapist steps up the intensity of the exercises and moves you up to the next level. All the exercises are targeted towards increasing mobility, improving flexibility, and enhancing muscle strength.

The right physical therapist can work wonders after a car accident, even for people who have suffered extensive injuries and are confined to bed for a long time.

ABOUT
This guest post is contributed by Shannon Wills, on the topic of Physical Therapy Assistant. She welcomes your comments at her email: shannonwills23@gmail.com.

Death From A Ruptured Shunt-NY Medical Malpractice Lawyer Explains

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)29438 — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST

Welcome and thank you for joining me. I'm Gerry Oginski a New York Medical malpractice and personal injury trial lawyer practicing law here in the State of New York.

Today's tip is is about a man who bled to death after undergoing dialysis. This man had been receiving dialysis for about a year or two. And in the week before the fateful day he had been complaining to the nurse and the technician who set up the dialysis equipment that he was having pain in his arm where the equipment would be attached.

Dialysis patients have something called an AV shunt, which is a connection between the artery and the vein that resides in the arm. And the nurse or the technician attaches the needle into that shunt in order to filter the patient's blood.

Now, about a week before the fateful day the patient had been complaining about pain in his arm and had told the nurse each time. The nurse pooh-poohed it and didn't really give it much thought and never bothered to call a doctor over to take a look at it. Why is that important? Well, it's important because on the day that the patient left dialysis he went home. And what happened was his wife came home from lunch that day, and as she proceeded to walk toward the front door she noticed that there was blood on the front steps. As she opened her front door she continued to follow the trail of blood. That trail led her directly her first floor bathroom. When she opened the bathroom what she saw looked like a murder scene.

Her husband was collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood. There was blood on the ceiling. There was blood on the walls. There was blood everywhere. There were open packages of bandages that had been opened and were on the floor.

The New York City Medical Examiner determined that he had attempted to apply pressure to stop the bleeding and by the time he got into the bathroom and was furiously trying to rip open bandages to apply pressure to his arm that was insufficient. And the medical examiner also determined that it took this man about five minutes to bleed to death. The fact is that this man died as a result of a shunt that ruptured, that was never diagnosed correctly and never treated. Because if a doctor had correctly recognized the infection in the shunt, he could have been treated with antibiotics and he could have had surgery to remove that shunt and put it in a different location.

It's clear from the New York City Medical Examiner's investigation that there was carelessness on the part of the dialysis center for not taking a look at the patient's shunt, especially when he had complained of it.

That's it for today's tip. I want to thank you for joining me. I'm Gerry Oginski. Have a great day.

New Jersey Lawyer Liable for Not Telling Medical Malpractice Clients of Settlement Offer

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)29187 — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

According to Law.com, a Mercer County, N.J., jury on March 22 found veteran litigator Gerald Stockman liable for legal malpractice for failing to convey a $400,000 offer to clients in a personal injury case, which ended in a verdict substantially lower.

Any attorney who handles personal injury cases has an obligation and ethical responsibility to convey to their client any offer that is made to them by the defense. It is then the attorney's obligation to discuss with them the merit and value of the offer. Ultimately, is the client's decision about whether to accept or reject an offer. However, like with many things, it's all in the presentation.

What do I mean?

I will often be questioning a doctor and ask how they presented the treatment plan. The doctor will usually say that he made various recommendations, and ultimately it was the patient's choice about which procedure to choose. This explanation usually rings hollow since most patients do not have any medical knowledge and rely entirely on the physician to make a recommendation.

There is a big difference between a doctor saying "Don't worry, we're going to do this procedure, and you'll be fine." Compare that statement to "You have the following three alternatives in this situation; you can do procedure number one, which has the following risks and benefits, or you could do procedure number two which has these limited risks or you could do procedure number three which has no risks. Which would you prefer?"

Likewise, when an attorney presents a settlement offer to their client, it's all about the presentation. An experienced attorney will tell the client about the settlement offer, then give his advice about what they think of the offer and whether it should be accepted. The client will then make a decision. Often, the client relies on the attorney to offer professional advice and experience since they have been in this position many times before.

In this case, there was a clear dispute between the experienced medical malpractice attorney in New Jersey, and the client's recollection of events immediately after trial. A jury listening to the legal malpractice case evidently believed the victims and not their attorney.

In cases that have significant settlement offers, a good attorney will often put their client on the witness stand, outside the presence of the jury, and under oath, ask their client whether they have been advised of the large settlement offer, and whether they are rejecting it of their own free will. This protects the attorney in the event a verdict comes in for less than the offer or, a verdict comes in for the defense. This way, the client can never turn around and say that he or she was never told about the settlement offer.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE IN NEW YORK; FACTS AND TRENDS

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)29141 — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

FACT:

Patients sue doctors and hospitals. They’re unhappy with the outcome of a procedure; they’re upset because a doctor misdiagnosed their condition and now they have a permanent injury or disability. That’s a fact. However, the facts and trends show an entirely different story.

Fact:
Most victims of medical malpractice in NY don’t even know they’ve been a victim of improper medical care because nobody tells them.

Trend:
Many victims are never compensated because they don’t realize they’ve been injured as a result of someone’s wrongdoing.

Fact:
The majority of meritorious cases that are brought are settled at or during trial.
Trend: Of those cases that are disputed and go to trial, doctors and hospitals win the majority of them, sometimes between 66%-80% of the time. Those are impressive statistics for the defense. The reasoning why doctors and hospitals win many cases has many components:

Juries like doctors;
Juries rely on doctors, nurses and hospitals for their own care and are loathe to blame a medical professional unless the treatment was glaring and obvious;
Juries have been conditioned and brain-washed by the insurance companies to believe that all lawsuits are frivolous, regardless of what happened or how or who should be taking responsibility for their own actions;
Jurors do not want to spend someone else’s money to give to an injured victim, believing that by giving away money, their own insurance rates will increase.

Trend:
Many people believe that just because they did not get an optimal result or perfect outcome that they’re entitled to bring a lawsuit for some type of compensation.

Fact:
Just because a patient believes something was done wrong, or that their outcome was not perfect does not mean that there’s a basis for a valid case. Each case must be reviewed by a medical expert who confirms (1) that there was wrongdoing; (2) that the wrongdoing caused harm; and (3) that the harm is significant and/or permanent. Without that confirmation, it is impossible to bring a lawsuit in New York.

Trend:
Injured victims wait until their families and friends have encouraged them to speak to a lawyer about a lawsuit. Sometimes, they wait too long.

Fact:
There are very strict time limits here in NY to bring a lawsuit against a private doctor or hospital. If your treatment happened in a municipal (City-owned) or a State-owned hospital, you have a very limited time to file a notice of claim, and then a very limited time to file your lawsuit. If you wait longer than the required time, you will likely not be able to bring a lawsuit for any injuries you believe were caused by a doctor or hospital. That’s why it’s so important to speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney immediately. You don’t want to have an attorney tell you that you would have had a valid case, if only you had come in earlier.

To learn more about how medical malpractice cases work in New York I encourage you to explore my website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com since I can answer your legal questions.

How Do You Choose a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in New York?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)28972 — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

You have a lot of choices. “Who’s the best?” “Who has the most experience?” “Who can get you the most money for your case?” “How do I know I can trust him?” “What does it cost to hire an experienced trial attorney?”

These are all valid questions and I’m going to answer each one here:

“Who’s the best?”

There is no specific answer for that question. There are a lot of good attorneys. However, lawyers are not permitted to say “Come to me because I’m the best…” The best at what? With what type of case? Under what circumstances? What set of facts? Which court? As of when? There are too many variables that it really becomes impossible for anyone to say “I’m the best.” Anyway, if a lawyer says that, they’d probably get in trouble with the ethics committee that governs what attorneys can say. Yes, it’s true; there is an ethics committee that controls what lawyers can say in their marketing messages.

“Who has the most experience?”

That’s easy to find out; just ask. “How long have you been handling and trying medical malpractice cases here in New York?” Warning: Just because a lawyer has been in practice longer than someone else, does not necessarily mean they are automatically “better” than a lawyer who has been in practice for less time.

“Who can get you the most money for your case?”

The answer to that question is impossible to answer. I know of lawyers in a trial law firm in New York City who privately comment on large jury awards and settlements and quietly boast that they could have gotten more money on a particular case. Could they have done so? Who knows? Is there any way to really know? No. Is there any way for a consumer to get an educated and intelligent answer to that question? No. Why not?

Each case is different. Each case has its’ own peculiar ups and downs. Each case is located in a different court before a different judge. Each defense attorney and their insurance company has their own peculiar standards. If an attorney tells you that they can get you “X” dollars for your case, or that they can get you more money than any other attorney, ask them to put that in writing. It will never happen, because no lawyer, no matter how good or experienced, can ever guarantee a result.

“Trust”

This is clearly the hardest thing to judge. You’ll make a judgment about the lawyer when you walk into their office. From their furnishings to the attorney, you are constantly thinking about how this lawyer can help solve your problem. There is no central lawyer directory where you can check to see which lawyers are trustworthy. Satisfied clients are just one way to judge the quality of a law firm and the lawyers that work there. However, you will probably not get very far to ask for a list of unhappy or disgruntled clients. You can always check with the grievance committee to see if there were any disciplinary actions against that attorney. However, that only proves a negative. If the lawyer has never had a complaint or been disciplined it only means that there’s never been a problem. It does not mean that the lawyer is worthy of your trust.

The best way to answer that question is to talk to the lawyer yourself; meet with the lawyer and judge for yourself. Obviously, you can’t always accurately tell that by talking and meeting with an attorney. However, it will give you a much better sense of who you’re dealing with compared to you never having met the attorney.

“What does it cost to hire an experienced New York trial lawyer?”

Nothing; at least not upfront.

“What does that mean?” It means that you can hire an experienced attorney without having to pay a dime out of your pocket when you begin. If you have a valid case and you start a lawsuit, the attorney and his law firm will pay all the expenses to prosecute your case till the end. Only if you are successful, and you receive money as a result of your lawsuit, will your attorney receive a percentage of what you win. This is commonly known as a contingency fee. The lawyer’s fee is contingent on you getting compensated. If you are not successful in your case, your lawyer gets no money and has spent a considerable amount of money to prosecute your case, without ever getting repaid. That is why most experienced attorneys will be very selective about which cases they accept. An attorney will usually only take a case if he reasonably believes you have a valid case (and must confirm that with an expert physician). Otherwise, he will never recoup the money he has paid to prosecute your case, or receive any attorney’s fee for the hundreds and thousands of hours of time he will put in to prosecute your case to a conclusion.

By becoming an educated consumer about who to choose as your attorney and learning about how cases like yours work, you’ll be able to make an intelligent decision about which lawyer is right for you.

For more information about how medical malpractice lawsuits work in NY, I encourage you to explore my website, http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me since I can answer your legal questions at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com.

Retained Lap Pad-Patient Needs 2nd Surgery To Remove

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)28194 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

I questioned a nurse last week in a case where a sponge was left inside a patient during gynecologic surgery.

She was a "scrub nurse" who assisted the doctor with instruments during surgery. It was her obligation, together with the "circulating nurse" to keep track of how many instruments were used; how many needles were used, and how many sponges or lap pads were used.

A lap pad is a 6" x 6" white cloth used to soak up fluid during surgery. Attached to this is a blue string which is radio-opaque. Attached to the blue string is a large white plastic disc. The reason the string is attached to the cloth is so that it will show up on x-ray, if an x-ray is taken.

The scrub nurse and circulating nurse are supposed to count the number of pads used during surgery. They are supposed to confirm each other's count. This is to ensure that there is nothing left behind in the patient at the time surgery is completed. You don't want the nurses and doctors to have that 'aha' moment where someone says "Oops, I can't believe I left that inside of you!"

In this particular case the patient complained of abdominal pain immediately after her surgery and continue to have worsening abdominal pain over the next 2-3 days. An x-ray revealed that there was a lap pad left in the patient's belly.

When I asked the nurse how many pads she counted at the end of surgery, she told me that the count was correct. She also told me that the circulating nurse had the same correct number as she did. She informed me that three days later, a nursing supervisor showed her the patient's x-ray which clearly showed a lap pad still in the patient's belly.

I asked her to explain how her count was correct if there was a retained pad in the patient's belly. She stressed that her count was correct and could not explain how this happened.

Traumatic Brain Injury

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)27975 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

The brain is a complex and vital organ that shapes who we are. It allows us to understand questions and solve intricate problems, it produces our emotions while crafting our personality, and it helps us to live on both a biological and spiritual level. If it should experience damage than the essence of who we are could be lost forever. This is why traumatic brain injuries can cause grave damage to the life of its victim.

According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a traumatic brain injury (also known as TBI) is an affliction that 1.4 million Americans sustain each year, 50,000 of which don’t survive. While TBI’s have differing levels of severity (ranging from mild to severe), they are usually acquired from a simple injury to the head and/or neck. Falls are the leading cause accounting for 28% of TBI’s, while motor vehicle accidents account for 20%. However, motor vehicle accidents have a higher frequency when it comes to TBI hospitalizations, which studies have shown effect over 280,000 people each year. The causes of the injury are wide in variety and can occur from open or closed head injuries to deceleration injuries (also known as a diffuse axonal injuries), but its complexities delve much deeper.

A traumatic brain injury can have life-altering effects on a victim’s emotional and physical well-being, but can also do severe damage to the physical nature of the brain. The injury may require years, if not decades, of special care and rehabilitation from care facilities like CareMeridian, Las Vegas Nursing Home. The impairments from a brain injury can affect speech, vision, coordination, the short term and long term memory, and may even result in mood swings and behavioral changes in personality. Considering that every brain injury is different, rehabilitation depends on the individual case and injury; yet, prevention is possible.

For an injury as debilitating as TBI, prevention is essential. Luckily, prevention is not difficult. When driving, the best way to avert a TBI is by wearing a seatbelt and not being under the influence of alcohol. In fact, according to the Brain Injury Association of America more than 50% of people with a brain injury were intoxicated at the time of their injury. It’s also smart to always wear a helmet when riding a bike, thus reducing the risk of a head injury by almost 90%. If the right precautions are taken, the severity of TBI’s can be reduced if not prevented.

There is a lot that is still unknown about the inner workings of the human brain. However, one thing known for certain is the life changing affects that a TBI can have on its victims as a result of irreversible damage to its function.

Man dies after 10 calls to 911

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)27495 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

There are some cases that we read about where you shake your head and wonder "What were they thinking?" You get a gut feeling that something was done wrong; an injustice that should have been addressed.

This is one of those cases.

In today's Newsday, writer Dan Neffin reported that a man having severe abdominal pain called 911 for emergency assistance. The man's girlfriend, Sharon Edge called 911 and was repeatedly told "help is on the way." Help never came. The boyfriend, Curtis Mitchell, died in his home without anyone ever coming to take him to a hospital.

Of course this story would not be complete without explaining that on February 6, 2010, the day he suffered severe pain and needed to go to a hospital, heavy snow was falling which brought Pittsburgh to a standstill. In addition, because of the snowstorm he had no electricity and was waiting for an Ambulance while huddled under a blanket.

Recently in New York we had a case involving a gentleman who passed out in a store and there were two emergency medical service workers at the store who apparently refused to render assistance to him. Their excuse was that they were telephone operators and had not rendered medical assistance in more than 15 years despite the fact that they were wearing their emergency medical services uniforms while on a lunch break.

If this had happened in New York, would there be liability against the city and emergency medical services?

To answer that question you need to look at the relationship between the person calling and the relationship of person giving information. The person calling is requesting an ambulance for an emergency medical condition. The telephone operator who answered the call, according to news reports, promised that help was on the way. The operator then contacted ambulance personnel and there were at least a dozen calls between 911 and paramedics. One could argue that there was an obligation together with reassurances to the victim that help was on the way and that assistance would be there shortly.

Interestingly, Pittsburgh public safety director Michael Huss said that the victim might have survived if he had been carried out to an ambulance.

Anytime you have a failure by a municipal agency to timely act, the question always is whether that delay in getting to the patient would have made a difference. If the answer is yes, then you have a strong argument that they had an obligation to attend to this man, and that their failure to timely get him to a hospital caused and contributed to his untimely death.

Just unbelievable.

I Can't Believe I Slipped On Ice!

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)27150 — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Over the years I have written many articles about slip and falls on snow and ice here in New York. I've had my share of slipping on ice.

Today in New York it's a rainy 35° and the ground is covered in certain parts with melting ice. Parking my car in the back of my office building left me on a large patch of ice. Feeling brave and fearless, I eagerly got out of my car and began the short walk to the front door of my building. My black leather shoes had zero traction despite my heel being made of rubber. Unfortunately, the day that I decided to park on a large patch of ice it figures that I was not wearing my snow boots.

It amazes me the speed at which someone goes from walking vertically to being flat on your back in a horizontal position looking straight up at the sky. I took one step on the uneven ice and in a fraction of a second wound up landing on my left elbow laying flat on the ground.

I know some people may find this amusing knowing that an attorney slipped and fell on ice in the back of his own office building, and that's OK. I also would have found it amusing and ironic except for the exquisite pain that remained in my elbow as I walked up to my office. Luckily for me, the pain dissipated and thankfully did not break anything, at least not that I know of.

This brought me back to thinking what an attorney must be able to prove in a case involving a slip and fall on ice in New York. We must show that the property owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition. We also have to show that the dangerous condition existed for a sufficient period of time so that the property owner should have fixed it to prevent injury to someone walking on their property.

In this particular case large patches of ice existed in the parking lot for an extended period of time. One could argue that the property owner knew or should have known of this icy condition. This is especially true since this is a heavily used and trafficked area for tenants in the building. A property owner cannot simply ignore or put their head in the sand and pretend the dangerous condition does not exist.

A property owner will typically argue that the changing weather conditions made it impossible for him to know exactly what the conditions were at any given time. This is especially true when temperatures rise above freezing during the day, and then as night approaches, the temperatures drop to below freezing levels and you have refreezing. In my case, I think it would be impossible for the owner to make that argument.

However, here's where many cases run into problems. Not only do we have to show that the property owner was responsible for the accident, but we also have to prove that the injuries you suffered are significant and/or permanent. What does this mean for someone who suffered bruising and the temporary loss of their dignity? It means that most experienced personal injury attorneys will shy away from taking a case unless the injuries are severe and serious.

The moral of the story?
It's time to have a nice chat with the owner of the building about ways to improve the parking lot to prevent people from suffering injury.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A DOCTOR SAY "I'M NOT GOING TO ORDER A TEST OR PROCEDURE, BECAUSE IT COSTS TOO MUCH?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)27005 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

DOCTORS WORRIED ABOUT COSTS?

I just read an article by James A. Greenberg, M.D., and Errol R. Norwitz, M.D., PhD, medical editors of "Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology." The editorial was titled "Creating the World's Most Expensive Circumcision. The article was sent to me by a friend of mine who is a physician who thought I might enjoy it.

Here's the premise behind the editorial:

Circumcisions in ancient times didn't cost anything. Now, they're expensive. Now, you have anesthetic, antiseptic, nursing care, gloves, sterile equipment and on and on. So far so good. In fact, the editorial even was interesting from a contrasting viewpoint of how they performed circumcisions in ancient times compared to now.

The authors real bias didn't hit me squarely in the head until the last paragraph. They shifted gears and started talking about rising health care in the United States. Here's the statement that really bothered me:

"Robotic surgery, fetal surgery, and umbilical cord blood collections are examples of technological advances that have crept insidiously into clinical practice without proven benefit and with disastrous consequences for healthcare costs. Cooler and more rational heads must prevail both for smaller procedures (eg, newborn circumcision) and larger national initiatives."

Wow! Talk about putting cost before health. These authors believe that fetal surgery has no proven benefit. They state that cord blood collections have no proven benefit. They fail to recognize the tremendous amount of medical literature that supports the use of cord blood to help specific medical diseases. They totally ingore the benefits to the patients and their families who have benefited from these innovative treatments and procedures. That's the point of being part of a technologically advanced society; to better ourselves and our children.

Unfortunately, these physicians and their editorial appear only concerned with cost. What a pity.

Testicluar Torsion

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)26310 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Your child complains of pain in their testicle. There was no trauma or accident. You look and don't find anything wrong. Your child still complains. You give him a warm bath. He still has pain.

Testicular pain can be a warning sign that your child may have a twisted testicle, also known as testicular torsion. Failure to timely diagnose and treat a twisted testicle by a doctor or hospital can result in death of the testicle. How?

When the blood supply to the testicle gets cut off or reduced because it is entangled or twisted, you have a limited window of opportunity in which to have it fixed before the testicle dies. The key warning sign is pain. Don't ignore it. At the hospital, they have doppler color flow tests to evaluate whether there is blood flowing through the spermatic cord and into the testicle.

If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call since I can answer your legal questions at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I welcome your call.

Gerry
The Law Office of Gerald Oginski, LLC
25 Great Neck Rd., Ste. 4
Great Neck, NY 11021
516-487-8207
lawmed10@yahoo.com

$2.9 Million Settlement for Death of 6 Year Old While in MRI

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)26311 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

In a horribly tragic case in Westchester, New York, a 6 year old boy was killed while undergoing an MRI in 2001. A technician had been walking by with an oxygen cannister that should never have been in the area because of the powerful magnet being used. The cannister became a missile and struck and killed the little boy.

The hospital publicly admitted liability and initially offered the family $1 million to settle. The offer was rejected. After 9 years of tortured litigation, motions and appeals, the family finally settled this case for $2.9 million.

New York Attorney John Hochfelder does a great job evaluating and giving a full analysis of this case, together with his reasons for why this death case had such a high value. He commends New York attorney Tom Moore, senior partner at Kramer Diloff Livingston and Moore for having the tenacity to achieve what most other attorneys could not have accomplished. I wholeheartedly agree with John's assessment of Tom Moore and Matt Gaier.

To read the entire blog post, click here.

New York Personal Injury Law Firm Sanctioned $6,000 For "Spiteful" Lawsuit

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)25850 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

This falls under the "Stupid is as Stupid does" Forrest Gump category.

It was inevitable. A woman hired New York personal injury law firm Morelli Ratner to represent her in a medical malpractice case. Shortly thereafter her case was dismissed and the woman brought a lawsuit for legal malpractice against her lawyers. Morelli Rattner then brought a lawsuit against the woman (their former client) seeking to recover $6,000 in expenses that they had incurred to prosecute her medical malpractice matter.

In a scathing decision by Judge Goodman in New York County Supreme Court, she sanctioned the law firm of Morelli Rattner $6,000 for their ridiculous lawsuit seeking to recover legal expenses against their former client. She called their lawsuit "spiteful" and "wasteful."

Law.com, where this story initially appeared, reported the case name: Kremen v. Benedict P. Morelli & Associates, P.C., 101739/06.

Unbelievable.

Excessive Radiation Kills 2 New York Patients

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)25542 — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

Today, January 24, 2010, the New York Times exposes two severe instances of cancer patients in New York, who died not of their cancer, but of excessive radiation doses to TREAT their cancer. This is a moving video.

In an expose video, the Times explains how excessive radiation doses are never disclosed to the public. The New York State Department of Health has identified over 130 instances of careless administration of radiation, and the two people profiled in this report were the most severe.

It is very troubling that when a patient who has been diagnosed with cancer seeks life-saving radiation treatment to try and cure their underlying disease, that the personnel, the manufacturer of the radiation equipment and the hospitals failed miserably to recognize their mistakes BEFORE causing permanent and irreversible damage.

Everyone needs to watch this video.

"Almost" Doesn't Count

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)25511 — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

I often get calls from potential clients telling me that because of some doctor's wrongdoing they "almost" died.

Luckily for them, "almost" doesn't count.

Some callers say they almost suffered permanent harm from carelessness of a doctor or nurse. Again, "almost" doesn't count.

When I explain to these callers that "almost" doesn't count, they get angry. They can sometimes get defensive. "What do you mean 'almost' doesn't count? Are you telling me that if I had died, I'd have a case?" The answer sometimes is "Yes."

In New York, an attorney must be able to prove that a doctor or hospital was careless. The legal terminology is that the doctor departed from good and accepted medical care.

We must then be able to prove that the doctor's carelessness was "a" cause of your injury. Legally, this is known as 'causation'. I say "a cause" because we are not required to prove that the wrongdoing was the "only cause." This is especially true when there may be multiple explanations for what occurred.

The last point we must be able to prove is that you suffered significant and/or permanent injury as a result of the wrongdoing. A temporary bruise doesn't count. Almost dying doesn't count.

Often I will ask a caller to answer the following important question:
"What do you think was done wrong that caused you permanent harm?"

This question contains each of the three elements needed to establish a valid case in New York. If any part of the answer includes "almost," remember that "almost" doesn't count.

Ambulance Chasers

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)24775 — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

The first time I heard the term "ambulance chaser" I must have been in college. I had no idea what it meant. I had no idea it was a derogatory term. In fact, I had no idea what personal injury lawyers did or why someone would call them an ambulance chaser.

That all changed when I went to law school and decided to be a medical malpractice and personal injury trial lawyer. I learned that some people referred to personal injury lawyers as "ambulance chasers" to reflect an attorney's eagerness to get accident cases in order to make money. Many felt that lawyers encouraged the public to actively bring lawsuits just to generate fees for these over-eager and zealous attorneys.

Yet the more I learned about the world of a personal injury and the attorneys who handled significant cases, the more I realized that these were hard-working, ethical people who had a true desire to to help injured victims recover compensation. These were not the 'money-grubbing', no-holds-barred people, described in the press. These lawyers wanted to reform the way businesses made defective products; they saw ways to help the little guy when nobody else would. Would they earn money by helping? Yes. Would they lose money if they lost. Definitely.

Long gone are the days when accident attorneys trolled the emergency rooms for trauma victims, handing out cards. Long gone are the days when lawyers descended on plane crash victims as soon as the news reports went live. Long gone are the days when a lawyer would hang around a funeral home waiting to talk to a widow. This type of conduct is notoriously evident in the Paul Newman movie, "The Verdict," where Paul Newman plays a down-and-out injury attorney trolling for cases wherever he can find them.

There have always been lawyers who skate on the border of what might be considered questionable conduct. However, I am happy to say that the great majority of my colleagues are on the right side of justice and do everything possible to help when tragedy strikes.

Imagine if there were no trial lawyers to speak out for those who could not. There would be no recalls of defective toys; defective cars or defective medications. If there were no trial lawyers, businesses would have free rein to limit wages to workers and fail to pay them compensation if they were injured on the job. If there were no trial lawyers, companies would never change the way they built their products since there would be no incentive for them to change if their product caused someone harm.

If there were no trial lawyers, you would be unable to navigate your way through the legal system when you broke your hip after tripping and falling on a broken sidewalk that had not been fixed for five years. No trial lawyers means you'd have no idea what to do when an oncoming car crossed the double yellow line crashing into you head-on and you're in the hospital for the next seven months recuperating from permanent brain injuries. You'd be at the mercy of the car insurance company and would probably accept whatever they wanted to pay you.

Trial attorneys are advocates for injured victims. It's that simple. If you call that advocate an 'ambulance chaser' or any other derogatory term, that's your choice. However, that advocate would stand up for you if you were injured because of someone else's carelessness. What would you call that lawyer then? "Friend," perhaps?

Settlement Reached at Same Time as Jury Verdict-Result?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)23854 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

This medical malpractice case, tried in Kings County Supreme Court, also known as Brooklyn, NY had a bizarre twist.

The case involved a man who underwent knee surgery and suffered permanent injury. The first trial resulted in a verdict of $1.5 million. After appeal, the case had to be re-tried. During the second trial, as the jury was deliberating, the parties agreed to settle the case for $150,000. The jury, almost simultaneously announced they had reached a verdict.

The judge refused to allow the parties to put the settlement on the record! The jury decision was announced: $1.4 million for the injured victim. Defendant appeals. Read the article by John Hochfelder to see what happened on appeal.

EMTs Accused of Ignoring Dying Woman Get Suspended, Investigated

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)23857 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Two New York Emergency Medical Technician's employed by the New York Fire Department were suspended yesterday for failing to help a pregnant woman after she had collapsed. Instead, according to reports, they directed people to call 911. How's that for cold comfort?

Both mother and baby died. Results of the autopsy are pending.
Read the article here at Gothamist for a chilling account of indifference by people who are paid to help injured victims.

NY Medical Malpractice-How To Find an Attorney

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)23718 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

It's holiday time. You're sitting around the table listening to family members discuss the tragedy that has befallen on someone close to you.

You hear these questions:

"How did this happen?"
"Why did this happen?"
"Why didn't the doctor speak to us after it happened?"
"What if..."
"Nobody is telling us what's happening."
"What's going to happen to him?"
"Who can watch the kids, while the adults go to the hospital and keep a constant vigil?"

Someone pipes up and says "We should speak to a lawyer."
Someone else says "Who? We don't know any lawyers."

Where do you start to look for a lawyer when you have questions?
What questions do you need to ask a lawyer to determine if you might have a valid case?

The answers to these questions can be found; the key is knowing where to look.

A consumer typically would open their yellow pages to look for a plumber; but an attorney? Some would.
Maybe they'd jot down a phone number they saw on daytime TV from a lawyer saying "INJURED? Call me."
Maybe they'd remember a catchy jingle they heard on the radio about some lawyer.

If this is how you want to start your search, ask yourself this important question:
How do those ads help you distiguish one lawyer from another?
How can you tell whether those lawyers are right for you?
The answer is that you can't.

You need to look for an attorney who provides you with free books; free reports; free video tips and explains the legal process. You need this information BEFORE you ever make an appointment and walk into an attorney's office. This way, you'll know what information you need to know before ever speaking to an attorney.

Do New York Doctors Wake Up and Say "Who Can I Injure Today?"

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)23782 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

With all the talk about health reform today, and proposed 'tort reform' by Republicans together with sensationalized lawsuits in the newspaper today, it's no wonder that many people think that they're "Entitled" to money just because they had a bad outcome.

Our society is conditioned to think, rightfully so, that if they've been wronged, then they have a right to go to court and obtain compensation from the person or company that caused them harm.

When it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits in New York, do you really think that your doctor woke up that morning and said to himself (or herself) "Who can I injure today?" Unlikely. Instead, what we experienced lawyers regard as a departure from good medical practice, may, in the mind of a physician be simply a bad judgment for which a patient had a poor outcome.

Remember, not every bad outcome represents malpractice. I often tell potential clients when they call that "Just because you suffered a complication or a bad outcome, does not necessarily mean that you have a valid case. You may, but you need to know how an experienced lawyer evaluates a case like yours."

Many people who call an attorney automatically think that because the doctor had a bad bedside manner, or the patient is now worse off than when they had the treatment, then something must have been done wrong. That type of thinking is often not accurate.

Also, contrary to popular belief, the majority of good medical malpractice lawyers refuse to take most cases because either they lack merit, or the damages (injuries) the patient suffered is not significant. Our role has been described as a gatekeeper, keeping out most cases that do not belong in the legal system.

Do some cases get through that should not? Yes.
Do some over-zealous attorneys take on a case that should not be brought? Yes. But this extremely small percentage is statistically insignificant and the jury system works in those cases by discarding those that lack merit, and rewarding compensation to those that rightfully deserve it.

Failure to Diagnose Aneurysm

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)22545 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

What is an aneurysm? It’s a balloon-like bubble that appears on the side of a blood vessel. The wall of the blood vessel becomes weakened. If it gets too weak, the blood vessel will rupture and you can bleed to death rapidly.

There are different types of aneurysms: Abdominal aortic aneurysm; cerebral aneurysm and many others. An aneurysm is often diagnosed by angiogram, where a dye is injected and is visible on x-ray, CAT scan or MRI. Many aneurysms do not require intervention. Only where it may be life-threatening or is already leaking does immediate treatment become necessary.

A leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm is often mistaken for cardiac symptoms. Such a mistake has deadly consequences. Likewise, a blood vessel in the brain that leaks often has devastating results.

The failure to recognize a dissecting or rupturing aneurysm can prove fatal. The key is understanding what the standard of care was at the time. In New York, a physician must confirm that there was a deviation from the standard of care, and that departure from good care caused injury, in order to start a medical malpractice lawsuit here in New York.

"Please Take Over My Medical Malpractice Trial...NOW" pleads woman in middle of a trial

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21986 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

I received a call late tonight from a woman who was in the middle of a medical malpractice trial here in New York. She asked whether I would like to take over her case since she was unhappy with how her attorney was representing her.

I told her that it would be impossible since the trial judge would not suspend her trial just to get a new attorney. Nor would the judge give her a 'do-over' because she didn't like the way the testimony was going in to the jury. The middle of a trial is not the time to realize that you don't like your attorney.

I told her there was nothing I could do to help her, and that any questions or concerns she has, should be directed to her current trial attorney. She didn't seem very happy with my response. In addition, I told her that even if she would be able to discharge her lawyer and another one came in to take his place, the first lawyer would have a significant lien against the attorney's fee for all of the work he did up to that point.

That means that the second lawyer would have very little incentive to take on a case with such baggage.

The bottom line?

Get to know your attorney before ever getting to trial.

How to Ask Your Treating Doctor to Be Your Expert in Your Medical Malpractice Case

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21754 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

In every medical malpractice case here in New York, we are required to prove your case using a medical expert. The expert must have confirmed that there is wrongdoing; that the wrongdoing caused injury; and that your injury is significant and permanent.

Many times, you, as the injured victim, may be unaware that there has been any wrongdoing. The first inkling of a problem is where one physician criticizes the treatment you had by another doctor.

Let's say you experienced a bad outcome with Doctor #1 and now continue your treatment with Doctor #2. This doctor will have much more information than a doctor who merely reviews your medical records as an expert. It is always preferable to have a treating physician come into court and testify not only about his review of your medical records, but also about his physical examination of you; his findings; and his treatment plan.

I often have clients ask me "How do I ask my treating doctor if they will come into court and be an expert in my medical malpractice lawsuit?" Here's my response:

I always recommend that you be up front and honest with your treating doctor. Let him know that you have significant concerns about the treatment you received in the past. You might suggest letting your current doctor know that in order to prove a valid claim against the original doctor who caused you harm, it is necessary for you to bring in a medical expert who can talk about what the standard of care is in your community. I always advocate that doctors should stand up and be able to say, without fear of retribution, whether a colleague treated a patient appropriately and in accordance with good and accepted medical practice.

In many medical specialties, there is great reluctance for physicians to stand up and speak out against their colleagues, regardless of what town, county or state they practice in. In those cases where the patient's own treating doctor refuses to cooperate and come in as a medical expert, we have no choice but to go to our own stable of medical experts to review the records and comment upon them.

Years ago, I had two different malpractice cases which were coming up for trial. I specifically tried to contact expert witness doctors who were known for frequently testifying for doctors and hospitals. I wanted them to review a case on behalf of an injured victim. To my surprise, neither one of these physicians would agree to review the records on behalf of my clients. The purpose of bringing in an expert medical witness is to explain to the jury what the records mean and have an experienced physician interpret those medical records.

If an expert witness has testified for both sides, is much harder to show that this expert witness is entirely biased. It is much easier to show a consistent bias if the expert doctor testifies only for doctors and hospitals.

The bottom line? Tell your treating doctor that without having his knowledge and expertise to help prove your case, you will need to hire someone who has not had the benefit of his expertise and his examination and treatment of you.

How to Choose a New York Lawyer From a TV Commercial

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21755 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Fact: You've been involved in an accident and are now sitting at home recuperating. You turn on the TV to watch mind-numbing daytime television (apologies to all those who do this on a regular basis) and notice that there is a lawyer commercial after every single TV break. You finally realize that you need an attorney to help solve your legal problems that were caused by your accident. But each lawyer ad that you see says pretty much the same thing. How do you decide which law firm is right for you just by watching these 30 second lawyer commercials?

The bottom line is that you can't and here's why:

Most lawyer commercials are 30 seconds long. In those 30 seconds, they don't have the ability to explain to you how they can help solve your legal problem. An attorney's goal in creating a 30 second message is basically to catch your attention so that you might pick up the phone and call them immediately after watching the commercial. Practically every personal-injury commercial gives you the same information. Ask yourself whether these overly-used common phrases help you distinguish one lawyer from another when watching these television commercials:

'Injured?'
'Been in an accident?'
'We can help'
"Over 60 years combined experience'
'You may be entitled to a cash award'
'We fight for you'
'The insurance companies are afraid of us'
'We know the judges'
'Call me now'

If you watch any daytime TV, these phrases should be so ingrained in your head that they are all mind-numbingly useless. None of this information helps distinguish one lawyer from another. If every lawyer is shouting out the same message, how do you, as a consumer, use that information to make an educated decision about which lawyer is really the right one for you?

Unfortunately, in those 30 seconds lawyers do not have the ability to explain to you how they can help solve your legal problem. Those truncated commercials don't give you free reports that explain what they can do for you and what they have done in the past. Those commercials do nothing more than shout at you and tell you to call them. Importantly, they never explain why you should pick up the phone to call them.

The next time you see a lawyer commercial, and ask yourself why you should call that attorney. Does that lawyer answer the question of why they are the right lawyer for you? 99.9% of the commercials don't answer that key question. They may be the right lawyer for you. Then again, they might not.

Your goal as an injured victim searching for an attorney is to become as educated as possible to determine which lawyer is the right one for you. Only by becoming educated will you be able to make proper decisions about which lawyer to hire. I will tell you that I have been a practicing lawyer for over 21 years handling accidents and medical malpractice cases here in the state of New York. I study lawyer commercials and lawyer advertisements, and I find it difficult, if not impossible, to answer the question of why one particular law firm should be called simply based upon their 30 second television commercial. If you can find a compelling reason to call one law firm over another based solely on their television commercial, then I congratulate you.

How to Choose a New York Lawyer From the Yellow Pages

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21756 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Fact: You've been injured and need to hire a New York attorney to represent you in your accident or medical malpractice case.
Fact: You don't know an attorney, and don't know a family member who knows an attorney.
Fact: You decide to look in the Yellow Pages for an attorney.
Fact: If you live in the New York metropolitan area, your Yellow Pages book is likely to have 30-40 pages worth of lawyer ads. The first 10-15 pages will likely be full-page color ads. After that, you are likely to find full-page ads in yellow or in white. After that, you are likely to see half-page ads or quarter-page ads.
Fact: Many law firms now take out two full-page ads, which are known as "double truck" ads, or even four full-page consecutive ads.

Question: How can you, as a consumer, tell the difference between a law firm that has a half page ad compared to a law firm that has two full-page ads? The answer is: You can't. Why not?

In order to answer that question let me ask you if the following phrases help you decide which lawyer is right for you:

"Injured?"
"Free consultation"
"Hurt in an accident? Get the money you are entitled to."
"We fight for maximum cash awards for the seriously injured"
"Aggressive and skilled trial lawyers"
"No fee unless we recover"
"Experience counts"
"Millions recovered in settlements and verdicts"
"No settlement, no fee"
"Over 20 years experience"
"Tell the insurance companies you mean business"
"Same day appointments"
"Immediate hospital and home visits"
"Convenient locations"

Do these phrases sound familiar? If you have opened your phone book, they should. These types of ads are found in practically every state in the country. Why? Because attorneys like to follow the crowd and think that if all of their competitors are doing the same thing, it must be working.

Getting back to the question I asked above, how do these phrases help you distinguish which lawyer is right for you? The bottom-line answer is: They don't. None of these ads educate you about whether a particular law firm can help solve your legal problem. None of those phrases above help distinguish one law firm from another. Rather, they rely on who can shout out the largest message that will catch your eye as you turn the pages from one law firm to another.

Do you really want to select an attorney the way that you hire a plumber? By picking out the biggest ad there is, thinking that bigger automatically means that the company you are hiring is better than someone who has a smaller ad? There is simply no way for a consumer to tell the difference. I will tell you that I have been in practice for over 21 years representing injured victims in accident and medical malpractice cases here in New York, and I cannot tell the difference between one firm and another from a yellow pages ad. If an experienced lawyer can't distinguish one law firm from another, how then can you expect a consumer to make an intelligent decision about which law firm is right for you?

The problem with Yellow Pages ads is that they do not convey information that you need to know before deciding whether to hire a particular firm. A law firm with a smaller ad may be the right one for you. On the other hand a law firm with a big four-page ad may have the money and resources to properly prosecute your case. Did you know that a full-page ad in the Yellow Pages here in New York costs $25,000-$30,000 for one year? Most people don't know that.

When looking to hire an attorney, you need to ask whether the firm has experience handling cases just like yours; who will be handling your case on a day-to-day basis; what information does the law firm provide before you ever walk into their office; whether they provide free reports, free books or even free video tips.

Only by becoming an educated consumer can you make an informed decision about which law firm is right for you.

How to Hire a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Without Paying a Dime (upfront)

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21757 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Fact: You have been injured as a result of improper medical care. You are now looking for an attorney to help solve your legal problems. How do you hire a medical malpractice lawyer in New York without having to pay a penny (upfront)?

The answer is simpler than you think.

Before I get to the answer, it's important to understand how lawyers were paid 100 years ago. When someone had a legal problem and they went to an attorney, the attorney expected to be paid for the time he spent working on their legal matter. In some consumer-oriented types of law, many consumers did not have money to pay for legal services. In some cases lawyers began to barter with clients; they'd exchange goods and services, in lieu of cash. For complicated cases, unless the attorney was willing to take on the case "Pro Bono," which means free of charge, the client would be unable to hire a lawyer if he did not have sufficient funds to pay.

In the mid-20th century, lawyers realized, especially in accident and medical malpractice matters, that many injured victims simply did not have the finances to hire an experienced trial attorney. In order to get around this problem, lawyers developed a formula that would allow injured victims to hire the best lawyers they could find without having to pay a single dime upfront. What was this plan?

This was the birth of the "contingency fee." This meant that people who could not afford to hire a great trial lawyer could now walk into their office, and if they had a valid case that the attorney was willing to accept, they would not have to pay the attorney a single penny to prosecute their case. The lawyer would pay all of the expenses to prosecute a case involving negligence or medical malpractice. At the end of two or three years, when the case finally concluded, either by settlement or by jury trial, the lawyer would accept a percentage of whatever money he could recover for the injured victim.

This created a "win-win" situation for both the attorney and the injured client. Why?

Simple. The attorney would be the one taking on the biggest risk if he accepted a medical malpractice case on contingency. This meant that he would have to make an educated business decision at the beginning of the case to determine whether it was worth his time and money. If the attorney made a bad investment choice, then the lawyer would be the only one to suffer the repercussions which involved a waste of his time and his own money. If on the other hand, the lawyer was successful in obtaining compensation for his injured client, the client would now receive a substantial portion of the proceeds and the lawyer would be rewarded for his efforts with a percentage of what he was able to recover.

The contingency fee arrangement has remained in place for more than the 21 years I have been in practice here in New York. Many people do not realize that in a medical malpractice case, an attorney's fee is calculated based on a sliding scale. This means that the more money we recover for our client, the less fee we recover. The thinking is that the injured victim should retain more money. This is entirely different than if we represent somebody in a car crash case, where the lawyer's fee is one third (after attorney's expenses).

As an example, if I am able to obtain a $5 million settlement in a medical malpractice case, the total attorney's fee may be around 15%. This is significantly less than in an accident case. Nevertheless, there is still a great incentive for an experienced attorney to take on a significant case. What is the incentive? The incentive is that without an experienced attorney's guidance, the injured victim may be unable to recover any money at all. And without having a contingency fee, where the lawyer's fee is contingent upon success, there is no way that an ordinary person would be able to pay a lawyer an hourly fee for all the work that is necessary to prosecute a medical malpractice case.

The bottom line?

Contingency fees work. They allow people without financial means to hire the best attorney they can find to prosecute their case without ever having to lay out a single penny upfront.

How to Start a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in New York

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21758 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

If you suspect that you have been the victim of wrongdoing by a doctor or hospital here is what you need to know:

The first thing you must determine is whether you were potential case is timely. If your time to bring a lawsuit has expired, there is nothing you will be able to do to obtain compensation through a civil lawsuit in New York.in order to determine whether your potential case is timely, you really need to speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney to give you specific legal advice about your set of facts. There are different time limits for adults compared to children; private hospitals compared to municipal hospitals; state-owned hospitals compared to private hospitals; among other time traps that you may not be aware of.

Once you have determined that your potential action is timely, here are the three required elements that must be proven in order to start a medical malpractice lawsuit in New York:

1. You must be able to prove that a doctor or hospital departed from the standard of care.
2. You must be able to prove that the wrongdoing was a cause of your injury.
3. You must be able to show that your injuries are significant and/or permanent.

Each of those elements must be confirmed by a physician who has either treated you or reviewed all of your records. If any one of those elements is missing, then there is no way to bring a viable case.

In order to determine whether each of those necessary elements are present in your case, you must do a thorough investigation. This involves obtaining all of your medical records up to the present time. once all of your records are obtained, a qualified medical expert, or multiple experts, must review your records to either confirm or rule-out a basis for your case.

Once you have confirmed that you have a valid case, then it is actually time to start your lawsuit.

You must prepare a document known as a summons together with a complaint. There are specific legal requirements regarding what must be contained within the summons as well as what you must put in your complaint. If you fail to have all the necessary elements listed there, you will have many legal problems later on down the road. That is why it is so crucial for you to seek experienced medical malpractice counsel in New York to help you with your particular case. Once you have prepared the summons and complaint, you must now file it in the county clerk's office and pay the appropriate fees.

To make matters even more complicated, those documents, known as the "summons and complaint" must now be delivered to the people that you are suing in a very particular manner. If you fail to deliver those papers appropriately, you'll never get your lawsuit off the ground.

Can you do all of this on your own? Sure you could. You could also do all the rewiring in your house even though you are not an electrician. At the same time you might want to handle all of your plumbing needs by reading a few "how-to" books. While you are at it, you might want to repair and replace your entire roof, even though you may know nothing about roofing. and when your car breaks down, make sure you do all the repairs yourself because you read a few articles online about how to replace your transmission.

Do I recommend handling in medical malpractice case yourself? The answer is "No." Not only do you need to know the detailed steps of how to evaluate a potential case, but you need to avoid all of the legal minefields that occur with inexperience. You should know that the doctors and hospitals in New York hire the best defense trial lawyers to represent them in these cases. Unless you have over 20 years of legal experience trying medical malpractice cases, I strongly urge you not to handle your own medical malpractice case, and rather hire an experienced attorney to help guide you through the legal traps you are sure to fall into.

WHY DO LAWYERS USE PRESS RELEASES TO MARKET THEMSELVES?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21590 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Every day when I go online, I see press releases that attorneys put online telling the world about what they do for a living. Most of these press releases are typical of the 30 second TV commercial we have grown to hate over the years. Most ads for lawyers and TV commercials lack any real information that help explain why you as a consumer of legal services should choose that particular attorney over any other attorney.

There are certain instances where lawyers have achieved remarkable results, and in those instances, I can clearly understand why an attorney would put out a press release announcing a fantastic result he was able to achieve.

However, I monitor various attorney keywords on a daily basis, and unfortunately most attorneys use press releases simply as another tool to market their bland and ineffective message.

You should also ask "Why is an attorney using a press release to explain that he practices law?"
Many attorneys simply pay a service a monthly fee to create press releases and send them out on a regular basis.

When you see a press release with an attorney's name or law firm, obviously you will Google them to see what else they have online. Take it one step further. Type in the specialty that they practice together with the geographic area where they are located, and see where they come up on the Google search engine ranking area.

Press releases are just another way to shout out to the world "Ooh Ooh pick me, pick me" without giving the viewer any real reason or explanation why you should choose him over any other lawyer.

A Defense Attorney's Agenda

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)21475 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

You have brought a lawsuit seeking compensation for the injuries you suffered at the hands of a doctor or hospital. Your goal, is to win your case and to obtain "Justice" for the injury you suffered. Your attorney is known as a "plaintiff's attorney." His entire goal is to obtain compensation for your injuries. His success is directly linked to yours. Should he win your case or settle your case favorably, he stands to receive a portion of whatever is recovered, after his expenses.

Not many people outside of New York recognize that the lawyer's fee in medical malpractice cases in New York only starts at 30% and decreases by 5% as we go up in the amount we recover for you. To put it simply: 30% is the maximum fee allowed in New York. As we go up incrementally, the attorney's fee goes down by 5%. This is known as a "sliding scale."

What does this have to do with a defense attorney's agenda? Everything.

A defense attorney's job is to defend the doctor or hospital as best he can. A defense lawyer gets paid by the doctor's insurance company. He gets paid an hourly fee for the work he performs. It is an unspoken fact that defense attorneys prefer to handle a case as long as possible before having to resolve it or go to trial. Why? The longer they handle a particular case, the more they are able to bill for the work they perform. There is no incentive for a defense attorney to resolve a case sooner rather than later.

Having said that, there are some excellent medical malpractice defense lawyers in New York who recognize troublesome cases at the beginning of a lawsuit. Those experienced trial lawyers will sometimes attempt to resolve a case in the early stages to save the insurance company money by having to pay extensive legal fees, a protracted trial and appeal.

Good defense attorneys who recognize they cannot defend a case will recommend to their insurance carrier that they should make an effort to resolve a case sooner rather than later. An early settlement can often save an insurance company a great deal of money by discounting the ultimate amount of compensation a victim receives years before the case goes to trial.

An experienced plaintiff's attorney recognizes the benefits of early settlement because it means that his client will receive a guaranteed amount of money years earlier, without the need to spend many thousands of dollars. Of course, along with that early settlement proposal, both sides recognize that they expect some type of discount for the benefit of settling early.

The defense attorney's only incentive to settle a case early and save the insurance company money is the knowledge that doing so may put him in good standing with the insurance company. An attorney who saves an insurance company money is likely to benefit from additional cases that the insurance company sends to them as a "reward" for saving money.

Conclusion:

When you wonder why your case is not settling early, keep in mind a defense attorney's hidden agenda and recognize that you may have to go to trial in order to prove your case. Your attorney should recognize this and be prepared to go the distance in every case.

Frivolous Lawsuits in New York City: Where Are They?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)20451 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

"Hey Sam, did you read about the lawsuit where the neurosurgeon operated on the wrong side of the patient's brain?"
"Yeah. I wonder how a brain surgeon could have made such a simple mistake?"

When was the last time that you actually read about a "FRIVOLOUS" lawsuit in the newspaper or one that was reported on TV? Sure there are some stupid lawsuits that should never have been brought; look at the Judge who sued his dry cleaner for thousands of dollars because the dry cleaner destroyed his pants.

But really. Think about the last time you heard about a frivolous medical malpractice case in New York. I haven't heard of one in a long time, and I've been in this business for over 21 years.

I know that when a doctor is sued for providing negligent care and being careless, 99 times out of a 100 they feel they did nothing wrong. Yet the injured victim has a totally different opinion. When you have two competing opinions, where each side has their own medical experts to support their position, if a jury ultimately sides with the doctor, does that mean that the patient's lawsuit was "Frivolous?"

If the patient wins, does that mean that the doctor should have never defended the lawsuit, since his defense was "Frivolous?"

Personally, I think this is semantics; a play on words. Each side can manipulate their viewpoint to show how the other side's position was "frivolous" at the end of the case. What does that mean for the argument for or against the way medical malpractice lawsuits are handled here in New York and throughout the country?

It means that you need to look at the fundamentals of why we, as citizens of this State and Country, are permitted to bring lawsuits. The reasoning even goes back to Talmudic (ancient biblical) times. If someone causes harm to another, they must pay. It's as simple as that. The payback includes actual costs; the cost to replace a destroyed item as well as the intangible cost- the suffering caused when the incident occurred.

Our common law adapted those basic fundamental rights, and gave citizens the absolute right to seek compensation in a Court of law. That rule of law applies to anyone in any State in the United States. If you are a company and a competitor stole your secrets; you have an absolute right to go to court and try to prove that you were wronged and seek compensation from the wrongdoer.

If you are in a business that makes T-shirts and you hired a vendor to supply you with special t-shirts and the vendor breached his contract and you lost hundreds of thousands of dollars; you have an absolute right to go into court claiming breach of contract and try to prove that you're entitled to be compensated for your business losses.

If those businesses lost their cases, for whatever reason, does that mean that they had "Frivolous" cases? If they won their cases, does that mean the people or companies that they sued had "Frivolous" defenses? You see the semantics and how this word "frivolous" has little meaning depending on who won or who lost?

The next time you read about "Frivolous" lawsuits here in New York or anywhere in our great United States of America ask yourself who is claiming the case was frivolous? The winner or loser? Then you'll have a better understanding of their agenda and why they want people to think cases are frivolous.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

New York Judge Rules Health Insurance Company Has No Right to a Lien

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)20024 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Typically, in a medical malpractice or personal injury case in New York, an injured victim has their medical care and treatment paid by their health insurance company. (This assumes of course that they have health insurance and does not discuss the different issues that arise when Medicare or Medicaid are involved.)

When an injured victim brings a lawsuit against the person or company that caused the injury, the health insurance company that paid for your medical bills usually turns around and asks to be reimbursed for that money. That is known as a "Right of Subrogation." If you were injured and need to see a doctor but don't have money to pay, the doctor, knowing that you'll be bringing a lawsuit for your injuries may agree to treat you and he will have a "lien" against the proceeds of your lawsuit. This means at the end of your case, if you are successful, you are required to repay the doctor for his treatment of you.

So what does this have to do with the case of Thomas v. Waller 113940/07, that was just decided by Justice Alice Schlesinger, a sitting judge in the Supreme Court of the State of New York and reported in the New York Law Journal on Tuesday, October 13, 2009? A lot, and here's why:

When your health insurance company gets wind that you have a lawsuit, they hire a company, in this case The Rawlings Company, to go after you and your lawyer to get reimbursed for the medical bills that they paid on your behalf. In some cases, a company like this one has been permitted to participate in the actual medical malpractice or personal injury lawsuit that you have brought against the wrongdoer. They do this to protect their right to get repaid. But here's the problem for them.

If a case is settled for only pain and suffering, the health insurance company is not entitled to get repaid. If the case is settled and money is set aside for medical expenses, then they can get reimbursed. The reasoning is that you should not be allowed to get double the benefit; once by your health insurance company paying for your medical bills, and second, you getting paid for bills that you didn't actually pay out of your own pocket.

In the Thomas case, there was no claim for medical expenses. Nor did The Rawlings Company, on behalf of Oxford health insurance company ask to insert themselves into the lawsuit. Instead, the case was settled prior to trial, with no money set aside for any medical expenses. Now comes Rawlings who says to the injured victim and his attorney, "Pay us the $28,718.05 that Oxford paid for your medical bills. The injured victim says "No way. You're not entitled to it. You don't have a lien, and you cannot assert a right of subrogation since there's no allocation of money for medical bills."

Justice Schlessinger rebuked the health insurance company for claiming that the injured victim was taking advantage of their health insurance company. In fact, she said that the injured victim had a contractual right to receive medical benefits when needed. The bottom line: Oxford Health Insurance and their agent, The Rawlings Company, were not entitled to recover anything.

THE INSURANCE HOAX: HOW DOCTORS AND PATIENTS PAY FOR THE HUGE EARNINGS OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE INSURERS

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)19703 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

You think "Tort reform" is good for you and the economy? Think again.
You think altering the way injured victims are compensated helps lower health care costs? Think again.
You think that doctors' medical malpractice insurance companies don't make huge profits? Think again.

You've got to read this article from the American Association for Justice which describes in detail how insurance companies earn their money and what they do with it. Learn why crying "wolf" just doesn't cut it anymore. This is a must read.

Click here to read THE INSURANCE HOAX: HOW DOCTORS AND PATIENTS PAY FOR THE HUGE EARNINGS OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE INSURERS.

Woman Hit By Mack Truck Wins $350,000

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)19460 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

At 6:30 in the morning a young woman was crossing 23rd Street in Manhattan at the intersection of First Avenue. Despite her crossing with the walk signal, and walking in the crosswalk, a Mack truck carrying demolition debris was making a left turn at the same time. Despite three separate signs that direct drivers to yield to pedestrians, the truck continued to make its left-hand turn knocking down this young woman causing her to hit her head and suffer severe fractures of her wrist.

Police arrived at the scene along with an ambulance, and she was taken to Bellevue Hospital trauma center in New York City for evaluation. In the emergency room she had all of her clothes cut off, she had x-rays, CT scans and a thorough physical exam which revealed the following:

She suffered a bleed in her head, lacerations to her forehead and the back of her head, a contusion, a concussion, loss of consciousness, and a fracture of her wrist in multiple places. She received stitches to the lacerations on her head, and was given a cast to mobilize her wrist and told to follow up with an orthopedic surgeon for further treatment.

A few days later she consulted with an orthopedic surgeon who advised her that she needed to have surgery, known as open reduction with internal fixation and external fixation. What this means is that in order to stabilize the broken bones, she would need to have surgery to put the bones back into place and hold them together with hardware that would be attached to her bones. That is known as internal fixation. In addition, she would also require a device to hold the bones in the place from the outside of her arm, known as an external fixator.

After many weeks of being in a cast with metallic titanium rods sticking out of her arm, the external hardware was removed along with the cast. She remained out of work for a number of weeks, and with physical therapy was able to get most of her motion back.

Despite the fact the trucking company had no defense, they refused to try and settle this case until the day before jury selection.

I'm pleased to say that my client was satisfied the settlement offer of $350,000 which will compensate her for the injury she suffered through no fault of her own.

Apartment Building Fire Results In Significant Property Damage-Tenant Settles for $150,000

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)19461 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

My clients owned a condominium in Queens. Their condo was in a large development which was undergoing repairs to the roof. The roofers were using hot tar to put down the new commercial-grade roof. Because of high winds, the tar overflowed causing a massive fire. My clients' condo suffered extensive water damage, and during the course of repair it was learned that their apartment, along with everybody else on the floor had its best those articles throughout the apartment. This required asbestos abatement, and force them to discard all of their remaining possessions that survived the massive water damage from the original fire.

The management company and the condo association refused to compensate my clients for the damage to their condo. They were willing to make only minor and modest repairs to get their unit functioning again. They would not consider replacing any of the items or contents in their unit. that prompted them to seek my legal services.

Approximately 9 different people and companies filed lawsuits against the management company, the condo association and the roofers who caused the fire. These lawsuits were brought in different counties here in the state of New York. Because all of these cases arose out of the same incident, all nine cases were consolidated into one case that was being handled by one judge in Queens County.

After 4 1/2 years of litigating this case I'm pleased to say that we were able to successfully resolve this case to my client's satisfaction for the sum of $150,000.

Moving The Malpractice Debate Beyond 'Caps'

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)19025 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

"Insurance expert says patient safety measures could reduce costs

Former University of Connecticut law professor Tom Baker recently moved to the University of Pennsylvania Law School and its prestigious Wharton School of Business to teach insurance.

While in Hartford, he rose to become a national expert on the impact of medical malpractice litigation on physicians’ insurance costs — and on the costs of health care generally. In recent interviews, he has maintained that the U.S. has long experienced an epidemic of medical malpractice, but is not in the grip of an epidemic of malpractice litigation."

Read the full article here.

Don't Believe The Hype: Medical Malpractice Tort Reform is Not What Americans Want

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)18719 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Philadelphia trial lawyer Maxwell Kennerly hits the nail on the head by scouring through the actual survey that was conducted that leads a reader to conclude that 83% of people surveyed want tort reform.

It's important that you read the actual question that people were asked in order to truly understand the fallacy behind the study and the conclusions the writers wants you to reach.

Good job Maxwell.

To read the full article, click here.

Lawsuit Lottery Jackpot! -Part 1

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)18632 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

“Step right up. Just sign your name we’ll enter you into the lawsuit lottery jackpot. Injured in a car accident? Step right up. Injured during surgery? Step right up? Killed by a stray bullet? Step right in. Did you fall and break your leg? No problem, just step right in to our lawsuit lottery jackpot where you’ll have a chance to win millions and live on easy street for the rest of your life. That’s right folks. You too can be a winner in the lawsuit lottery jackpot.” (Carnival music is playing in the background).

“What do I have to do to enter?” asked a curious onlooker.

“Simple,” said the man in front of the tent. “First you have to stand in the street and get hit by that Mack truck over there. Then, you have to make sure the tires run over your legs. Oh yes, make sure the truck is loaded with equipment so the total weight of the truck is about 40,000 pounds. Then, when the truck has finished running over you, make sure you’re still conscious so you feel the excruciating pain of having your legs crushed to a pulp. Then, when you’re bleeding to death, make sure you go into cardiac arrest and are revived by the paramedics.”

“I forgot to tell you...when you get to the hospital, make sure that the trauma surgeons amputate your legs from below your waist because there is no usable skin, bones, veins or arteries to use to reconstruct your legs.

Remember, they were in a pulp, and are now useless to you.”

The onlooker stood there gawking with his mouth wide open but no sound coming out.

“But wait!” said the man, continuing his talk.

CONTINUED IN PART 2...

Lawsuit Lottery Jackpot! -Part 2

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)18633 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

CONTINUED FROM PART 1...

“After the surgeons cut off both of your legs, you must remain in the hospital for two months recuperating, then learning how to get around on a wheelchair, which we’ll give you, absolutely free, for the rest of your life.”

“But what about all the activities I could do before, like play baseball, swimming, skiing and riding my bicycle?” asked the onlooker.

“Ah that,” said the man with some hesitation. “You see, all those activities, you have to give them all up. You’re now officially a ‘permanently disabled cripple’. You can’t go around doing those great activities that you used to do once we’ve labeled you a cripple. I mean, what would your neighbors think if we said you’re a handicapped man and they saw you playing basketball or changing a tire on your car? Sorry, that just wouldn’t work."

The onlooker was white as a ghost. He didn’t know what to say.

“Hey kid, not to worry, if you win this jackpot, you’ll be on easy street forever!” said the knowledgeable man with the handlebar mustache and the straw hat and the organ music playing in the background.

“But, how do I get that jackpot?” asked the young man with some trepidation.

“Simple. Just find a lawyer who handles these types of cases. Then file a lawsuit in New York...but you’ll have to hurry because you don’t want to have your case thrown out if it’s not timely. Did you know that you don’t even have to pay a single penny to start your lawsuit? How great is that? Your lawyer does that for you. Isn’t our justice system great?

Well, anyway, as I was saying, all you have to do is talk to your lawyer and after about six months, you’ll go into his office and talk to some other stuffy lawyers who will ask you lots of questions about what happened to you and what you can’t do now. That’s it. You don’t have to show up again until trial.”

“Trial?” asked the young man. “Why trial?”

“Well, without going to trial you can’t get an outrageous verdict that will blow the lid off all other verdicts in the past. Otherwise, your lawyer might just settle your case early to get you chump change,” said the hawker with a straight face.

“How will going to trial get me into the lawsuit lottery jackpot?” the onlooker asked with some interest.

The reply was amazing.

“That’s how you actually enter the drawing contest. See...going to trial is a crapshoot. Even if you have a good case a jury may send you home with little or no money. Why? Who knows- it’s a total crapshoot. But if you have a really good attorney who inflames the jury and shows them gory, bloody pictures of you at the accident scene, they’ll get really angry with the truck driver and his company and want to sock it to them hard.

That’s the part of the crapshoot that gets you your millions. Well, almost,” the man said.

“Tell me more,” said the onlooker.

“If the jury really hates the trucker who caused your accident, they award you millions and millions of dollars.”

“And that’s it? You mean I leave the court house with buckets full of money?” asked the eager onlooker, getting that hungry look in his eye.

“Ah, no, not exactly,” came the reply.

“You see, the defense will argue to the trial judge that the award was outrageous and must be reduced. Even if the trial judge agrees and reduces your award, the defense will still not be happy. Then, they’ll argue to a higher court that the award is so outrageous that it shocks the conscious of the court.”

“Then do I get the buckets of money you told me about?” asked the oblivious onlooker.

“Ah, no, not exactly,” came the reply.

“The higher court can do one of four things:

They can throw out your verdict,

They can reduce it,

They can increase it, or

They can send you back for a new trial.

You see, that’s also part of the crapshoot. You just never know what you’re going to wind up with.”

“I’ll still take my chances,” said the dazed onlooker.

“In that case,” the straw man replied, “you should know that there’s a chance you’ll get nothing.”

“How can I live on easy street with my injuries if I get nothing?” he asked incredulously.

“Well, you can’t. You’d have to go on welfare and on disability, and you’d probably be homeless, but hey, you gave it your best shot. That’s what a lottery is all about, most will lose and only a few will win. You’ll still have your free wheelchair!”

“Thanks for stopping by,” said the man with the handlebar mustache. “If you want more information, just step right in...”

CNN Reports Today: White House offers medical malpractice initiative

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)18544 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Obama administration announced a $25 million medical malpractice initiative Thursday as part of its plan to rein in skyrocketing health care costs.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says 1 percent of health care costs are attributable to malpractive premiums.

The program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, will fund grants of up to $3 million awarded on a competitive basis to states and health care systems for implementing and evaluating "patient safety and medical liability demonstrations," according to a release from the White House.

A review of current malpractice reform initiatives will be completed by December, the White House said, and used to evaluate future grant applications."

Oh, I get it, let's spend $25 million to save on health care. How about if they gave that $25 million to uninsured people to actually pay for the medical care they need? Don't you think that would have been smarter?

Don't Let Them Close the Courthouse Doors!

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)18408 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

New York's first Constitution of democratic government was passed by the first New York legislature on October 30, 1683. It gave New York citizens a constitutional right to trial by jury in civil cases.

In 1691, that right was reasserted in the revived Charter of Liberties of 1691.

The right to trial by jury in civil cases has been preserved in all New York State Constitutions - 1777, 1846, 1894, 1938. The 1938 Constitution actually states: "Trial by jury in all cases in which it has heretofore been guaranteed by constitutional provision shall remain inviolate forever." (emphasis added)

This is in addition to the 7th amendment guarantee to the right to a jury trial in the U.S. Bill of Rights.

But now, all that is being thrown out the window in order to save money for insurance companies and people and companies that don't do their job appropriately.

Please continually let your state and national representatives know that this is unacceptable.
DON'T LET BIG GOVERNMENT AND BIG BUSINESS CLOSE THE COURTHOUSE DOORS!

This message was written by James Wilkens
President, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers

The Truth About Malpractice Lawsuits: Business Week Report

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)18471 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Business Week debunks all the talk about health care reform and tort reform.

"Doctors say the suits send health-care costs soaring, but studies show reforms would have little effect

By Catherine Arnst

September 21, 2009

President Barack Obama tapped into a large vein of public support when he suggested recently that he is open to reforming medical malpractice laws. It's common currency in the U.S. that litigation drives medical inflation by forcing doctors and hospitals to resort to "defensive medicine," overtreating patients to avoid lawsuits.

The evidence suggests a much smaller effect. Study after study shows that costs associated with malpractice lawsuits make up 1% to 2% of the nation's $2.5 trillion annual health-care bill and that tort reform would barely make a dent in the total."

To read the full article, click here.

Health Care Reform: Is Medical Malpractice in New York Next?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)18366 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

I read an article today in Newsday by an ‘activist’ that suggested the reason health care costs are so high are because of medical malpractice lawsuits. I will tell you that such a statement is totally false. Why do I say this?

Because there have been studies that show specifically that the two primary reasons health care and medical malpractice costs are so high are: (1) The insurance companies inability to properly plan for and realize significant profit during a down-turn economy, and (2) Private health insurance companies and their profits.

This activist was so radical in her beliefs that she actually suggested that limiting an injured victims’ rights will reduce the cost of health care. She made no mention of compensating an injured victim by the wrongdoer. I am amazed every time I hear such radical comments and here’s why:

Let’s say you own a Picasso painting that is valued at $10 Million dollars. Let’s say that through some carelessness of a painter doing work in your home that painting is destroyed; he accidentally spilled a bucket of paint all over that nice painting. The value of the painting is $10 million dollars and must be repaid. Luckily for you, you have an insurance policy that insured the painting. Do you think it would be fair if a group of ‘activists’ said, “We don’t care what the value of your valuable paintings were, you should only be able to recover a maximum of $500,000 for your damaged painting.”

Let’s see if that’s fair. Maybe you paid a few million dollars for your precious painting. Let’s say that painting’s value increased over the years and now a buyer wanted to pay you $10 Million dollars for it. Before you had a chance to agree to the transaction, your painting is destroyed and now the maximum you can recover for your damages is $500,000. That doesn’t sound right to me. Does it sound right to you?

These ‘activists’ believe that by limiting the amount of money a medical malpractice insurance company pays to an injured victim will reduce the amount of money we all pay in health insurance premiums. To be blunt- that’s nonsense.

Insurance companies are in business to generate profit and make money for their shareholders. When CEO’s of health insurance companies are raking in millions of dollars a year in salary while thousands of people are uninsured, there’s a significant disparity that should not be ignored.

The next time you talk to someone with ‘activist’ views, ask them about their Picasso painting and how they would feel if it was destroyed and could only recover a minimal arbitrary amount. I guarantee you that they won’t have the same viewpoint after that.

Developmental Delays-Why Is Your Child Developmentally Delayed?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)17862 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

You will likely learn about a developmental delay from your child's pediatrician. As your child grows they are expected to meet certain milestones; when a baby turns over, when a baby turns over, when they start to crawl, start to talk, start to walk, etc.

When your child is delayed in meeting their developmental milestones you start to question the pediatrician about why there's a delay. Often, your pediatrician will not be eager to point a finger at your obstetrician or any other doctor. So, how then do you get an honest answer about why your child is delayed?

You need to have your medical records evaluated by experts in the field of obstetrics, neonatology and pediatric neurology. Only then can we determine what the likely cause of your child's problems are from.

Keep in mind that there may be many different explanations for your child's delays:
It could be genetic, or hereditary.

It could be from a lack of oxygen during the course of your labor and delivery.

It could be from distress during labor that went unrecognized causing diminished blood flow and oxygen to the baby.

Regardless of the cause, it needs to be investigated to rule in, or rule out the possible causes. How do you do that? Simple.

You ned to contact an experienced attorney who handles medical malpractice cases on a daily basis. Only then can you answer the question, "Why is my child developmentally delayed?"

If you have legal questions about developmental delays in children I encourage you to pick up the phone and call me. I can answer your questions at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com.

Botched Gallbladder Surgery

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)17660 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

An out-of-work chef was told he needed his gallbladder taken out. It was going to be done laparoscopically. It was "routine." The healing time was minimal and there was no need for an extended hospital stay. The doctors call this procedure a 'laparoscopic cholescystectomy'.

Shortly after the surgery my client started having significant abdominal pain. Calls to the surgeon's office brushed off the his complaints as 'normal post-operative pain'. After two weeks of unremitting belly pain, the patient was told to go to the closest emergency room. An MRI and CT scan revealed the patient needed emergency surgery right away to explore what was going on in his belly.

After surgery at a different hospital, the surgeon told the patient that his common bile duct had been clipped off during the original surgery. As a result, bile continued to back up causing significant pain. During the emergency surgery, the patient required a 12 inch massive abdominal incision so the doctors could explore his entire belly. He also required drains for more than six months sticking out of his abdomen.

The common bile duct should never have been clippped off during the gallbladder removal. The fact that the surgeon failed to recognize it, is a departure from good medical practice. If he had recognized the misplacement during surgery, the clip could have been removed and properly placed.

This surgeon's carelessness resulted in significant pain and the need for emergency surgery for this patient and almost a year of recuperation.

Pardon me, but I'm Not Walmart

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)17076 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

I received a call at 7 AM this morning asking whether I was Walmart. I politely told the caller, after rubbing the sleep out of my eyes that she was calling an attorney's office and not Walmart. When I finally awoke, I questioned why this woman would think that I was Walmart.

I don't have a big-box store-front office. I don't discount my fees. I don't offer sales on goods and services. I don't advertise on TV, and I don't have thousands of customers pouring in and out of my parking lot on a daily basis.

As a solo practitioner, I have the benefit of knowing every detail of every case but I handle.
As a solo practitioner, I don't have to ask three associates what was the last thing that happened on your case, when you call asking for information.
As a solo practitioner, I have the privilege of meeting you at your very first office visit.
I have the privilege of being with you when you are questioned at your question and answer session, known as a deposition. I also have the privilege of representing you at trial.

There are many large law firms in New York that are set up differently. The attorney you first meet with may not be the attorney who handles your deposition. The attorney you call to get an update may not be the same lawyer that you met on your first visit. The attorney who handles your deposition may not be the trial attorney who tries your case. There are some law firms that have attorneys dedicated to the pretrial phase of your case, and those lawyers do not try cases. Likewise, those law firms may have teams of dedicated trial lawyers, where all they do is try cases.

I personally found, in almost 21 years in practice, that clients love continuity.

Clients like to know that if they have a question, they can go directly to their point person at the lawyer's office to ask them a question or address any concerns they have. No one likes to be shuffled around from one person to the next. However, the question I always ask is "Do you want to deal with the senior trial attorney from day one?" or "Do you want to go to a large firm with many attorneys to handle your case where you may not speak to the actual trial lawyer until shortly before trial?" The choice, as always is yours to make. Choose wisely.

Conclusion:

Am I Walmart? Clearly not. Obviously, she got the wrong number.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE IN NEW YORK: 3 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF BEING INVITED INTO AN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)16950 — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

1. Be clear and concise when telling your lawyer what your legal problem is.

There is nothing worse than having a potential client call and literally ramble endlessly without a defined purpose. I understand that when you make that big leap and call an attorney, you want to explain every detail that caused you to call an attorney.

However, the purpose of talking to you on the phone is only to get a brief summary. I personally use the call as a screening tool to determine if your case is one that I’d be interested in looking into. I also use our call to find out what you think was done wrong that caused you permanent harm.

2. Be able to tell your lawyer what permanent injuries or disability you or your family member suffered as a result of wrongdoing.

Any attorney who handles medical malpractice cases in New York needs to know what injury or permanent disability you suffered. If you have no injury, or your injury is minor then most experienced attorneys in New York (myself included) would not accept such a case.

3. Have specific documents in one central place.

It helps greatly if you can locate and put into a folder documents such as health insurance explanation of benefits; marriage certificate; income tax records (if you are claiming lost earnings or lost future earnings); medicare or medicaid card, health insurance card; any medical records you may have; as well as a list of all doctors you have seen over the last 3 years.

CONCLUSION:

By having this information when you call an attorney’s office you stand a much better chance of not only impressing the attorney with your knowledge, but being invited to meet with the attorney in person to evaluate your case.

5 THINGS A NY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY LOOKS FOR WHEN YOU COME INTO THEIR OFFICE

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)16921 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

Have you ever wondered how some cases are eagerly accepted by an attorney and others are not? What are the top five things an experienced attorney looks for when deciding whether to take a case?

DOES YOUR STORY SOUND BELIEVABLE?

If your story is not believable, an attorney will likely reject your case without ever doing an investigation. Why not? The moment you walk in the door, an attorney looks at you as if you are walking into court and taking the witness stand. He will look at your story from the viewpoint of a jury sitting and listening to your case to see if they will find it believable and is credible. If your story lacks credibility, no attorney will want to spend thousands and thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours prosecuting your case, knowing at the outset that the chance of you winning your case is minimal.

DOES WHAT YOU SAY MAKE SENSE?

This is commonly referred to as the ‘smell test’. What’s that? If it doesn’t smell right, then a jury will find it hard to believe your story. Again, if the attorney thinks a jury will not accept your story, then he likely will not take your case.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS DONE WRONG?

Every attorney who evaluates a medical malpractice case in New York wants to know what you think was done wrong. The injured victim or their family is usually a very good source of information when trying to find out what went wrong.

WHAT HARM DID THE WRONGDOING CAUSE?

The reason we need to know what injuries you suffered is because we are required to link the injuries with the wrongdoing in order to proceed forward with a valid case. This is known legally as ‘causation’. If there is a missing link, then it becomes impossible to prove a valid case. Keep in mind that in any evaluation of a medical malpractice case, the attorney MUST get a medical expert to review your records and confirm each element of your case.

What are those elements? Exactly what I talked about in paragraph 3 and 4. I must prove (1) wrongdoing; (2) that the wrongdoing caused harm; and (3) that the harm is significant and permanent.

DO I GET ALONG WITH YOU?

Believe it or not, your case will take approximately 2-3 years from start to finish. The attorney will need to determine whether you are a good fit and whether you will have a good relationship that you can both live with for the duration.

If you do not get along with each other, it’s probably not a good idea to stay together at the outset. The attorney-client relationship is an important one. If the fit is a good one, great. If it’s not, just as in a marriage, don’t get started.

CONCLUSION:

These five tips will help you understand what an attorney looks for when you walk in the door and they start asking you questions.

Driver in Wrong-Way Crash on Taconic highway That Killed 8 Was Drunk

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)16390 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

The New York Times reported today that the horrific crash involving a woman who drove the wrong way on the Taconic highway in Westchester, New York, kill herself, her two year old daughter and three nieces, together with three men who were driving the correct way, was caused because this woman was drunk at the time of the accident.

Reading this article, you can't help but wonder how someone could do this to her kids, her brother's kids and to unsuspecting drivers going about their business. It's just shocking and absolutely stunning. The autopsy reported a blood alcohol level of 0.19 and that it was fresh, with some alcohol still remaining in her stomach.

Investigators couldn't figure out what would have caused this woman to cause such a tragedy. Now, we know that it was her own decision to drink and drive causing the needless deaths of seven people and herself.

Negligence is carelessness. The facts, as reported in Newsday and the New York Times would clearly suggest that these deaths were caused by this woman's carelessness. What a tragedy. My heart goes out to their families.

Read the full article here.

Looking for an attorney? 5 tips to help you decide which attorney is right for you.

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)16265 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

When looking for an attorney online it is often difficult to determine which lawyer is right for you. Before making any decision, look critically at the information the lawyer is providing to you, either in an advertisement, an article or even a video. If the lawyer simply provides a brief message that says nothing more than "Call me because I'm here," ask yourself "Why?"

Selecting the right attorney to help solve your legal problem is an important decision. Read the article to learn the difference between pay per click ads and organic search results. Find out what experience this particular attorney has and how it can help you in your quest for justice. At the end of the article, read the conclusion for a neat little trick that will tell you a lot about any attorney that you call.

To read the full article, click here.

Cover-up at New York's municipal hospitals-NY Daily News Exposes Hospital Errors and Fraud

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)15878 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

New York Daily News blows the lid on cover-ups at New York City municipal hospitals including Bellevue hospital, Coney Island hospital, Elmhurst hospital, Harlem hospital, Jacobi hospital, Kings County hospital, Lincoln hospital, Metropolitan hospital, North Central Bronx hospital, Queens General hospital and Woodhull hospital.

"City-run hospitals faked records and covered up dozens of botched operations, deadly accidents, malpractice and other medical screwups, a Daily News investigation has found.

The coverups hid a trail of human suffering among patients who were maimed and relatives who were never told the truth about how their loved ones died or were injured unnecessarily."

Read the full article here.

How Much Does It Cost To Hire a NY Medical Malpractice or Accident Attorney?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)15853 — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

All attorneys who handle cases involving accident or medical malpractice in New York handle them on "Contingency." What does this mean?

It means that the lawyer receives a fee only if he is successful in getting you compensation for your injuries. His fee is 'contingent' upon you getting money. If the lawyer is unsuccessful and you receive nothing, the lawyer also receives no fee.

FOR AN ACCIDENT CASE IN NEW YORK:

The attorney's fee is 1/3 of the amount you recover, after the attorney's expenses have been paid back to his law firm. What this means is that the lawyer pays all litigation expenses and really provides you with an interest-free loan during the time your case is in litigation. At the end of the case, if you are successful, the lawyer's gets repaid for his expenses.

FOR A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE IN NEW YORK:

The attorney's fee is LESS THAN an accident case. This has been true since 1985. The fee is based on a sliding scale, which means that the more you recover, the more you get to keep.

$1-$250,000, the attorney's fee is only 30%.
$250,001-$500,000, the attorney's fee is only 25% for that segment.
As the amount increases, the attorney's fee decreases, until you reach $1.25 million. Anything above $1.25 million, the attorney's fee is only 10% for that segment.

Remember, at the end of the case, if you are successful, the lawyer's gets repaid for his expenses. From the remaining amount, his fee is calculated, and then you receive the remaining amount.

CONCLUSION:
The purpose of having a contingency fee is so that people who could not afford an attorney's hourly rate would be able to hire an experienced lawyer without having to worry whether they could pay.

You win your case; the attorney gets paid. You lose your case; your lawyer gets nothing. That's a significant incentive for your lawyer to work hard to get you the most compensation you are legally entitled to.

DREAMS-An Inspiration

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)15671 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Your dreams are gifts that set you in motion.

On the tides of time where life is an ocean.

Your sails are filled with the winds of desire, to surge through the wake of muck and mire.

And when you awaken with your goal at hand, you see your true destination was the voyage, not the land!

(Comment: I read this many years ago, and found it to be very inspiring. I would love to credit the author, but do not know who it is.)

Beware of the "Medical Expert" consultant

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)14959 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

I was contacted today by a physician who claimed to do expert witness work for injured victims. He wanted some business. I asked him what his medical speciality was. Instead of a direct answer, he said he'd done consulting for attorneys before, and that if I want, I should go to his website to see what he has done.

I said "No. Tell me what your medical specialty is."
His reply- "Research."
"Are you board certified in any field of medicine?"
"No, but I help attorneys understand their case, and I don't have to be board certified to testify."
I asked, "How can you testify as a credible expert witness if you're not board certified?"
His response: "I do this all the time. I don't really testify. I help explain the case to you so you become more familiar with the medicine."
"What types of cases do you review?" I asked incredulously. "Surgery, pulmonary, cardiac, cancer..." was his reply.

I was amazed.

I then asked why I should hire him, and then have to hire a second expert to testify at trial? I only heard silence on the phone.
I asked again.
"Why should I hire two medical experts; one who reviews the case, and another who testifies?"
His reply was "Because I'm a better teacher."

"But wait," I said. "You still haven't answered my question."
"If I hire a medical expert to spend 5 hours to review medical records, and that expert feels the case has merit, I don't want to hire another expert two years later to review the case starting fresh, and close in time to the trial. That's double the work, and double the money. What do you have to say about that?"

He had no answer.
"But I'm a better teacher," he repeated.
"So are many of the experts I hire. They're clinical doctors with academic credentials who are board certified," I said.
I was getting frustrated talking with this guy.
"What good does it do for my client if you're a good teacher, but you can't come into court to teach a jury that our position is more likely right than wrong?"
His final answer was "I've been doing this for a long time, and you really should see my website."
My final reply was "Have a nice day."

The moral of the story: Don't let your medical malpractice attorney hire a "medical consultant" who does not testify, just to confirm you have a case, and then have to hire a new medical expert during your case. Make sure you hire a board certified expert in the specialty you need to review and to testify."

Great Neck Firefighter Saves Cardiac Arrest Victim in Fort Myers, Florida

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)14871 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

July 4, 2009

At 7 PM on July 4, in Fort Myers airport, Florida my family and I were walking toward the boarding gate of our JetBlue flight 138 heading back home to New York. As we approached the boarding gate, we saw a gate attendant kneeling on the floor next to an elderly man who was clearly unresponsive. The gate attendant had his finger on the man’s carotid artery, checking for a pulse. My son immediately dropped his laptop ran over to the man on the floor, announced that he was a first responder and a firefighter and also checked for a pulse. Having found no pulse and that he was not breathing, my son directed that they immediately begin CPR and advised the gate attendant to begin chest compressions.

A few moments later, a Port Authority policeman arrived and my son requested a mask to ventilate his lungs.

Together, the gate attendant and my son worked as a team to perform CPR on this cardiac arrest victim. If you’ve ever performed CPR it is physically taxing. Your adrenaline is pumping and you’re focused on reviving the patient.

Chest compressions and ventilation continued for minutes until the pilot of our plane and another Port Authority police officer arrived with an automatic external defibrillator. Two large electrodes strips were placed on this man’s body and the defibrilator was activated.

If you’ve never seen an automatic defibrillator in action, it’s fascinating to watch and to hear. It announces that it is evaluating the patient’s heart rate and once it has finished assessing heart rate, it immediately recommends action and whether or not to shock the patient in an attempt to restore the normal heart rhythm.

After the first assessment was made by the automatic defibrilator, it recommended that the patient be shocked immediately. Once you press the button to administer the shock, the automatic defibrilator advises that everyone should stand back away from the patient. If you’ve ever seen someone shocked using defibrillator paddles on TV, it is the same as watching it in real life. A tremendous jolt of electricity is sent throughout the patient’s body to try and restore the heart rhythm or to get the heart rhythm reverted back to normal.

In this case, after the shock had been administered, my son and the gate attendant continued CPR until the automatic defibrilator advised to momentarily stop so it could check for a heart rate. At this point, there was still no heart rate or respirations. The defibrillator again recommended shocking the patient, and after the patient was shocked for the second time, the patient regained a pulse and respirations. My son together with an EMS attendant and the gate attendant turned the patient onto his side in order to prevent him from inhaling any fluids into his lungs (known as aspiration), now that he was breathing again.

By this time, two other emergency medical crews arrived and took over where my son had left off.

My son is 17 years old and is a volunteer firefighter with the Vigilant Fire Department here in Great Neck. Watching my son take control of this medical emergency and selflessly run to help this man in distress gave me the greatest feeling I could ever have as a parent. All of his training with the fire department effortlessly kicked into gear and I’m proud to say that my son helped save a life on July 4, 2009, Independence Day.

On the plane ride home to New York, my son told me this was his 15th time performing CPR. Looking at him, I could see the sparkle in his eye knowing that he did something good for someone else. Even though we were unaware of this man’s fate, I couldn’t help but think what a great person my son turned out to be.

Jurors in NY Should Be Allowed to Twitter

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)13644 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

Find out why Gerry Oginski, an experienced New York medical malpractice and personal injury trial attorney believes that jurors in NY should be allowed to twitter during a trial. Currently, jurors are not allowed to talk to each other about the case until after they have received legal instructions from the judge.

Likewise, attorneys and the litigants are also prohibited from talking to the jurors. Twitter allows us to see what a juror is thinking about the testimony. Watch the video to learn more.

For answers to your legal questions, call Gerry personally at 516-487-8207 or by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com. He welcomes your call.

New York Medical Malpractice Insurer Has One Foot in Bankruptcy The Other on a Banana Peel

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)13503 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

This comment is brought to you straight from White Coat's Callroom, a blog from Inside the Emergency Department.

"Physician’s Reciprocal Insurers, a med mal carrier that insures 25% of New York’s physicians has one foot in bankruptcy court and the other foot on a banana peel. State mandated insurance premium rate freezes appear to be partly to blame. How could this happen if insurers are raking in the money and are really responsible for the medical malpractice crisis."

He raises an excellent question. Why aren't more physicians asking the same question?

New York Injury Times- May 09' Newsletter #2 Now Available

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)12438 — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:00:00 EST

Learn about the 5 key questions I need to know in a failure to diagnose cancer case. Read a list of defense attorneys whom I consider to be worthy adversaries in the State of New York. Learn 6 common definitions of legal terms that you may not know.

How Does a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Prove Your Case?

lawmed10@yahoo.com (Blog Author)11920 — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:00:00 EST

A New York medical malpractice attorney must be able to prove three things: (1) Liability, (2) Causation and (3) Damages OK, but what does that really mean? (1) Liability means that we must be able to prove "with a reasonable degree of medical probability" that the doctor or hospital who treated you "departed from good and accepted medical care." "What does that mean?" It means that we must prove that we are more likely right than wrong that the doctors who cared for you did not treat you properly and in accordance with the standard of care that other physicians with the same specialty would use to treat your problem. In New York, we are required to have a medical expert confirm that the treatment was inappropriate and explain how and why. (2) Causation means that our medical expert must be able to say, again, that what he is saying is more likely right than wrong, and that the medical wrongdoing or carelessness was a cause of your injuries. "In human language please..." Our expert must be able to connect the dots to this puzzle. He must be able to show that the medical wrongdoing was a cause of your injury. If he is unable to show that the wrongdoing caused your injury, you will be unable to prove your case. "What if there are multiple causes of my injury? Does he have to show that the wrongdoing caused all of them in order for me to prove my case?" No. We are not required to show that the doctor's carelessness was THE cause of your injury, only that is was A cause of your injury. The distinction is very important. (3) Damages mean injuries. "Well, why didn't you say that to begin with?" In law, specific words have certain meanings. Our expert must prove not only that there was medical wrongdoing and that the wrongdoing caused injury, but we must also show that your injury is significant and/or permanent. We use your treating doctors to explain to a jury what injuries you suffered. If your treating doctors are unavailable, we use medical experts to describe to the jury the extent of your disability and permanent problems. CONCLUSION: Once we have proven these three requirements, we will be able to have a jury decide whether we have successfully proven our case, and if so, how much money to award to you as appropriate compensation.