Phone: (516) 487-8207
City records show that NYC has paid out $135 million in malpractice payments this fiscal year for errors its public hospitals made in 246 cases. This value is up from the previous year's figure of $128 million -- a 5% increase. Some of the lawsuits lasted more than a decade.
The city has responded that, despite the increased price last year, overall medical payments have decreased an average of $65 million per year since 2003, thanks to increased focus on settling early, aggressive investigations, and other measures.
The Daily News reported on three striking cases that closed this year.
One was a 38-year-old Bronx woman, who visited a dentist for a cheek infection. He drained the infection but did not request a tissue culture, which would have revealed MRSA, a dangerous bacteria. 10 days later, the woman was admitted to a hospital in extreme pain. The bacteria had spread to her neck and spine and she was left paralyzed. She won $8 million in a settlement, the largest in NYC this year.
In 1998, a 10-year-old Brooklyn girl was suffering an asthma attack. The doctor put her on a ventilator at 40 breaths per minute, even though small children are supposed to receive only 8-10 bpm. The girl was tied to the bed when she expressed agitation and died three hours later after the excess oxygen 'blew her lungs out.' The city paid her family $4 million and lost hundreds of thousands in appeals.
Finally, in 2007, a 43-year-old Brooklyn man suffered a stroke after being forced to wait in the waiting room, despite displaying early symptoms of a stroke. He was left almost completely paralyzed and eventually settled for $5.5 million.
As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with medical errors like these every day. If you have experienced related problems, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can help.
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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.
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