This blog is designed to educate and inform you about recent news and how it may impact your legal case in New York. I have provided commentary and opinion and welcome your comments to keep the conversation going.
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Is a ruptured appendix evidence of medical malpractice?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.
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Medical Practice Guidelines-Are They Useful?
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I lost a trial yesterday. Want to know why?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.
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Michael Douglas has Stage IV Throat CancerFamous 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.
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Filing Complaints against Hospitals: How to Be an Effective AdvocateMany 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.
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Spinal Injection Causes ParalysisOne 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.
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Falling Off an Operating TableMany 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.
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Improperly Performed Sinus Surgery: Permanent InjuryThe 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.
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Sepsis MisdiagnosisMost 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?
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Residents Performing Unsupervised OperationsWhat happens when doctors-in-training perform surgery unsupervised? Think it doesn't happen? Think again. As more hospitals cut back on expenses, training and personnel, who do you think suffers the most? The nurses? The technicians? The doctors? Wrong. The patient suffers. Read the article to learn why.