Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

New York City has the largest municipal health care system in the United States. There are 11 public hospitals in New York City, which are run by the City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Because of its sheer size, it’s important for the city and for patients to know these hospitals’ medical malpractice statistics.

Information has recently come out from the New York City Comptroller’s Office that shows the number of medical malpractice lawsuits that were filed against these city-owned hospitals has increased in fiscal year 2015. That year saw 521 lawsuits as opposed to 495 in fiscal year 2013.

Although the news isn’t very positive, the trend is still moving downward since 2015 saw fewer cases than 2013. Not only that, but it’s important to point out that while some of the individual hospitals saw an increase in cases, others saw a decrease for fiscal year 2015.

A very interesting case recently made it to New York’s highest court that brings up a unique issue when it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits.

We have extensively discussed medical malpractice lawsuits on our blog that involve a patient who was injured due to alleged negligence by a medical professional. If that individual was injured, he or she may file a lawsuit. In other cases we also hear about someone dying due to alleged negligence and their family filing a medical malpractice lawsuit on their behalf.

But what happens when the injury happens to a third party? This is exactly the issue that the higher court recently took on.

Up until 1946, veterans who felt they were victims of medical malpractice that occurred at a VA medical center were unable to sue. Thankfully Congress passed the Federal Tort Claims Act that year, which gave veterans the right to seek compensation from the federal government for the injuries they suffered at the hands of federal employees.

Recent information released by The Project on Government Oversight takes a look at the medical malpractice claims filed against VA medical centers across the nation between 1989 and 2008. That information brought some good news for the VA facility in Syracuse.

The statistics show that during that period of time there have been 31 claims filed against the Syracuse VA. Of those claims, 10 involved patient deaths. In total, the VA paid out some $2 million in claims; $1.56 million in cases that went to court and nearly $500,000 for cases that were resolved administratively.

Although a medical malpractice lawsuit win can often lead to compensation for the victims involved, it also serves another purpose. It hopefully motivates the physicians and medical entities to change their safety procedures so the negligence doesn’t happen again.

A recent news article described a few ways that doctors and hospitals in a nearby state are trying to decrease medical errors and therefore medical malpractice claims. One hospital apparently does simulations of high-risk situations such as postpartum hemorrhaging as a way to teach their physicians and staff how to properly communicate during such an event. The training has helped one hospital cut its medical malpractice costs by 26 percent since 2011.

Another way that the hospital has tried to improve its communication during these situations is by creating an office of patient affairs. They realized that it’s important to talk to patients directly about what is happening or what has happened instead of covering things up or acting like nothing happened. The hospital has seen great results from this approach. Clearly communicating during patient handoffs is also another strategy that has been helpful.

Most of the time when someone goes into a New York hospital with a minor issue, it stays a minor issue. The doctors at the hospital are able to treat the ailment and send the patient home with follow up instructions. But once in a while, for one reason or another, a seemingly minor injury can snowball into something that is very debilitating or even disabling.

A recent lawsuit filed in another state concerns just this very scenario. A woman came into the hospital after a cat bit her. She was apparently taking care of her sister-in-law’s cat when the feline got into a fight with a stray cat. The 41-year-old woman got in the middle of it and was bitten on the forearm, hand and thumb.

The woman initially cleaned the wounds but eventually noticed an infection. She went to a local hospital after she noticed abscesses on her wrist. She returned to the hospital several times after that and doctors referred her to a hand surgeon and gave her antibiotics.

We constantly discuss a variety of medical malpractice cases on our blog, but sometimes it’s hard to see the bigger picture. Looking at the issue as a whole can sometimes help the medical field understand where they are lacking and what they can do better in order to not cause injury to their patients.

A recent survey asked some 4,000 physicians about their experience with being sued for malpractice. According to the survey, by the time the respondents were 60 years of age and older, 80 percent of them had been sued at least once.

While there are many reasons that may be brought up in a medical malpractice suit, the physicians who responded indicated three top reasons. Failure to diagnose and a patient suffering abnormal injury both came in at 31 percent. Those two were followed by failure to treat at 12 percent.

In our last post we started discussing cosmetic surgery. This type of surgery has a large range of risks that come with it, just as other surgeries do. Although there are risks involved, many people still make the decision to go through with the surgery. One of the best ways to prepare for such a surgery is to make sure you find a surgeon you are comfortable with and to ask the right questions.

It’s good to learn about the qualifications of your surgeon. Is he or she board-certified? How many procedures has he or she done? What kind of results should you expect? You should also discuss any kinds of complications that could happen, especially if you have an extensive medical history. Beyond that, it’s important to know what the recovery will be like and how long you may need to take off work.

The doctor should also discuss things like scarring, cost and possible discomfort due to the surgery. Going into this type of surgery with these questions answered can help you feel confident in your decision. If your surgeon is avoiding discussing any of these topics, you may want to consider working with a different surgeon.

Many people go under the knife daily throughout the country as surgeons perform routine and life-saving surgeries. While there are many types of surgeries performed on a daily basis, one of the more controversial types is cosmetic surgery. In most cases cosmetic surgery is an elective surgery meaning the person who is having it done has scheduled it in advance and it doesn’t involve a medical emergency situation.

Cosmetic surgery, like most surgeries, carries a handful of risks. Those include complications such as blood clots, pneumonia, anesthesia-related complications, and even death. Surgery can also lead to infections, which may at some point lead to even more surgery. Besides that, there may be bleeding, scarring, skin breakdown and fluid buildup under the skin. Some people end up experiencing numbness and tingling that is caused by nerve damage. These symptoms may or may not be permanent.

It’s also important to remember that these risks may increase for those who have preexisting health conditions such as lung disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity or diabetes.

Many of us may be unaware that a large portion of medical malpractice claims result from negligence occurring outside of the operating room. This includes mistakes made during the administration of anesthesia. There are conflicting results in studies concerning the number of operating room and non-operating room anesthetic complications. But it appears clear that the number of anesthesia mistakes made in a non-operating room setting is significant.

One disturbing finding found in one study was that substandard anesthesia care more frequently involved non-operating room cases. Such cases generally resulted in larger verdict or settlement payments than operating room cases.

Though generally practitioners involved in applying anesthesia in non-operating settings are well-qualified professionals, mistakes made under these circumstances can often be extremely traumatic. Too often, the medical personnel most needed when anesthesia complications arise in non-operating settings are not available to provide the necessary assistance. Also, in some circumstances the necessary equipment to assist distressed patients is lacking.

Much is said and written regarding medical malpractice lawsuits. To some, medical malpractice lawsuits are hurting the practice of medicine in New York. These people often note that New York had the highest number of medical malpractice claims paid out in the U.S. over the last decade. To many others who are familiar with medical malpractice lawsuits, recent laws have made it more difficult than ever for legitimately injured patients to get legal and financial help with their recovery. They argue that the overall number of medical malpractice claims has decreased steadily over the last decade.

For injured patients, however, the biggest concern is not the overall state of New York’s healthcare or insurance systems. The relationship between a doctor or surgeon and patient is an intimate, trusting one. And nothing is more important to patients than their health and the health of their families. Medical malpractice lawsuits are therefore very personal, and filed for very personal reasons. 

With that in mind, here are the top four reasons patients file medical malpractice lawsuits: