Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

How health care apps may help to improve the quality of your care

Published on: June 1, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

When it comes to healthcare, knowledge is indeed power. When patients are given access to information about their care, they become empowered to make informed decisions about their healthcare providers, their treatment and about their health generally. Although physicians are trained experts in the field of medicine, a high rate of medical negligence continues to plague the American healthcare system. While it is important to have some amount of trust in one’s physicians, it is also important to play an active role in one’s care.

An increasing number of electronic tools are helping to ensure that American patients remain informed about their health and healthcare. For some time now, the availability of medical information online has both been a blessing and a curse for patients. Many Americans find valuable, reliable information about health and healthcare online. However, a great deal of misinformation also exists on the web.

Thankfully, patient-accessible medical tools have branched out beyond the unreliable Internet over the past several years. For example, a number of apps that can greatly enhance a patient’s active role in his or her healthcare are now available on smartphones.

Judge denies new medical malpractice trial for doctors, hospital

Published on: May 22, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Back in January a Brooklyn woman was awarded $62 million for severe medical malpractice, but the three doctors that were at fault, along with the Winthrop University Hospital in Long Island, disputed the award and filed for a new trial. The medical professionals claimed that the evidence did not support the verdict and that the jury should have found for the physicians. A Supreme Court justice, however, recently ruled in favor of the woman, denying the doctors’ and hospital’s motion.

The woman had gone to the hospital because of a tubal pregnancy, a serious condition on its own. When she went to have a lapraoscopic removal of the pregnancy, she contracted an infection after having her colon punctured during the procedure. The infection not only forced doctors to amputate her legs and damaged her hearing, but it also almost cost the woman her life.

It is no wonder then, that the single mother was able to win a $62 million medical malpractice award. Instead of helping her with her tubal pregnancy and sending her home to recover, her doctors robbed her of her legs and some of her hearing. It is unknown if she will ever be able to work again following her doctors’ medical mistakes.

Teenager causes fatal accident on Long Island

Published on: May 20, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It is still not entirely clear what happend earlier this month, but it appears that a teenager swerved into oncoming traffic, causing serious injuries and some of his or her passengers’ deaths. Without knowing who was actually behind the wheel, it is impossible to say whether the driver survived the crash, or if he or she was one of the few survivors. Ultimately, however, the families of passengers who died or the fortunate few who survived the crash can still file wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits, respectively.

When the individual who causes a fatal accident also dies in the crash, a victim or his or her family can file a lawsuit against the responsible driver’s estate. Before of the individual’s family and friends were to inherit, a personal injury or wrongful death award would need to be paid out. Oftentimes the insurance company will also contribute to the award.

Again, it is not entirely clear who was behind the wheel of a car of five teenagers earlier in the month, but four of the five passengers were killed. The other suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital. The driver, for some unknown reason, swerved into oncoming traffic and smashed into an SUV. Both the driver and the passenger in the SUV were also seriously injured.

2 die, 61 infected after hospital and doctors fail to diagnose TB

Published on: May 17, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Patients who are feeling sick or experiencing worrisome symptoms often seek medical help. In many cases, doctors are able to quickly and accurately diagnose an individual’s condition and prescribe appropriate medications. In other cases, however, doctors err in their attempts to diagnose an individual’s illness or disease. When a failure to diagnose occurs, the consequences can be devastating and result in an individual suffering permanent injury, disability and even death.

A widowed man recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit in which he claims a hospital and its doctors were negligent in failing to diagnose his wife’s serious medical condition. According to the lawsuit, the 25-year-old woman was being treated at the hospital after suffering symptoms commonly associated with tuberculosis. Having recently given birth to twin girls, despite her illness, the new mother was allowed to visit and engage with her premature daughters on a regular basis.

Over the span of four months, hospital doctors ran numerous tests on the woman in an attempt to diagnose her illness. In total, doctors arrived at 30 formal diagnoses all of which were wrong. It wasn’t until two days prior to the woman’s death that doctors even considered she may have TB and a TB test wasn’t performed until the day before the woman finally succumbed to the treatable disease.

Women in their second trimesters at greater risk of accidents

Published on: May 16, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Anyone in Syracuse who has tried interacting with pregnant women likely knows about “pregnancy brain.” Though not all women have trouble concentrating while pregnant, a number of women find it harder to think through things than when they weren’t pregnant. At least one author of a recent study thinks that may be why women in their second trimester of pregnancy are at a great risk of a car accident. If it is true that pregnancy brain is one of the major contributors to that increase in crashes, it is just further proof that distractions are dangerous behind the wheel.

We have talked quite extensively about how important it is to pay attention to the road. We have explained that distractions are not just caused by cellphones and smartphones, but by anything that takes the driver’s mind off of the road. It takes a considerable amount of brain power and concentration to drive safely, so the study’s author’s theory makes some sense that women with pregnancy brain are at greater risk of accident.

Granted, pregnant women are not choosing to be distracted, whereas individuals who eat, text, talk on the phone or put on makeup while driving are. The second group should know that their actions are putting people at risk, including themselves. While this study will hopefully encourage pregnant women in their second trimesters to drive more carefully, being pregnant may not be a sign of negligent driving like texting behind the wheel is.

Fungus believed to cause numerous deaths transported by linens

Published on: May 8, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Even though people realize that hospitals are filled with numerous infectious diseases, not many people in Oneida think too much about hospital-acquired infections. The problem is, however, that approximately 75,000 people die each year because of infections they caught in hospitals, at least according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This also means that there are far more people who get sick, need to extend their hospital stays or otherwise suffer damages yet survive hospital-acquired infections.

It is just as much a hospital’s responsibility to prevent contamination and infections as it is a surgeon’s responsibility to perform procedures according to standard medical practice or a nurse’s responsibility to administer the correct dosages of medicine. Hospital malpractice may not seem like a serious threat, but it certainly can be.

Unfortunately, in a recently covered outbreak out of New Orleans, five young patients died after they were infected by mucormycosis, a fungus. It appears that the fungus was in the hospital linens on which the children slept, which has prompted an investigation into how a hospital could use unclean linens.

Brother of Duchess of Cornwall slips, falls, dies of head injury

Published on: May 6, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

The Duchess of Cornwall, the wife of Prince Charles, lost her brother late last month after he slipped and fell outside of a bar in New York City. Though the details of the fall are not entirely clear, his death calls into question whether any unsafe conditions were present and whether the bar’s owner might be held responsible for the man’s death. Of course, it is not known if the duchess’ brother’s family members will file a premises liability lawsuit or not, or even if there is enough evidence to support the bar owner’s or the city’s negligence.

When someone is injured on an individual, company or city’s property, he or she can often file a premises liability lawsuit. In order to succeed with the lawsuit, however, the property owner must have failed in its duty to keep safe conditions on the property. So, when a person is injured, the victim and his or her attorney must have enough evidence to convice a judge and jury that the owner was negligent.

The 62-year-old brother had been out celebrating when he slipped and fell outside of a bar at the Gramercy. According to reports, the man was trying to light a cigarette outside of the building when he fell. He was conscious and told paramedics that his head hurt when they arrived on the scene, so they took him to Bellevue Hospital. Sadly, he died that same day.

Making distracted driving socially unacceptable

Published on: April 30, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Even though there are still people who will get behind the wheel while drunk, drunk driving is still seen as morally reprehensible. There are not many people willing to make excuses for people who drive drunk, but when someone is driving while distracted by a cellphone or some other kind of electronic device, some people are willing to give him or her a pass. The problem is, however, that distracted driving is incredibly dangerous and can cause the same types of injuries and death on New York’s roads that drunk driving can.

There are safety professionals across the country who are trying to cut down on the number of distracted drivers, and one of the main suggestions is to make distracted driving just as socially unacceptable as drunk driving.

One of the ways to do that is by encouraging others to remind drivers to put their electronic devices down while driving. Passengers should feel comfortable telling their drivers to not use the phone while driving. Individuals who receive calls from people driving can also tell drivers to call them back when they are done driving. Basically, the more societal pressure that is put on drivers to stop driving while distracted, hopefully the less likely they will be to use their phones while driving.

Delays in diagnosis could create serious problems

Published on: April 24, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Imagine you go to the doctor for a cough you just can’t beat; it’s something people in Syracuse do all the time. The doctor says what you likely already thought: it’s a cold. He or she gives you a perscription-strength cough supressant and sends you on your way. The problem is, your cough isn’t caused by a cold, but by lung cancer.

This is a frightening scenario that happens all too frequently, reports the New York Post. According to a new study to be published in the British medical journal BMJ Quality & Safety, one in 20 patients in the U.S. are misdiagnosed each year. This boils down to approximately 12 million adults.

In some situations, a misdiagnosis or a delay in diagnosis has no ill effects, but in many situations, it could be deadly.

Could school, city have prevented student suicides?

Published on: April 22, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Ithaca is a beautiful city and the Cornell campus has great views of its lovely gorges. Those gorges, however, have recently become the subject of a premises liability lawsuit following a Cornell student’s death. Though the student did commit suicide, the young man’s parents are alleging that both the school and the city were negligent in not doing more to prevent people from jumping or falling off of the bridges crossing the gorges.

While many people think of premises liability lawsuits as slip-and-fall cases, that is not the only kind of injury for which a plaintiff can collect. Any time someone is injured on a piece of property because of another’s negligence, he or she can file a premises liability lawsuit. Typically, this is seen when a person falls inside or outside of a store, but it can cover things like a dog bite at a private residence, an unmarked hole on a piece of property, an elevator injury, or, as in this case, a student’s suicide.

The young man’s parents are suing both Cornell and the city of Ithaca for not doing more to prevent “jumpers.” It is not as if this student’s suicide was the first. In a span of 20 years from 1990 to 2010, 27 people died after jumping into Cornell’s gorges. In the 2009-2010 school year alone there were six suicides. This young man committed suicide in February 2010.