Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Study: 1 in 10 doctors are addicted to drugs or alcohol

Published on: June 17, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

There is no doubt that the practice of medicine is stressful. There is immense pressure on getting it right, because failure could mean serious injuries or death. The overwhelming majority of doctors in upstate New York do take this responsibility seriously, but there are some doctors who are reckless or who let the pressure get to them. For the patients of these doctors, there is a real risk of medical malpractice.

Take one out-of-state doctor as an example. His alleged dependence on alcohol and drugs has had serious consequences. A number of his patients have been paralyzed with both paraplegia and quadriplegia. Many of them must now use wheelchairs because they can no longer walk. One man has even said that part of his spinal cord was removed in what should have been a simple back surgery.

This does not even cover the two patients who died after the surgeon operated on them.

Broome County car crash leaves passenger seriously injured

Published on: June 11, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

What some people may not realize is that when a car accident happens, there doesn’t have to be two cars involved to file a personal injury lawsuit. Passengers can also sue the drivers of the vehicles they are in if they suffer serious injuries in a car accident. Just like with other motorists on the road, the driver is responsible for doing everything possible to prevent a crash.

Unfortunately, many drivers don’t take this responsibility seriously and will drive recklessly with passengers in the car. If they cause a crash, they can then be held liable for any injuries, lost wages, pain and suffering and more the passenger may experience. Moreover, a driver may need to pay surviving family members if he or she causes a fatal motor vehicle crash.

At the end of last month, a driver was apparently driving recklessly when he lost control of his vehicle and smashed into a utility pole in the town of Maine in Broome County. His passenger was seriously injured and admitted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver was killed in the accident.

Medical groups issue paper that asks doctors to avoid C-sections

Published on: June 5, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

There is no denying the fact that a cesarean section can be convenient. Instead of having to wait and wait for a baby to come, parents can schedule a C-section. Instead of having to go through a long labor, mothers can have a C-section and be taken to recovery. Though convenient, C-sections should only be used when absolutely necessary, and according to the World Health Organization, countries should not have C-section rates higher than 15 percent. The U.S., however, delivers one in three children by C-section.

Not only do C-sections potentially expose children to higher risks of asthma, juvenile diabetes, breathing problems and allergies, the procedure can also seriously injure mothers. In some cases, if a mother is hurt in the process of a having a C-section, she may sue her obstetrician for personal injury.

One reason that researchers believe has caused the spike in the number of C-sections is medical professionals’ fear of medical malpractice lawsuits. Some doctors are quick to recommend C-sections if there is a risk that a delay in birth could cause a birth injury. If doctors were better able to tell when C-sections were actually necessary, however, this could potentially be avoided.

Front crash prevention system may not help with negligent drivers

Published on: June 3, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

There are a number of new vehicles on the road these days and, as always, they are utilizing a variety of new technologies to keep drivers and passengers safer. These technological breakthroughs are certainly important, but they often fail to protect against negligent drivers. Yet having one of the newest safety features, front crash prevention systems, won’t necessarily keep a driver safe from a motor vehicle accident caused by a distracted or reckless driver.

Front crash prevention systems do what they say, they try to prevent crashes to the front of the vehicle. In essence, a system will let driver A know that his or her vehicle is getting to close to the rear of driver B’s vehicle. Sometimes there are warnings, sometimes the car automatically slows down. What the system does not do, however, is warn driver A that driver C’s vehicle is quickly approaching from behind and will hit the back of driver A’s car. It also would not warn driver A that his or her car is about to be hit on the right or left side by drivers D or E, respectively.

Although there are some amazing safety features out there, they have not yet gotten rid of the need for personal injury lawsuits. When a negligent, reckless or distracted driver causes a motor vehicle accident, it will be a personal injury lawsuit that then protects an injured victim, not a safety feature.

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.