Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Tagged with new york medical malpractice

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NYC Medical Malpractice Attorney Ben Rubinowitz will participate to the virtual ED Director Forum
Our managing partner, Ben Rubinowitz will be a faculty member at tomorrow’s virtual 2021 ED Director Forum. He will be lecturing to emergency room physicians for the American College of Emergency Physicians.

In his presentation  “Medical Malpractice: Tips to Avoid It and What to Do If Sued!”, he will be discussing various aspects of emergency room medical malpractice including the failure to diagnose heart attacks, strokes, cancer and other cases involving emergency room failures by ER Physicians.

The objective of the lecture is to identify the common mistakes leading to ER medical malpractice, to recognize the typical errors committed after the litigation has  begun, to discuss how to prevent malpractice and to understand how to navigate the malpractice process.

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Mount-Sinai-HospitalPatient safety, infection control staffing ratio as well as patient boarding and conditions are out of control at the Emergency Room of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Executives who 3 years ago hired medical experts to assess the ER department issues, are fully aware of the situation but are doing nothing to improve it. According to former employees at all levels, at Mount Sinai Hospital profit comes before patient safety.  Staffers and doctors who worked there, were so horrified by the conditions of the ER that most of them quit after a few months. Dr. Eric Barton was the head of the emergency department for the Mount Sinai hospital Network for less than a year. He told the New York Post that he had to leave because the organization was not caring for patients. Nurses who quit because of the horrendous wok conditions remember seeing patients going into cardiac arrest without anyone noticing. Patients requiring critical care are often not admitted in the critical care unit timely because it is overloaded. ER Nurses who according to medical safety standards are supposed to care for five to six patients a day are assigned 14 to 18 of them a day.

Globally Mount Sinai has a solid reputation because some excellent doctors work there. It ranks #3 in New York and #14 in the US Best Hospitals Honor Roll of the US News ranking. It also ranks nationally in 9 adult and 5 pediatric specialties. Additionally the hospital was rated a high performer in 4 adult specialties and 7 procedures and conditions. The problem with Mount Sinai is that to access this high ranked care, patients are being parked in very unsafe conditions for up to two days in the emergency room or in the nearby hallways. The conditions are so bad that a worker said the emergency room at Mount Sinai look like Times Square.  While the hospital ranked well in the US News ranking  it ranks very poorly  – 3,874 out of 4,221 hospitals – in term of patient satisfaction on the NY department of Health website.

Shortly after the Post denounced the horrendous conditions at the Emergency Room, Governor Cuomo announced that he had ordered the State Health Department to probe the allegations in the Post.

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Only one Manhattan acute care hospital obtained a Top A grade in the Spring 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades: the NYC Health Hospitals –  Metropolitan in East Harlem.

Most of the others, NYU Langone Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals / Bellevue, Mount Sinai West, New York-Presbyterian , Northwell Health System – Lenox Hill Hospital, The Mount Sinai Hospital, NYC Health + Hospitals – Harlem and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s all obtained a C. Mount Sinai Beth Israel had the worst Manhattan score with a D on a scale of A for the best to F for the worst.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades is a nationwide bi-annual rating that focuses on acute care hospital errors, accidents, injuries and infections that collectively are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Based on the data provided by the report here is what we found for Manhattan hospitals.

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Best Personal Injury Law Firm 2018The New York Personal Injury Lawyers at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, are proud to announce that for the eighth consecutive year the firm has been listed in the newly released 2018 ranking of the Best Law Firms by U.S. News and Best Lawyers®.

For New York City the firm obtained the following rankings:

  • Tier 1 in Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
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jbAfter Lavern’s Law was left to die by the NY legislature, NYC medical malpractice attorney Jeff Bloom was quoted in Politico saying “The fact that once again the Senate leadership has caved to the will of hospital executives is a slap in the face to the men and women who are injured by careless medical errors and through no fault of their own find out too late to hold anyone accountable”. Jeff Bloom, a senior partner at our firm and the attorney for Elissa McMahon, whose doctors allegedly failed diagnose her uterine cancer, added: “[Senate Majority Leader John] Flanagan should look Lissy McMahon, her son Jack and other victims in the eye and explain why he is protecting negligent doctors rather than letting them have their day in court.” (For more info on the rejection of the Lavern’s Law by the NY legislature see our previous blog.)

The Lavern’s Law bill was not the only health care bill that didn’t make the cut in Albany.  HIV and AIDS advocates were expecting a $70 million in funding for housing that didn’t go through despite a previous announcement by Governor Cuomo that $200 million would be spent to fight the epidemic. A Cuomo task force dedicated to end the HIV epidemic also recommended passing the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act and the Reproductive Health Act but neither of them made it through the Senate. The Senate also blocked two bills facilitating the distribution of medical marijuana and a universal healthcare bill.

A bill proposing a cap of $250,000 for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases didn’t make it to the Assembly and another bill that would have relaxed the rules excluding hearsay as admissible evidence made it to the Assembly but was blocked by the Senate.

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A New York medical malpractice bill that proposed to start the statute of limitations when a medical error is discovered rather than when it is committed wasn’t considered by New York legislators before the summer break. It is the second year that the bill called Lavern’s Law died in the State legislature despite the strong support from many (see previous blog), including our firm.

One of our partners, Jeffrey Bloom is representing Elissa McMahon, a patient whose doctors failed to timely diagnose cancer. Elissa McMahon was  unable to bring a lawsuit against the doctors who misdiagnosed her because the statute of limitation had passed. Jeff made the trip with her to Albany to help her campaign for the Lavern’s Law. Now, Elissa McMahon who is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer will have to wait until next year to hopefully be able to bring a lawsuit against the negligent doctors who ruined her life. (see previous blog)

Last year the bill passed the Assembly but died in the Senate. This year the Assembly waited to see what the Republican Senate would do. Despite being backed by the Senate GOP Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco, the medical establishment was clearly against it and the Senate was unable to reach a consensus.

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In New York the statute of limitations for medical malpractice starts from the time the medical error occurred. Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein (D-Brooklyn) is sponsoring a bill that would start the statute of limitations from the time the medical error is discovered instead of the the time it occurred. The bill, named after Lavern Wilkinson, a mother who died of a curable form of lung cancer after doctors misdiagnosed her (see previous blog), has 38 Senate Sponsors , both Republican and Democrats according to Assemblywoman Weinstein. This is enough to pass as long as the Senate decides to take the bill to a vote this year. The time is ticking on the bill as there is only one week left before the session ends. Read more in New York CBS Local.

Our partner, New York Medical Malpractice Attorney Jeffrey Bloom is strongly supporting the bill. Jeff is representing Lissy MacMahon, a single mother of a 15 year old son who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Lissy had a previous surgery in 2012 in a New York Hospital. At the time of the surgery, doctors failed to diagnose her cancer. When she visited our office, Lissy learned that she was unable to sue because the statute of limitations had passed despite the fact that she had just learned about her cancer.  Lavern’s Law if it passed would allow Lissy to commence her lawsuit and make sure she and her son are taken care of.  Jeff traveled to Albany to support Lissy and many others who could benefit from the passage of this law. Below is a video of Lissy that will be shown to all New York State legislators.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot9MSGkcLbw

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jbOur partner, New York Medical Malpractice Attorney Jeff Bloom is helping our client Elissa McMahon in her crusade to get Lavern’s law passed (see previous post).  After she discovered that doctors in a New York hospital failed to diagnose cancer, Elissa McMahon was unable to bring a lawsuit because the statute of limitations had passed. In New York the statute of limitations for victims of medical malpractice starts at the time of the occurrence of the medical error. Lavern’s Law is a proposal to have the statute of limitations start at the time of the discovery of the error. This law would allow patients like our client, Elissa McMahon, to bring a lawsuit against the hospital which failed to diagnose her cancer. Most States in the US have similar laws. New York State is one of only six States to start the statute of limitations at the time of the occurrence of the error. Talking about Elissa McMahon’s case, Jeffrey Bloom told the NY Daily News “How could she possibly not have a right to bring a lawsuit when the statute of limitations ran (out) before she even knew she was sick?”

In 2012 Elissa McMahon went to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City for a fibroid removal. At the time of the surgery, pathology slides from Lenox Hill Hospital clearly indicated that the patient had cancer but doctors failed to diagnose it. Two years later she went to a doctor after suffering from severe back pain. She was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. 6 months later she consulted with our firm and discovered that the statute of limitations had passed and that she was unable to sue. Our partner Jeffrey Bloom is now helping Elissa McMahon in her battle to change the law and get justice. If the law goes through in the next session Elissa McMahon, a 46 year old single mother of a teenage son, will be able to bring a lawsuit. If it doesn’t pass this session she will have to wait until next year. She has stage 4 metastatic cancer and told the News “Even if my son can’t benefit from this, there are other people in similar situations.”

Below is a video of Elissa McMahon in which she discusses her tragic situation with Jeffrey Bloom. Jeff traveled to Albany in support of Elissa and others in her situation to push for the passage of Lavern’s Law. It is a travesty that the Republican’s in the legislature have been blocking this law.

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Victims of medical malpractice in New York have 15 months to file a lawsuit against a public hospital and 2 and half years  to sue a private hospital or a physician after a medical error occurred. This rule is unfair to the many patients who only discover that they have been the victim of a medical malpractice after the statute of limitations has passed. For example if a doctor fails to diagnose cancer, it can take several years until the misdiagnosis is discovered. The patient is then left without any possibility to sue and get compensated for the medical error.

Patient advocates strongly believe that the statute of limitations should start at the time of the discovery of the medical error instead of starting at the time of the occurrence of the medical error.

Last week a coalition of 33 organizations sent a letter to Governor Cuomo and the New York State legislative leaders asking them to take the appropriate measures to pass the so called Lavern’s law. The law, named after Lavern Wilkinson, proposes to start  the statute of limitations  at the time of the discovery of the medical error. Lavern Wilkinson died of a curable form of lung cancer in 2013 after being misdiagnosed in 2010.  Lavern was diagnosed with cancer while in terminal phase. The statute of limitations had passed and she was unable to sue for the medical malpractice and get compensated. She left behind a 15 year old autistic child who requires 24 hour attention and care.

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jbNew York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Jeffrey Bloom will be speaking at the New York City Bar Seminar “Current Issues in New York Medical Malpractice”. This program features a multi-disciplinary view of the current state of medical malpractice in New York, including regulatory concerns for the admitted professional liability insurers, techniques for judicial intervention in resolving malpractice claims; and recent changes in the law affecting the scope of the duties owed by physicians and hospitals. The program will highlight recent legislative developments and the prospect for further changes in the malpractice liability environment. Jeffrey will be speaking on the impact of the recent and proposed legislative changes on litigation of medical claims.  The event will take place this Monday May 23rd from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036. For more information or to register to this event click here.

Jeffrey Bloom is a partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf. In addition to trying and managing medical malpractice cases, Jeffrey Bloom is the Co-chair of the Medical Malpractice Committee of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association as well as the Co-Chair of LAWPAC New York, the Trial Lawyers political action committee. In these roles, he works to protect the rights of victims of medical malpractice in Albany with the Legislature and State government.

 

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