new york medical malpractice

Published on: June 8, 2015

Andrew Cuomo endorses “Lavern’s Law”, a bill that strengthens the rights of victims of medical malpractice by extending the statute of limitations to run from date of discovery

The law in New York State requires victims of medical malpractice to file their claim within 15 months after medical malpractice occurs at a public hospital and 2 1/2 years against a private hospital or physician. Lavern’s Law proposes to start the statute of limitations from the time a patient discovers the malpractice rather than from the time the medical malpractice occurs. Lavern’s Law is named after Lavern Wilkinson who died from a curable form of lung cancer after doctors at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, NYC, failed to tell her that a chest X-ray they took in 2010 showed a small, suspicious mass on her right lung and instead sent her back home with Motrin. Lavern only discovered that she had cancer when she was terminal. By that time, the statute of limitations had expired and she wasn’t able to sue the hospital for failure to diagnose lung cancer. She died leaving behind her a daughter who was severely autistic. The city settled Wilkinson’s lawsuit, for $625,000 the day she died, March 7, 2013. Medical malpractice experts said her case would have netted over $10 million had it not been for the statute of limitations. Yesterday Governor Cuomo gave his support to the law. Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: June 4, 2015

Woman dies from medical malpractice in New York during a silicone butt lift performed by a phony doctor who took off while she was dying

By GGCRBHS&M

A 34 year old woman died from a botched butt lift in Queens, NYC. The woman traveled from Maryland with her mother to receive silicon injections in a basement apartment that a phony plastic surgeon was using as her office. After she received the injection, the patient started gurgling and struggling to breath. Her mother tried to resuscitate her with CPR. She asked the unlicensed doctor to call 911. Instead of calling for help the doctor grabbed her car keys, ran out of the apartment and took off in a gray SUV. The police are still looking for her.

This is the second time that a woman died after a botched butt lift in New York. In July 2013, 22 year old Tamara Blain died after unlicensed beautician Tamira Mobley allegedly filled her with butt-enhancing injections inside the Liberty Inn Hotel on W. 10th St.

Last year, Liliana Coello was sentenced to two years in jail after she gave a botched butt lift to a patient and injected her buttocks with Krazy Glue (see previous blog).

Continue reading →

Published on: May 4, 2015

To reduce overdose deaths, a new campaign by the New York State Department of Health seeks to educate Bronx doctors about safe and judicious opioid prescriptions

By GGCRBHS&M

A doctor who prescribes opioids to a patient with a history of abuse, fails to closely follow up with a patient who exhibits addictive behavior or disregards family concerns or warnings from other professionals such as pharmacists or primary physicians could face medical malpractice and/or wrongful death litigation, criminal prosecution, and a disciplinary proceeding by the State Medical Board.

In New York City, deaths related to opioid analgesics have increased 256% from 2000 to 2013 in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx are the most affected of the 5 Boroughs. To fight this epidemic, the New York Sate Department of Health is launching a Bronx detailing campaign during which representatives will visit more than 1000 doctors to educate them about about safe and judicious opioid analgesic prescribing. A similar campaign in Saten Island in 2013 lead to a reduction of 29% of overdose deaths from opioid analgesics.

Read the press release from the New York Health Department

Published on: March 17, 2015

After two patients suffered serious personal injury because they were administered non sterile simulation intravenous fluids at a New York urgent car facility, the NYSDOH and the CDC discovered that simulation medical products had inadvertently entered the clinical supply chain

By GGCRBHS&M

Two patients were seriously injured in a New York urgent care facility after they were inadvertently administered non sterile simulation intravenous fluids. They both experienced a febrile illness during administration and had to be hospitalized. One of them developed sepsis. Both of them survived.

The cases were reported to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)last year. The NYSDOH began a collaborative investigation with the CDC in December. The investigation found that four other New York outpatient facilities had received Wallcur simulation saline. All facilities said they had ordered the real product and weren’t aware that they had received a simulation product until they were were notified by the NYSDOH. Fortunately none of the facilities had used the product yet.

Wallcur recalled all its saline simulation products from the market at the beginning of the year (see previous blog). Investigation was pursued by the CDC at a national level. So far nationally 9 adverse events have been reported for 25 people including 11 hospitalizations. Two deaths occurred even though it wasn’t clear that they were related to the administration of the product. All clinical facilities that received the products confirmed that they were not aware at time of purchase that the product was intended for simulation only. Read more on the CDC website