(914) 220-1086Plaintiff, Jacob Lavi, and his wife, brought a lawsuit against NYU Hospitals Center and endocrinologist Barry Schuval, to recover damages for medical malpractice and lack of informed consent. After receiving testosterone replacement therapy by a treating endocrinologist, plaintiff was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The plaintiffs bring suit against the defendants for a failure to warn the […]
Medical Malpractice
Patient Fell Off Scale at NY Hospital – Case Will Proceed
In Patel v. American Medical Response, Inc., et al, the representative of a deceased patient brought a negligence action against an ambulance operator and hospital to recover damages for personal injuries sustained after EMT left him unattended on a scale. The patient fell off the scale. The Supreme Court of Nassau County denied the hospital’s motion for […]
“Tongue Tie” Clipping Procedure Mistakenly Performed on Wrong Infant
Jennifer Melton delivered a beautiful and healthy baby boy named Nate on December 16, 2015 at University Medical Center in Tennessee. Jennifer was encouraged by a nurse to allow her newborn to be taken to the nursery for a check-up. As this is routine, Jennifer tried to get some rest. Nate was returned a few […]
Lawsuit Filed Following Newborn Death as Result of EMS Decisions / Medical Malpractice
The family of an infant child filed a lawsuit after the loss of their newborn in February of 2014 after emergency medical technicians and doctors made a series of medical errors, resulting in the infant’s death. On January 3, 2014, Sara Keenan breastfed her newborn baby Lana and put her down for a nap; an […]
N.Y. Medical Malpractice Action Involving Res Ipsa Claim Will Proceed
In Swoboda v Fontanetta, 2015 NY Slip Op 06804 [131 AD3d 1042], the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a trial court order for summary judgment in an action for medical malpractice. The plaintiff underwent surgery on her right shoulder in 2007, which was performed by the defendant physician at the defendant hospital. Following the surgery, […]
Nurse Pleads Guilty to Obtaining Narcotics Through Fraudulent Prescriptions
Linda Masse, a Licensed Practical Nurse, pled guilty in Schenectady County Court to one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a Class D Felony, with a sentence of felony drug court. Masse also agreed to surrender her nurse practitioners license. Linda Masse was a licensed practical nurse at Women’s […]
Lavern’s Law: An Attempt to Modify NY’s Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
New York State is one of the few states that do not have a “date of discovery” statute of limitations, which can prove detrimental to many medical malpractice victims. A date of discovery statute of limitations allows a person to pursue an action from the date at which the malpractice is discovered as opposed to the […]
Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Case Dismissed due to Expert’s Use of Unproven Medical Opinion
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a trial judge’s order that granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing a medical malpractice complaint. The plaintiff was prescribed Lipitor and Azithromycin. Lipitor is FDA-approved to treat high cholesterol. Azithromycin is an anti-biotic used to treat bacterial infections. The plaintiff later suffered from […]
$115,000 Pain and Suffering Verdict Affirmed in Surgical Malpractice Case
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department affirmed a jury verdict that awarded the plaintiff $115,000 in past pain and suffering when a surgical team left a surgical instrument inside of the plaintiff. The plaintiff was undergoing surgery at the defendant hospital at the time of the incident. A team of nurses and […]
Proposed Budget Would End Physician Profile Website
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget would eliminate nydoctorprofile.com, a state-run website that provides information to current and prospective patients about New York doctors’ education, areas of practice, professional activities, and legal action taken against them. According to the governor’s proposed budget, the site is duplicative, as much of the information on it can be found […]
Medical Malpractice: A Brief Overview
In 2013, the state of New York led the nation in medical malpractice payouts, issuing $38.83 per capita compared to Pennsylvania (#2 on the list) who paid out $24.76 per capita in medical malpractice. The top 3 reasons for medical malpractice suits are: missed or incorrect diagnosis, negligent surgery, and inappropriate treatment. Malpractice is a […]
Former NFL Players File Class Action Lawsuit Claiming that the League Illegally Provided Them with Pain Medications
In May 2014, eight former NFL players filed a class-action lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court. The suit, which has since been joined by 500 other former players, alleges that NFL doctors and trainers illegally provided them with powerful pain medications in order to ensure that the players could return to the field. The suit claims […]
Registered Nurse Charged with Stealing Morphine Intended for Patients
Katherine Falzetta, 23, a Registered Nurse at the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Clinton, New York, was arrested in May 2013 for stealing morphine from patients not under her care. Falzetta appeared in Plattsburgh City Court before Judge Mark Rogers and was released on her own recognizance. She was charged with first-degree falsifying business records, […]
First Department Reverses Summary Judgment in Medical Malpractice Action
In April, the Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department reversed the lower court’s ruling of summary judgment in favor of the defendant in a medical malpractice action. Originally, the Bronx Supreme Court granted summary judgment for doctor and hospital, finding that the defendants’ failure to diagnose cancer was not a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s […]
Brooklyn Senior Citizen Dies after Receiving Incorrect Blood Type
An investigation into the death of a Brooklyn woman at Coney Island Hospital in early June has revealed that hospital error led to the fatal consequences. Hospital staff reportedly misidentified the elderly patient’s blood type, leading to a fatal transfusion of the incorrect type of blood. For the immediate future, the Department of Health has […]
One Doctor’s Plan to Increase Patient Safety
Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran an article written by a surgeon in which he outlines five steps that he feels hospitals could take to increase accountability and minimize potential malpractice. The author, Marty Makary, has worked at a surgeon in such renowned facilities as Johns Hopkins Hospital and DC General. Makary’s suggestions are […]
Mother Sues after 7 Year Old Almost Dies from Medication Mix-Up
A mother in the Bronx is suing her local pharmacy after it mistakenly provided her seven year old son with Methadone instead of his prescribed Ritalin. The Post reports that the two drugs have been confused before by pharmacies, because they look alike and have somewhat similar names (Ritalin is also known as methylphenidate). Medication […]
Limits on Prescription Painkillers?
The New York Times is reporting that a group of approximately thirty-five doctors have signed a petition to the Food and Drug Administration, asking that more stringent regulations be placed on the prescription of pain-killers. The doctors’ impetus for the petition is to curb abuse of the drugs. In the petition, the physicians ask that […]
Brooklyn Hospital Faces Staggering Number of Medical Malpractice Suits
Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center currently faces more than one hundred open lawsuits based upon medical malpractice, the Daily News reports. Ranging from infections to medication errors to infant brain damage, the hospital has been targeted by patients and their families for allegedly negligent care. The financially troubled facility operated at a $42 Million […]
Appellate Division, Second Department Upholds Jury Verdict in Medical Malpractice Action
Last week, the Second Department upheld a jury verdict in a Suffolk County medical malpractice action. The plaintiff sought and received from the Defendant doctor, among other things, counseling for mental health issues. During the course of the plaintiff seeing the defendant professionally, a personal sexual relationship developed. The consensual relationship lasted approximately nine months, […]
Defendant Precluded After Improperly Obtaining Information From Treating Physician Without Authorization
Defense counsel in Muzio v. Napolitano, a recent medical malpractice case, conducted an interview of the plaintiff’s treating physician, a nonparty, without obtaining a Arons authorization. The Arons case requires that plaintiffs provide defendants with written authorizations allowing counsel for the defense to interview plaintiff’s treating physicians. However, this interview cannot take place without such […]
New York Nurse Sentenced To Six Months Incarceration After Cover-up Of Medication Error
At Terence Cardinal Cooke, a nursing home in New York, NY, Coral Quintyne, a Licensed Practical Nurse, was recently arrested and prosecuted for giving methadone to the wrong resident. As a result of the medication error, the elderly resident required hospitalization. What is more disturbing and likely the reason for the arrest is that the […]
Bronx Jury In Medical Malpractice Case Returns $20 Million Verdict Against Gastroenterologist
A Bronx, NY jury recently awarded $20 million in a medical malpractice case to a 43 year-old unemployed man whose colon was damaged during a colonoscopy. However, due to a high/low agreement entered into by the parties, plaintiff will receive $850,000. Plaintiff Edgar Gonzalez developed peritonitis that necessitated removal of some of his colon and […]
New York Hospital Ordered To Pay $1.5 Million For Anesthesiologist’s Error In Medical Malpractice Matter
A New York County jury recently awarded $1.5 million to a woman who claimed that she suffers permanent dysfunction of her jaw as a result of an anesthesiologist’s error during surgery. The matter stems from an April 2004 procedure in which plaintiff Caridad Cuevas underwent removal of a stone from a salivary gland. Cuevas claimed […]
Upstate New York Jury Awards $1.7 Million Due To Improper Injection
A New York jury recently awarded a female home-care nurse from Syracuse $1.7 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Community General Hospital. Plaintiff, Tina Holstein, claimed that she was improperly administered an injection after giving birth to her third child. Due to complications during the delivery, a nurse reportedly gave Holstein an injection “too […]
