Mount Sinai Hospital’s Medical Malpractice Caused Infant’s Death
Mount Sinai Hospital is a well-known hospital that borders on Manhattan’s East Harlem and Yorkville neighborhoods. Originally founded in 1852, the center now includes the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which currently ranks among America’s top 20 medical schools. Unfortunately, this ranking isn’t enough to prevent medical malpractice from occurring at the hospital, and one of its more shocking cases involved the in-utero death of an infant.
On 13 December 2017, Jana Diaz arrived at Mount Sinai’s Midwood’s facility in Brooklyn at 1 am due to cramps and bleeding. The hospital did not have a maternity ward or an OBGYN on staff, and no one was immediately called when it became apparent that they did not have the knowledge or facilities needed to treat Jana correctly. In fact, Jana states that it took 90 minutes for the emergency care doctor-on-call to see her and perform an exam and that her unborn baby’s heart rate had dropped to 104 by then. Despite this, Jana says that the hospital staff was more concerned with ensuring that her paperwork was being correctly filled in as opposed to managing her clinically. Jana’s lawyer states that as a clear obstetrical emergency, an emergency C-section should have been performed immediately.
Surgical Error at Hospital for Special Surgery Results in Young Girl Going Blind
Known as one of the best hospitals in New York City, the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is considered a leading orthopedic, rheumatology, and neurological care facility. Unfortunately, medical malpractice can still occur in medical centers with such stellar reputations, as evidenced by Bethany Flanders and her filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit against one of the hospital’s doctors.
When Bethany Sanders was 13 years old, she underwent spinal surgery to help treat her serious scoliosis. Despite being doubled over and barely able to walk, Bethany could still see and had normal vision before undergoing the seven-hour operation; however, Bethany came out of the surgery unable to see – a possible surgical side-effect that surgeon Oheneba Boachie-Adjei failed to disclose to her and her family. Additionally, the informed consent form required for such a surgery was never presented to Bethany and her parents, nor was it signed.
One of New York University Langone Medical Center’s Own Doctor’s Sues for Medical Malpractice
When the terms “medical malpractice” and “medical malpractice lawsuit” are mentioned, visions of patients and their families suffering needlessly are the first that come to mind. However, fellow doctors are just as vulnerable to medical malpractice at the hands of their colleagues.
In 2014, Steven Stuchin, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, became a victim of New York University Langone Medical Center, when he was forced to undergo a battery of assessments, including neurological testing, in a bid to dismiss him from his position. Stuchin, who was 66 years old at the time, had a “stellar” reputation as an experienced doctor at NYU’s Langone Hospital for Joint Diseases and as an associate NYU professor. He claims that he was treated like an “old bag of bones” after two higher-ups decided that he was too old to continue working, despite there being no valid reason.
Montefiore Medical Center and Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
With more than 1,490 beds and multiple facilities in Bronx residential neighborhoods, Montefiore Medical Center boasts a large presence in NYC. It completes approximately 15,532 inpatient and 13,431 outpatient surgeries each year and is among 38 academic medical centers nationwide to be awarded a prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award by the National Institutes of Health. However, like all medical institutions, the center is not immune to incidences of medical malpractice, and several medical malpractice lawsuits have been filed against the center in recent years.
Surgical Error Causes Boy to Have Surgery on Both Eyes
In 2011, a four-year-old boy named Jesse Matlock received corrective eye surgery on the incorrect eye. Afterward, his parents were forced to take him to another specialist when it was discovered that Jesse’s surgeon, upon realizing her mistake, quickly operated on the correct eye as well.
Tasha Gaul, Jesse’s mother, revealed that it was uncertain whether there would be permanent damage to Jesse’s previously healthy eye.
The reason for the surgery was due to Jesse’s wandering right eye. The procedure of the surgery was to weaken the muscle at the bottom of Jesse’s right eye since the uneven strength of that muscle was causing his eye to wander. However, it was only after the procedure was completed on the left eye that the surgeon realized she had operated on the wrong eye. She sent a nurse out to inform Jesse’s parents that she was going to operate on both eyes, and the nurse quickly returned to the operating room before they could make any inquiries.
Hospital Negligence and Hospital Infections
Though cases of hospital negligence and malpractice are not as common as other types of medical malpractice, hospitals have a responsibility to both their staff and their patients to provide the best quality and standards of care, as well as a safe and hygienic environment.
Hospitals are required to have several policies and protocols in place, one of which being the hospital’s stance and procedure related to infection control. It is the duty of the hospital to not only establish these protocols but to monitor them consistently to ensure that they are being adhered to. Not doing so can lead to patient injury or even death.
It was reported that an estimated 1.7 million cases of hospital-acquired infections occurred in the United States in 20
Hospital Negligence at New York Fertility Clinic
In 2007, Nancy Andrews and her husband sued a Long Island fertility clinic after it was revealed that they had inseminated her with the wrong man’s sperm.
Nancy and her husband approached the New York Services for Reproductive Medicine for in-vitro fertilization treatments after struggling to conceive their second child. Nancy became pregnant soon after and gave birth to a healthy baby girl nine months later. The couple’s joy quickly turned to bewilderment, however, when it became apparent that the girl had markedly darker skin than either of her parents.
What are the Most Common Surgical Errors?
There are 6 major surgical errors that have been found to be the most common both nationally and internationally. These errors are most often featured in medical malpractice cases and include the following:
1. Wrong-Procedure Surgical Error
A wrong-procedure surgical error is an error that occurs when your surgeon performs the incorrect surgical procedure on you. An example could be if you were scheduled for a foot amputation, but your surgeon amputates your entire calf instead.
2. Wrong-Site Surgical Error
A wrong-site surgical error is an error that occurs when your surgeon performs your scheduled surgical procedure, but on the wrong part of your body.
What is a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
Medical malpractice is sometimes also known as medical negligence. It occurs when a healthcare professional, or provider, does not provide you with the correct treatment or provides you with substandard treatment. If these professionals and providers fail to take appropriate action to treat your condition, then medical malpractice is said to occur.
Based on this, a medical malpractice lawsuit makes it possible for you or your family member to receive compensation from the harm that resulted from this sub-standard treatment.
Hospital Negligence Caused Iowa Veteran’s Death
In 2017, army veteran Richard Hopkins, aged 65, of Davenport died after developing a post-surgery infection at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa City. His family filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in June 2019 against the hospital. His family says that the infection that killed him was caused by medical negligence and that at least 3 other patients in the same hospital suffered similar complications.
The hospital negligence lawsuit centers around the fact that Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa City illegally hired a neurosurgeon, John Henry Schneider, who has a history of medical malpractice allegations and whose medical license had been revoked in Wyoming in 2014 due to allegations of poor patient care. The hospital hired Schneider in 2017 at an annual salary of $385,000 despite knowing his past and that there is a federal law stipulating that doctors whose state licenses have been revoked cannot work for the Veterans Affairs hospitals no matter the state that it is in.