Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

A recent study of approximately 400,000 patients suggests that emergency room physicians treating chest pain are all too often ordering cardiac catheterizations, a relatively safe procedure commonly used to rule out a heart attack. Surprisingly, most of the patients who underwent the procedure did not have obstructive disease.

According to Central New York medical malpractice lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, most unnecessary medical procedures are performed without incident. However, where a patient experiences a complication as a result of a contraindicated medical procedure, the physician who ordered the procedure may be liable for medical negligence.

Typically, interventional cardiologists perform cardiac catheterizations by threading a thin tube into a vein or artery in the groin and maneuvering the tube to the coronary arteries or heart. In most cases, the patient is awake and feels no pain. Soreness is to be expected in the blood vessel where the catheter was inserted. Known risks and complications associated with cardiac catheterization include: infection, damage to involved blood vessels, arrhythmias, low blood pressure (hypotension), blood clots, heart attack, congestive heart failure and allergic reactions to dye causing kidney damage.

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All too often, cerebral palsy caused by medical malpractice occurs in Syracuse, Utica, Oswego, Watertown and Binghamton, New York. As many as one-third of cerebral palsy cases are associated with an early labor and delivery resulting in a premature baby.

When OBGYNs or labor and delivery nurses correctly diagnose an impending preterm birth, a recent study suggests that magnesium sulfate should be prescribed to protect against cerebral palsy. According to Syracuse birth injury lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, magnesium sulfate may strengthen fetal blood vessels and, in turn, increase oxygen transport despite swelling and inflammation associated with an early delivery.

While scientists have not identified exactly how magnesium sulfate may aid in protecting a premature baby from brain injury, and despite the fact that the therapy has not been approved by the FDA, many OBGYNS are recommending the chemical compound (which also goes by the name Epson salt) to pregnant mothers.

According to John Thorpe, co-author of one of the largest studies of cerebral palsy and magnesium sulfate, "[v]irtually every delivery room in the United States is already stocked with magnesium sulfate solutions that are given to pregnant women during childbirth for other reasons. [W]hat we have learned from this study is that we have a cheap, widely available treatment already in hand that cuts in half the risk of babies being born with an extremely disabling disorder. That is a tremendously exciting development."

Continue reading "Failure To Prescribe Magnesium Sulfate May Increase Cerebral Palsy Risk In Preterm Infants By 50%" »

Children's Hospital researchers recently announced that a procalcitonin test may help identify serious bacterial infections in children without the need for hospitalization, invasive testing (such as a spinal tap), or medication.

According to Syracuse, New York infection lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, one of the most significant signs of an ongoing disease process in children is a fever. Most infant visits to an emergency room are for fever. As many as 20% of fevers have no identifiable cause. While a fever may be a symptom of something as minor as a cold or the flu, a fever may also be a sign of a very serious infection, such as meningitis, bacteremia, pneumonia or urinary tract infection. The failure to diagnose meningitis can result in brain damage or death.

As many as 12% of "well-appearing" children in the emergency room are very ill. Emergency room doctors should not rely solely upon whether a child has a fever to determine whether a baby is sick, especially in children under the age of 3 months. In turn, most order a battery of tests, including analysis of blood, urine and spinal fluid. Performing a procalcitonin test may allow emergency room personnel to quickly identify whether a child is at low-risk for a serious bacterial infection.

Continue reading "Child Bacterial Infections Marked By Fever Diagnosed With Procalcitonin" »

According to New York medical malpractice lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, with offices in Syracuse, Utica and Watertown, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may reduce a potentially lethal labor and delivery complication known as placenta acrete.

Placenta accrete is a condition occurring in 1 out of every 2,500 births. It involves the placenta attaching too deeply to the uterine wall - through the endometrium and into the myometrium. If undetected until the time of labor and delivery, either because an OBGYN failed to order an MRI to diagnose the complication, because and MRI was misread by a radiologist, or because the condition was occult, post-partum hemorrhaging may occur as the placenta is delivered during the third stage of labor.

A recent study suggests that an MRI may be more than 90% effective in diagnosing placenta accrete. Risk factors for placenta accrete include: a prior uterine surgery, prior cesarean section, myomectomy, advanced maternal age (over 35), D&C and, according to some literature, a female fetus.

Continue reading "Failure to Order MRI May Increase Risk For Misdiagnosis of Placenta Accrete In Central New York Pregnant Mothers" »

According to Syracuse New York birth injury lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, children diagnosed with cerebral palsy are on the rise in the United States, especially in cases involving prematurity.

In a recent study of 222 preterm births, research reported that connective tissue may be the link between cerebral palsy and prematurity. More specifically, inflammation in the connective tissue in the umbilical cord may lead to cerebral palsy. There are many potential causes for inflammation in the connective tissue in the umbilical cord, including: premature birth from preterm labor, premature rupture of the amniotic sac, and infection.

The umbilical cord is the pathway for oxygen and nutrients to a fetus, and waste from a fetus. Where there is umbilical cord inflammation, the ability of the cord to pass oxygen to a fetus may be impaired. Likewise, the ability of the cord to pass waste from the fetus (contributing to acidosis) may be impaired. During labor and delivery, an OBGYN should monitor a pregnant mother and unborn fetus for problems with umbilical cord function. Often times, fetal distress visible on tracings created by an external fetal heart rate monitor (EFM) may suggest that an unborn baby's lifeline is failing or is compromised and, in turn, the baby should be delivered by cesarean section as soon as possible.

Continue reading "Study Linking Cord Inflammation From Prematurity To Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis Reviewed By Watertown New York Birth Injury Lawyers" »

It is well-known that very sick patients, especially those in the intensive care units at Central New York hospitals, e.g., Crouse Hospital (Syracuse), St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center (Syracuse), Community General Hospital (Syracuse), SUNY Upstate University Hospital (Syracuse), Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare (Utica), St. Elizabeth's Medical Center (Utica), Oswego Hospital (Oswego), United Health Services Hospital (Binghamton), and Samaritan Medical Center (Watertown), require close monitoring. According to Dr. Phillip H. Factor, of Beth Israel Hospital in New York, "[r]elying on electronic monitors is not sufficient in the sickest of the sick; these patients require direct observation."

A recent study suggests that very sick patients assigned to ICU rooms that could not be directly observed from a nursing station, were more likely to die while hospitalized. Data from the study is still being analyze to determine why deaths were more likely and what can be done to lessen the risk, such as increasing the nurse-to-patient ratios for remote ICU beds so that nurses spend more time at the bedside.

Continue reading "New York Hospital Wrongful Death Lawyers On Nursing Negligence In ICU" »

According to the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society, botulinum toxin type A (also known as Botox) may be an effective treatment for Central New York children diagnosed with cerebral palsy including, specifically, symptoms of cerebral palsy like muscle tightness and spasticity.

The intended effect of a Botox injection is to paralyze a spastic muscle. However, the benefits are not without risk. According to the FDA, there have been reports of "isolated cases of generalized weakness following use of botulinum toxin type A for spasticity." These reports are under investigation. In addition to Botox, recent guidelines also propose the use of diazepam or tizanidine for suppression of spasticity. Each are associated with side effects, including liver toxicity.

Cerebral palsy is a condition, often caused by hypoxia in the womb or ischemia during child birth, affecting the brain and nervous system functions such as movement, hearing, vision, cognition and thought. While spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy is the form most often associated with a birth injury or birth trauma, there are other forms, e.g., dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic and mixed.

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