Published on:

Every time a baby is born in an upstate New York hospital, such as Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, New York, Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare in Utica, New York, Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, New York, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, New York, Oswego Hospital in Oswego, New York, or Auburn Hospital in Auburn, New York, the baby’s birth weight is recorded. That data is made available to researchers who study trends in newborn birth weights.

A recent Harvard study reports that newborn birth weights are down in the United States by about 1.8 ounces. Average birth weights now hover around 7 pounds 6 ounces. The decline in baby weight is a positive development as larger babies are at greater risk for birth injuries and birth trauma, such as a shoulder dystocia because a baby’s body is too big for the birth canal or where a baby sustains brain damage from a lack of oxygen that leads to cerebral palsy. Macrosomic babies, including large babies because of a failure to diagnose gestational diabetes, are also at greater risk for diabetes and obesity later in life.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Crouse Hospital recently received the American Stroke Association’s 2010 award for Silver-Plus Performance Achievement. The award recognizes Crouse Hospital‘s commitment to stroke care, including timely recognition of stroke symptoms and prompt treatment by tPA, where appropriate. The hospital’s pledge to patients should lead to a lower number of misdiagnosed strokes and permanent disabilities.

Strokes kill more than 100,000 people every year, and are a leading cause of long-term disabilities. 75% of strokes occur in people over age 65. Strokes are more common in women and African Americans. Stroke symptoms include: numbness of face, arm or leg; sudden confusion; vision disturbances; difficulty speaking; absence of coordination; and a “thunderclap” headache.

Nearly 90% of strokes are ischemic, which is where a blood clot prevents blood from flowing. tPA can be used to treat ischemic strokes, provided it is administered quickly. Failure to administer tPA may be due to medical malpractice such as an emergency room error.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Prostate cancer affects the prostate gland. The prostate gland is part of a man’s reproductive system. It is a marble-sized structure that wraps around the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine from the body.

Often, prostate cancer is misdiagnosed as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The symptoms for each are similar, including difficulty urinating, pain when urinating, pain with ejaculation and lower back pain. Prostate cancer can also be associated with incontinence and blood in the urine.

Generally, prostate cancer is treated by radiation therapy or surgical removal of the prostate. That therapy usually takes seven (7) weeks. However, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, based in Syracuse, promises five day treatment with the Cyberknife. Cyberknife is a stereotactic radiosurgery device which allows for very precise removal of prostate cancer.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Prescription medication errors occur every day. Most drug mistakes are harmless; however, the prescription of improper medications can have severe consequences, including coma, stroke and death. In fact, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) one person dies every day because of a medication error.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices, in conjunction with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, recently unveiled the National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors (“Network”). The Network will notify as many as 35,000 pharmacists and medical professionals every time a medication error is reported. The hope is that notifications will raise institutional awareness about medication errors and, in turn, decrease the number of wrongful deaths caused by prescription drug mistakes.

Abbreviation errors lead to many mistakes in the administration of medication. Examples of common mistakes include confusing Bt (bedtime) with BID (twice daily), 10mg (ten milligrams) with M (risking 100x overdose), and IJ (injection) with IV (intravenous).
Continue reading →

Published on:

The Irish High Court ruled that a mother was rendered incontinent due to ob/gyn medical malpractice arising out of the birth of her child. According to reports, the woman sustained internal and external sphincter muscle tears due to forcep use and vacuum use during labor. While double instrumentation was employed to facilitate the delivery, significantly increasing the risk of injury to the mother and baby, the internal sphincter muscle injury went undiagnosed. In turn, the woman was left with incontinent.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal condition which involves curvature of the spine. Signs and symptoms of scoliosis in children include a spine that appears crooked, poor body posture, uneven shoulders, uneven hips, uneven legs and back pain. In extreme cases, scoliosis may also make it difficult for a child to breathe.

If diagnosed early, scoliosis is often treated by wearing a back brace. However, where a pediatrician fails to diagnose scoliosis, or misdiagnoses scoliosis symptoms as growing pains, more aggressive medical care may be necessary to correct the curvature, such as back surgery. Sometimes, the spinal curvature cannot be corrected.

According to a recent study of nearly three hundred children diagnosed with scoliosis, bracing was effective. In fact, the three year success rate for bracing was 80%, as compared to 46% for observation and 39% for electrical stimulation. Available data supports the conclusion that timely diagnosis results in a better outcome.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Oligohydramnios near term may be an indication for delivery, either by induction or c-section.

During pregnancy, the baby floats inside the placenta in a liquid known as amniotic fluid. The fluid is swallowed by the fetus. It is then excreted by urination. The level of amniotic fluid within the placenta may be a marked for fetal distress. The failure to diagnose low amniotic fluid, or the failure to diagnose too much amniotic fluid, can cause a birth injury due to medical malpractice.

Oligohydramnios is a condition where there is not enough amniotic fluid. It is usually marked by an AFI of less than 6. Hydramnios and Polyhadramnios is a condition where there is too much amniotic fluid. It is usually marked by an AFI of greater than 18. Generally, if there is an appropriate amount of amniotic fluid, a doctor may assume that the baby’s kidneys are functioning normally, which usually means that the heart is functioning normally, and on down the line.
Continue reading →

Published on:

In April of 2009, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, a Syracuse hospital, received chest pain center certification by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. St. Joseph’s Hospital mistakes are expected to decrease with the accreditation because the certification means that the hospital is committed to state-of-the-art care, including prompt identification of a heart attack and quick treatment. The faster that a heart attack is treated, the better the outcome.

A heart attack may not be treated quickly for several reasons. First, many people do not go straight to the hospital after they experience chest pain. On average, most heart attack victims do not arrive in an emergency room until two hours after a heart attack stops. From there, emergency room errors may lead to improper triage and a patient may not see a physician, or specialist such as a cardiologist, for several hours. Where patients are promptly seen by emergency room staff, chest pain due to a heart attack is commonly misdiagnosed as indigestion and patients are frequently sent home without life-saving treatment.
Continue reading →

Published on:

Last week, the New York State Department of Health announced that it was investigating the Oswego Fire Department’s ambulance corps for refusing to transport patients.

Syracuse area ambulances are required to take patients somewhere. Usually, to the closest available hospital. Emergency medical personnel are not supposed to make a determination regarding whether a patient needs to go to the hospital – even if they know the patient and his or her condition. According to the Post-Standard, the Department of Health received complaints that the Oswego Fire Department ambulance corps was not transporting patients who were suffering from minor or superficial injuries.

Our search of Court filings did not reveal any Syracuse ambulance lawsuits.
Continue reading →

Published on:

The Food and Drug Administration recently released a proposal to modify informed consent rules that apply to clinical trials. If the proposal is adopted, all clinical trials will have to be accompanied by a statement that “clinical trial information for such clinical trial investigations has been or will be submitted to the National Institutes of Health/National Library for inclusion in the clinical trial registry databank.”

Informed consent is a legal procedure where a doctor presents a patient with information about a procedure — including the potential benefit, risks, and available alternatives — so that the patient can make an informed decision about whether to undergo/forego a test, surgery or clinical trial. A patient must have legal or mental competency to provide informed consent. That is, minors cannot give consent, nor can people who are not competent because of duress, injury, drugs, alcohol, dementia and/or mental retardation. Where a doctor performs a surgery or procedure without securing informed consent he or she may be liable for professional negligence.
Continue reading →

Contact Information