Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer Anthony S. Bottar, managing partner of Bottar Leone, PLLC, one of Upstate New York's oldest law firms with a practice limited to medical malpractice, wrongful death, birth injuries, work injuries, brain injuries, and product/premises liability, was elected president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, an organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system.

The New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers boasts a membership of more than 1400 judges, law clerks, law firms, lawyers, paralegals and law students, including: Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers handling cases concerning stroke misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose cancer and failure to prevent a heart attack; Syracuse work injury lawyers handling cases concerning construction site accidents, scaffolding accidents and injuries caused by a fall from a height; Syracuse birth injury lawyers handling cases concerning fetal hypoxia and ischemia, cerebral palsy and Erb's palsy; Utica brain injury lawyers handling cases concerning concussions, post-concussion symdrome and TBI; Watertown medical malpractice lawyers handling cases concerning Samaritan Medical Center negligence and Fort Drum physician mistakes; and Watertown injury lawyers handling New York State Thruway accidents.

A malpractice claims analysis was recently published by CNY HealthPro, in conjunction with the Nurses Service Organization. The analysis reviewed nurse practitioner lawsuit claims data in an effort to increase medico-legal awareness, decrease nurse practitioner malpractice and prevent patient injuries from nurse practitioner mistakes.

According to Syracuse New York nurse practitioner error lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, nurse practitioners are increasingly becoming the focus of malpractice cases because of the growing role they play in dispensing medical care. According to the HealthPro/NSO report, the highest number of claims against nurse practitioners arose out of care provided in the medical care office. Nurse practitioner specialties with the most claims against them included adult/geriatric NPs, family NPs, and pediatric/neonatal NPs. The most severe claims -- meaning those with the most significant injury to the claimant -- conerned care that was or should have been provided by a pediatric/neonatal nurse practitioner. The largest settled claims involved a pediatric/neonatal NP's failure to diagnose.

Continue reading "Nurse Practitioner Errors Reviewed By Central New York Medical Malpractice Laywers: Most Severe In Pediatric/Neonatal Specialties" »

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" »

In the March edition of Consumer Reports, two Central New York hospitals will share the spotlight for having no central line bloodstream infections. A central line is a large diameter tube or catheter, usually inserted into a vein in the neck, chest or groin. Once in place, a central line can be used to deliver intravenous drugs and nutrition to patients. Without proper placement and maintenance, central lines are prone to infections. Central line bloodstream infections can lead to sepsis and death. As many at 15% of all hospital infections concern a central line.

Consumer Reports surveyed more than 100 hospitals nationwide. Of the hospitals surveyed, there were no reports of central line infections at Community General Hospital in Syracuse, New York. Likewise, there were no reports of central line infections at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, New York.

In order to avoid hospital infections, both Community General Hospital and Cayuga Medical Center have developed protocols to decrease the possibility of contamination by, e.g., instructing staff to wear gowns, gloves and masks, draping the patient, and limiting the number of times that the central line is handled. Further, both hospitals attempt to limit how long a central line is in place because the longer a line is in place, the greater the risk for infection.

In addition to hospitals without infections, the report also highlighted New York hospitals with higher-than-average infection rates. One Syracuse hospital with a higher-than-average surgery infection rate was Upstate University Hospital. Crouse Hospital was noted to have below average colon-surgery site infections.

Continue reading "Central New York Hospital Infections Down Per Syracuse and Cayuga Surgery Infection Lawyers" »

A few weeks ago, Syracuse's Crouse Hospital launched a "Shhhhh" campaign. Around the hospital, visitors are staff are being reminded by posters to keep quiet. Recent studies show that a quiet environment helps to lower a patient's heart rate and blood pressure, and may speed the healing process.

Crouse Hospital is not the first New York State hospital to adopt a quiet environment. In 2007, Montefiore Hospital in the Brox implemented a Silent Hospitals Help Healing, or SHHH, program. Crouse Hospital, like Montefiore, plans to reduce noise by silencing beeping monitors, eliminating squeaky cart wheels, reducing intercom pages, automating doors to prevent slamming, and encouraging late-night "whispering" between hospital staff, patients and visitors. Other ideas include installation of noise-reducing ceiling tile, curtains, turning beepers to vibrate, wearing soft-soled shoes, and headsets for patients to listen to television programming or music.

A secondary benefit of a quiet hospital is a calm working environment, which should operate to decrease hospital mistakes and medical malpractice caused by distractions due to stress, commotion and noise.

Continue reading "Syracuse New York Crouse Hospital Prescribes Quiet To Heal After Injury And Surgery" »

As many as 200,000 people die every year due to mistakes made in U.S. hospitals. Central New York hospitals are no exception.

In 1992, a 64 year old woman presented to Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, New York, for cancer therapy. She was supposed to receive an injection of carboplantin, but due to a medication mistake made by a hospital pharmacist, the woman received cisplantin. Cisplantin is far more powerful than carboplantin. Because of the Crouse Hospital prescription medication error, the woman died.

Probably because the woman was the wife of New York State Court of Appeals Judge Richard D. Simoons, Crouse administrators accepted responsibility for undeniable Central New York hospital negligence, stating that it was an "unmistakable human error." The hospital also stated that "it would not surprise us if we settled this without going to a lawsuit." Whether a lawsuit was necessary to secure compensation for the woman's pain and suffering is unknown.

Continue reading "Syracuse New York Hospital Wrongful Death Due To Cancer Medication Mistake" »

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 "Syracuse New York's Crouse Hospital Stroke Errors Low Per American Stroke Association" »

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 "Syracuse Heart Attack Lawyers On St. Joseph's Hospital Chest Pain Accreditation" »

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 "Oswego Ambulance Negligence Subject Of Health Department Investigation" »

Crouse Hospital, a 506 bed facility located in Syracuse, New York, was fined $10,000.00 by the New York State Department of Health for hospital negligence. Specifically, for failing to thoroughly check the background of an employee who sexually assaulted a mentally disabled patient in 2008.

In 2008, Crouse Hospital used "companions" to sit with patients in need of continuous supervision. It secured the "companions" from a contractor. Before exposing disabled patients to the "companions," Crouse failed to check to see whether the individuals were properly qualified. According to the State -- which issued the maximum fine -- there was no evidence that Crouse Hospital checked backgrounds of the "companions" who, in many cases, were providing care to patients such as inserting suction tubes and assisting with other activities of daily living.

Crouse Hospital no longer uses "companions."

Continue reading "Syracuse Hospital Negligence Results In Fine For Crouse" »

A press release issued by Auburn Memorial Hospital advertises that "iSuites" will enhance surgical safety and decreases incidents of medical malpractice and hospital mistakes.

According to Scott A. Berlucchi, President/COO of Auburn Memorial Hospital, the new surgical suites will be equipped with specialized lighting booms and television monitors, in order to enable surgeons to better control the configuration of the operating room. The new technology will also permit storage and recall of surgical imagery (photos and video taken during surgery). The iSuites are also expected to make the hospital more profitable and efficient, in that the operating rooms can be modified quickly to accommodate a multitude of surgeries.

Continue reading "Auburn Medical Malpractice Should Decrease With iSuites" »

Syracuse University Hospital was recognized recently by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program as one of 25 participating hospitals that achieved "exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care." Good surgical outcomes should mean that University Hospital's liability for medical malpractice should decline.

The National Surgical Quality Program focused on a handful of clinical areas, including deep vein thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, pneumonia, surgical site infections and urinary tract infections. According to John McCabe, M.D., University Hospital's CEO, "[t]his recognition from the American College of Surgeons underscores University Hospital's commitment to patient safety and quality surgical care," Further, "[t]his distinction ensures patients that they will receive the best care possible at University Hospital, and celebrates the work and dedication of our medical staff in providing this exemplary care."

The National Surgical Quality program was created to reduce the number of poor surgical outcomes, such as infections following surgery, as well as deaths due to surgical mistakes. The Program currently is used in more than 250 hospitals.

Continue reading "University Hospital Surgery Mistakes and Operation Complications Low Per ACS NSQIP" »