Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

Published on:

By

pregnancy medical malpracticeThe alarming rise in maternal deaths in the United States has become a pressing issue that demands immediate attention. According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the number of individuals dying from pregnancy-related causes has more than doubled over the past two decades. This devastating trend affects all racial and ethnic groups, with the worst outcomes observed among Black women, Native American and Alaska Native people. As medical malpractice lawyers representing victims of birth related injuries and deaths, we are deeply concerned about the persistently high maternal mortality rates and the disparities that continue to place certain populations at greater risk.

The study highlights the detrimental impact of structural racism and the historical lack of access to adequate healthcare services on maternal mortality rates

The disparities in healthcare outcomes are further exacerbated for populations that have been historically underserved. Black women, in particular, have consistently experienced the highest maternal death rates, which have more than doubled over the past two decades. Similarly, the rates for Native American and Alaska Native people have tripled during the same period.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

cyber attack can arm patientsEvery year the ECRI Institute publishes a list of the most serious issues threatening patients and health workers safety.  The 2023 report recently came out and here is a summary of the top 10 patients safety concerns for 2023:

  1. The Pediatric Mental Health Crisis

    The COVID-19 pandemic has highly impacted children’s mental health issues, with girls more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression and boys with attention deficit disorders. Additionally, the CDC recorded a significant increase in emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts by 12- to 17-year-olds in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. Unfortunately, it is estimated that only 40% of children suffering from depression receive treatment.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Do you need a medical malpractice lawyerChoosing a medical malpractice lawyer in NYC can be a daunting task, but with some research and preparation, you can find the right attorney to represent you. Here are some key factors to consider when selecting a medical malpractice attorney:

  1. Experience: Look for a trial lawyer who has extensive experience in handling medical malpractice cases. Ask about their track record and how many cases they have successfully handled. You want to choose a trial attorney who has a proven track record of success not only in settling cases but also winning jury verdicts.
  2. Specialization: Medical malpractice cases can be complex, so it’s important to choose a lawyer who is specialized in this area of law. Look for an attorney who has a deep understanding of the relevant laws and regulations.
Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Medical Malpractice Lawyer Ben RubinowitzOur Managing Partner, Ben Rubinowitz, has been asked to share his expertise in Medical Malpractice cases at the National Conference of the American Urologic Association. More than 30,ooo urologists from around the world attend this conference. The 2023 AUA Annual Meeting will take place in Chicago from April 28th to May 1st 2023.

Ben will be a Faculty member for a course directed by Mitchell Benson, MD, from Columbia University and entitled “Avoiding Medical Malpractice. What you need to know. What you can do. Case Presentations and Review”

Course Description: This course will explore what constitutes medical malpractice and what differentiates medical malpractice from criminal conduct. You will learn about defining the standard of care as it relates to patient outcomes. Most importantly, you will learn about what steps you need to take to defend yourself if named in a malpractice litigation and who to trust.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Health-Technoogy-Hazards-scaledWhile health technology is often synonymous with progress, some medical devices can be dangerous and lead to patient injury and death. Every, year the ECRI Institute compiles a list of the 10 most hazardous technologies in healthcare. This year the Top 10 health hazards are:

1. Confusing recalls of at-home medical devices

This health hazard arises from Philips’ chaotic recall of defective respirators that cost the lives of hundreds of  at home patients suffering from sleep apnea.  Between April 2021 and October 2022, the FDA received 260 reports of  patients who died while using the Philips respirator. The device was recalled but the manufacturer contacted mostly healthcare providers which were supposed to pass the information to their patients. The process was chaotic and many patients were never proprely informed. As a result, they continued to use the defective device and died. Some patients were contacted directly by the manufacturer, but the notification was unclear. The language was technological jargon that patients did not understand proprely.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

The New York City hospital where the deadly medical error occurredA mother about to give birth died from medical malpractice in a New York City Hospital.  On July 2020, Sha Asia Temple, a 26 year old pregnant woman was at Woodhull Medical Center about to give birth to her daughter. Dr Dmitry Shelchkov, the anesthesiologist who was in charge of giving her the epidural inserted the catheter to deliver the anesthesia 13 inches deep in her back instead of the recommended 4 inches and administered a full dose of anesthesia neglecting to first administer a test dose and check on the patient before administering the full dose. As a result the anesthesia liquid was injected into the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient complained that she could not breath anymore and died shortly after. According to the federal hospital inspection report, a doctor who rushed to the rescue screamed at Dr. Schelchkov “I can’t believe this is happening again!”. Sha Asia Temple died but her baby, Khloe, survived.

The causes of the death of Ms. Temple were only recently made public and the investigation report indicates that over the two years preceding the death of Ms. Temple, 6 patients in  labor at Woodhull Medical Center “suffered adverse outcomes related to the administration of anesthesia” and Dr Shlchkov was involved in most of them. The same errors of pushing the epidural  needle too deep and mixing the anesthesia with cerebrospinal fluid as well as not proceeding to a test before administrating the full dose were reported. Despite the obvious pattern, the hospital did not take any measures to monitor the doctor who was finally stripped of his medical license in 2021.

Epidural complications are rare and while epidural complications started to occur regularly at Woodhull Medical Hospital, the system was so dysfunctional that cases went unreported. It took the death of a mother for the administrators of the hospital to notice the pattern.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Best Law Firms - Standard BadgeOur firm is proud to announce that for the 13th consecutive year it has been named by U.S. News – Best Lawyers ® “Best Law Firms” a Tier 1 Firm in New York City for:

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

medical malpractice attorney Allan ZelikovicOur NY personal injury law firm is proud to announce that Allan Zelikovic obtained a $1 million settlement for a delivery driver killed in Manhattan.

This medical malpractice/wrongful death case involved a 51-year-old delivery driver who presented to Wyckoff Heights Hospital with chest pain.  He was examined in the emergency room and determined to be suffering from a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and atherosclerosis. A decision was made to transfer the patient to another hospital equipped to perform coronary angiography and place percutaneous coronary artery stents to re-open the coronary arteries thereby restoring the blood flow to the heart.

The doctor ruptured the patient’s left circumflex and obtuse marginal coronary arteries during coronary artery stent placement and despite evidence of blood leaking into the pericardial sac, the doctor completed the procedure and discharged the patient to the recovery room where he suffered another heart attack

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

grand-round-1Our Managing Partner Ben Rubinowitz conducted Grand Rounds for the Department of Radiology at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. The talk was titled ”Preventing Medical Malpractice.” 

In this presentation Mr Rubinowitz showed real life examples of medical negligence and then cross examined various residents, fellows and attending physicians to educate them on medical errors that had taken place in the past that resulted in injury and death to his clients.

The point of the lecture and demonstration was to teach medical residents and attending physicians about medical failures which were preventable — but when not properly and timely addressed, those failures and omissions often lead to catastrophic injury.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

MeFDA-logodtronic HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) device caused the wrongful death of more than 3,000 people since it was introduced on the market more than 10 years ago. The sale and distribution of the heart pump was stopped in June last year but many patients still have the pump implanted in them. Now some of the batteries powering the device might be deadly too.

Medtronic announced last May that a model of battery that was powering the Medtronic HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) was defective and that it could cause serious personal injury or death if it was not changed for a new battery. An urgent Medical Device Correction letter was sent out by Medtronic to all affected customers on May 5th  recalling 429 devices manufactured in April 2021. Then a month later, after the company received 1,159 complaints including 6  injuries and one death, the recall of the same model of batteries was extended to those that were distributed since January 2009.

The recall affects 23,372 Medtronic HVDA Batteries with model number 1650DE that were distributed between January 1st 2009 and now

Continue reading →
  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. ...
  11. 42
Badges
Super Lawyers Best Lawyers Martindale-Hubbell
SEE NEW JERSEY DISCLAIMER PAGE- AWARD METHODOLOGY