Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

Our Partner, Stephen H. Mackauf is The Co-Chair of The American Conference Institutes’s 8th Annual Advanced Forum on Preventing, Managing and Defending Claims of Obstetric Malpractice. The Forum will be held on June 23 & 24, 2009 at The Union League of Philadelphia-Philadelphia, PA. Stephen will also be participating in a Post-Conference Workshop on June 24th, “The Attorney’s Guide to Handling an Infant Brain Injury Case from Start to Finish.” Stephen will also be speaking on Fetal Monitoring and Surveillance: Making the Right Decisions Based on the Right Information. For more information click here.

Our Partner Stephen H. Mackauf will be participating in a two day Seminar, “Defending the Delivery Team: Obstetric Malpractice” sponsored by Legal iQ. The program will be held in San Francisco on April 28th and 29th, 2009. Stephen will be discussing the Plaintiff’s perspective. For more information click here.

Our partners Jeffrey Bloom and Richard Steigman have co-authored an article entitled “The Impact of Arons: A Look at the Court of Appeals’ Decision to Allow Ex Parte Interviews of Treating Doctors and Where We Go from Here.” The Article is in The Spring 2008 Edition of Bill Of Particulars published by The New York State Trial Lawyers Institute.

Murray v. New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation June 24th, 2008 WARNING

The 2d. Department upheld the dismissal of plaintiff’s action for wrongful death resulting from medical malpractice when the plaintiff’s counsel failed to appear for a final conference. The Court held;

LOSS OF VISION FOLLOWING BLEPHAROPLASTY AS A RESULT OF ORBITAL HEMORRHAGE

Blepharoplasty basically is surgery in which excess tissue is removed from the eyelids. It is the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery of the face. Upper eyelid surgery is usually performed for removal of excess skin, muscle and fat and lower lid surgery for the removal of fat pads, so called baggy eyelids caused by herniation of periorbital fat.

The most serious complication of blepharoplasty is partial or complete loss of vision, most commonly as a result of intra-orbital hemorrhage. A widely accepted theory suggests orbital bleeding increases intraorbital and intraocular pressure, compromises the ocular circulation, and results in ischemic or optic nerve damage. Ischemic optic neuropathy and central artery occulsion are believed to be the most common final events in most cases of blindness after blepharoplasty. (Lowry JC, Bartley GB: Complications of Blepharoplasty. Surv. Ophthalmol 38:327-350, 1994).

FAILURE TO PROPERLY TREAT EXTRAVASATION OF DOXORUBICIN (Adriamycin)

By: Anthony H. Gair;

New York medical malpractice attorney elaborates on the extravasation of intravenously administered chemotherapeutic agents into the subcutaneous tissue of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy is a known risk of treatment. The potential gravity of injury caused by extravasation is dependent upon the type of drug which extravasates. The most destructive extravasation injuries are those caused by anti-tumor drugs which bind to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), such as Doxorubicin, (Adriamycin) which has been a primary part of chemotherapeutic regimes since the late 1960’s. Extravasation of chemotherapeutic agents which bind to nucleic acids can lead to a prolonged course of injury. The most clinical experience has been derived from the extravasation of Doxorubicin. Rudolph, R, Larson, D. Etiology and Treatment of Chemotherapeutic Agent Extravasation Injuries: A Review. J. Clin. Oncol, 1987; 5:1116-1126. Doxorubicin causes severe progressive tissue necrosis that may involve muscles and tendons. Since no specific antidote has been developed, the recommended treatment of Doxorubicin extravasation is early excission of all infiltrated tissue. Dahlstrom, KK, Chenoufi, HL, Daujard, S. Fluorescene microscopic demonstration and demarcation of Doxorubicin extravasation. Experimental and Clinical studies. Cancer, 1990 Apr. 15; 65(8): 1722-1726.

A Study To End the Frivolous Malpractice Lawsuit Myth

This article written by our partner Jeffrey B. Bloom in 2006 is just as relevant today as it was then.

“Last week, within days of the U.S. Senate performing its annual rite of taking up and then denying cloture to a bill to limit the rights of medical malpractice victims and cap damages in medical malpractice cases, a study was released which clearly demonstrates that our current tort system is working quite well in ensuring that the vast majority of cases are valid claims and that frivolous or non-meritorious malpractice cases are rarely brought and hardly ever result in damages being unjustly paid.

By Anthony H. Gair, Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom&Rubinowitz

The popliteal artery is the major source of blood supply to the lower leg. The femoral artery becomes the popliteal artery as it passes through the hiatus of the adductor magnus muscle and enters the popliteal fossa. It generally ends at the inferior border of the popliteus muscle where it divides into the anterior and posterior tibial arteries. It lies directly behind the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus.1 Injuries to the popliteal artery during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction or arthroscopic meniscectomy are extremely rare.2 The popliteal artery is closely related to the posterior capsule of the knee joint, being separated from it only by a small amount of fat. The artery also kinks forward when the knee is flexed, placing it close to the posterior horn of the medial meniscus. It is thus imperative that surgery in the posterior aspects of the knee is performed under direct visualization. If an arterial injury is suspected following surgery of the knee an opinion from a vascular surgeon should be sought urgently.

As a New York medical malpractice attorney we understand the delayed recognition of a popliteal artery lesion is a major cause of amputation of the affected extremity. Further, true spasm of the popliteal artery is rare. It is thus dangerous to diagnose arterial spasms since in reality thrombosis is usually present. It is further, axiomatic that the absence of pulses in an extremity is due to arterial injury until proven otherwise. Additionally, compartment syndrome may accompany vascular injury secondary to prolonged ischemia, venous injury or partial laceration to the artery with bleeding into the compartments.