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 Negligence

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Gross Medical Malpractice related to blood transfusion seems to occur again at Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. According to the New York Post, the hospital blood lab was shut down yesterday after a 40 year old man died following a botched transfusion in which he was given blood that had been mislabeled by a lab technician. Today the Daily News reports that an 86 year old lady died after she was given the wrong type of blood on June 9th, just a month ago.

According to statistics the probability for a patient to receive the wrong type of blood is one out of every 14,000 transfusion.

Coney Island Hospital has a history of serious malpractice in handling blood. From 1990 to 1994 the hospital recorded five nonfatal transfusion mistakes. In 1995 , Ira Medjuck , a 30 year old paramedic, agonized for a month before her death after she was given a botched blood transfusion.

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A study from Bronx Children’s Hospital at Montefiore looked at height/weight status of kids at age five and interviewed their mothers about mental health and their children’s eating habits including mealtime practices and feeding styles.

The findings show that mothers with low education, no jobs and showing depressive symptoms let their kids consume more sugar, do not prepare regular breakfast for their children and tend to go more often to restaurants than have family meals. Additionally children with depressive mothers were not taught healthy eating habits, slept fewer hours per night and had less outdoor play time than children with “happy” mothers.

Doctors at Bronx Children’s Hospital at Montefiore believe that providing access to mental health specialists in the pediatric primary care setting among ethnic minority and low-income families can help reduce the national child obesity epidemic.

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3 people were severely injured and a total of 12 were hospitalized including 4 firefighters after what appeared to be a gas explosion occurred in a beauty parlor at the first floor of a five story building and caused the ceiling to collapse.The building has several violations and further investigation will determine if these violations may be related to this accident.

One of the victims suffered second degree burns and another one was found unconscious by the firefighters. Burns, loss of limb, electrical shock, concussion, traumatic brain injury and lacerations are among the most common injuries that victims suffer from a gas explosions.
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In order to prevent construction accidents, New york City has a very strict strict Administrative Building Code but according to a new lawsuit, the Building Department violated the code when it gave the green light to developer Bruce Ratner to build the first phase of the $4.9 billion 15-building residential and commercial project without using licensed plumbers and fire suppression contractors.

Read the complete story in the Daily News

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A 2004 landmark study found that medical interns working a 24-hour shift in ICU committed 36 percent more serious medical errors than when they worked 16 hours. This study started the debate that lead to the creation in 2011 of a new rule that required the maximum allowable shift for medical interns to change from 30 straight hours to 16. This rule created a lot of controversy in the medical world and some recent studies question the real benefit of shorter shifts for interns.

In her new article Sandra G. Boodman from the Washington Post gives a detailed overview of the situation then and now.

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Alarm fatigue happens when medical workers overwhelmed by constant and loud alarm rings turn down the volume on the devices, shut them off or simply ignore them. These actions can lead to serious personal injury or wrongful death.

As hospitals invest in more and more sophisticated equipment to save lives, nurses and other hospital workers especially in Intensive Care Units have to deal with the constant and sometimes very loud ringing of alarms during their shift. A recent study estimated that the average number of alarms that sounded per bed per day in one ICU was 771. This is obviously more than staff and patients can take and hospitals have to make a priority of reviewing their alarm system or they may risk loss of their accreditation.

In a very interesting article, Lena H. Sun from the Washington Post, gives an overview of recent Medical Malpractice cases related to Alarm Fatigue and what measures are being taken by hospitals to address this growing medical concern.

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A 61 year old man was crossing the road when a NYPD van hit him. The accident took place on Broadway at Hooper St. under the elevated J line in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The poor man was declared dead when he arrived to the hospital.
Read the story in the Daily News

 

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Failure to diagnose a heart condition may be medical malpractice that can lead to death. Conventionally used indicators to diagnose heart failure show potential for cardiovascular injury but do not provide adequate risk control for those at higher risk of heart failure or those newly diagnosed with HF. A study published in the July 3 issue of JAMA shows that collaborative care based on peptide level screening reduce the combined rates of left ventricular systolic dysfunction, diastolic dysfunction, and heart failure as well as emergency cardiovascular hospitalizations.

Heart failure happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs.This serious condition is affecting 5.7 million Americans every year. It costs the nation 34.4 billion every year in health care services, medications, and lost productivity. Diseases that damage the heart including coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes-are common causes of heart failure. Smoking; being overweight; eating foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium; and physical inactivity also increase the risk of developing heart failure.

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Failure%20to%20diagnose%20sepsis.jpgDelay to treat or Failure to diagnose Sepsis may lead to the loss of multiple organs and ultimately to death. Every year 500,000 Americans will be hospitalized because they suffer from severe Sepsis and 250,000 will die from it. Sepsis is a condition that is usually triggered by a bacterial infection of the bloodstream. Early diagnosis is key to preventing mortality. Thanks to a new automated diagnostic test developed by a team of researchers led by Nathan Ledeboer from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), USA, sepsis could be diagnosed much faster and many lives could be saved.

The study is published this week in PLOS Medicine.

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Car accidents related to tire aging kill 90 people and injure 3200 every year. 9% of all car crashes are due to tire related issues according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

As summer season is starting, the NHTSA is urging motorists to check their tires as hot weather and under-inflated or worn down tires are a dangerous mix on the road.

In a previous survey about Tire-Related Factors in the Pre-Crash Phase, NTHSA highlighted the following findings: