New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog6 people suffered personal injury in a chain reaction crash that occurred on the Long Island Expressway in Melville. The traffic started to slow down after a car caught fire near Exit 49. Two cars then collided causing a chain crash involving a oil tanker. Susan Buttler, a 45 year old East Meadow resident lost control of her minivan and skidded under an oil tanker. She was charged with DUI. Aftre she was treated for minor injuries in a nearby hospital she was taken to the Fourth Precinct where she spent the night before being arraigned at the First District Court in Central Islip. 5 other people were injured and transported to local hospitals to be treated.
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Potential defective body camera recalled by the New York Police Department
A potentially defective lithium-Ion battery in Vievu-brand LE-5 body camera led the NYPD to pull almost 3,000 body cameras from use.
The decision was made after one of the cameras worn by a Staten Island police officer exploded into flames. The officer who was assigned to a midnight shift in the 121st Precinct on the northwestern shore of Staten Island suddenly noticed smoke coming out of his body camera. Thankfully he wasn’t injured in the accident. He just had the time to remove the camera and to drop it on the ground in the precinct before it exploded and caught fire. After the incident, all officers wearing the same model of camera were instructed to immediately remove them and bring them back to their commands. The NYPD had around 15,000 cameras in use and only the Vievu LE-5 is being recalled. The previous version Vievu LE-4 which is also used by some of the police officers is not recalled. Officers who were wearing the LE-5 model will temporally work without body cameras.
CONTROVERSIAL DECISION
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Non fatal injuries in the US cost around $1.8 trillion every year , part 2
In our previous blog we provided an overview of the cost of personal injury in the US based on various criteria mostly related to the patients. In part 2 we are going to look in depth at the cost of each particular type of injuries.
Unintentional injuries are by far the most common. More than 26 million people suffered unintentional injury in the US in 2013 according to the study “Incidence and costs of injuries to children and adults in the United States”. The total cost of these injuries almost reached $1.5 trillion.
Among the unintentional injuries, a third of them were falls. Every year more than 8 million people are visiting the emergency room after falling. More than 3 million are being treated because they were struck and approximately 2.5 million were motor vehicle occupants involved in a traffic accident. Another very common cause of unintentional injury is overexertion.
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Non fatal injuries in the US cost around $1.8 trillion every year , part 1
What does an injury really cost, not only in terms of medical spending but also in terms of work loss and decreased quality of life? A recent study by researchers from Brown University and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation and published in the Journal of Injury Epidemiology provides an economic analysis of the “real cost” of all 31,038,072 hospital-treated injuries in the US in 2013. While most previous studies on injury cost focus mostly on the acute medical cost they don’t address the cost of the burden of injury.
The study found that one American out of 10 visited the hospital for a non-fatal injury during the year under study. Medical spending including hospital and home care, emergency transportation, medicines and physical therapy for all of them came to a total of $168 billion. Future lost work from permanent disability came to a total of $223 billion and quality of life loss came to a total of $1,46 trillion.
The study also provide an in-depth analysis of the cost of injury by age, household income, payer, location, injury mechanism, intent and severity.
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Top 10 Medical Health Technology Hazards in 2019
To prevent medical malpractice, hospitals and other medical facilities have to constantly be aware of the new technological hazards that can be detrimental to patients. Every year the ECRI Institute compiles a list of the most hazardous technological issues that can hurt patients. Here are a summary of the 2019 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards.
- ECRI lists potential hackers attacks to medical networks the number one technological threat for the medical community. Hackers have been using remote access to infiltrate the network of healthcare organizations and to install ransomware or other malware to steal data, degrade or render inoperative devices or hijack computers for other malevolent purposes. Hackers look for organizations with weak cyber security therefore it is essential for healthcare organizations to make sure that they are up to date with all recommended cyber security practices.
- Dirty mattresses that are oozing body fluids from previous patients to new patients has become the biggest health concern of hospitals. Healthcare facility are facing major issues with mattress covers that are not proprely cleaned or that become weak and susceptible to break after being cleaned with inappropriate products and/or procedures. The ECRI Institute recommends that suppliers provide clear guidelines on how to clean covers without compromising their integrity.
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New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz to speak at the “Weekend with the Stars: The Power of Persuasion” seminar
Our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz will be a faculty member of the “Weekend with the Stars: The Power of Persuasion” seminar organized by the American Association for Justice and presented by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. The seminar will take place at the Westin New York in Time Square on December 7th and December 8th 2018. This year the seminar will focus on modern or innovative trial advocacy techniques. Participants will learn:
- To maximize their impact with storyboards
- To build a successful foundation for a winning case
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20 people dead in a NY limo accident that should never have been allowed to happen
After 20 people died in a limousine accident in Schoharies, NY, the first result of the investigation indicate that the limousine wasn’t supposed to be on the road because it had failed inspection and that the driver who blew the stop sign didn’t have the proper license to drive a stretch limo. Additionally he was also recently busted twice on drug charges. The limousine belonged to Prestige Limousine, a shoddy company operating out of a low budget hotel that has a history of failed inspections. Its shady owner, Shaheb Hussain, became a federal informant after he was caught in a scheme to illegally obtain driver’s licenses in the Albany area. Yesterday, officials suspended Prestige Limousine operations and seized 3 vehicles.
Worried limo occupants sent texts of concern to relatives before the accident
The limousine was transporting 17 friends – four sisters, two brothers and several young couples – on their way to a birthday party. They were supposed to be picked up by a party bus to go to a brewery in Cooperstown but they were informed that the bus broke down on its way to pick them up. Instead they were picked up by the shoddy stretch limousine. Some of the people on board texted relatives that they were worried about the vehicle conditions.
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17 People Injured in Massive and Smoky East Village Fire in New York City
17 people were injured in a fire that erupted in a Manhattan building early Wednesday morning. Among the injured were 14 firefighters and 3 residents who were treated for smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion and minor injuries. The fire was so smoky that it was difficult for residents that were being evacuated to see where they were going. The firefighters stayed on location for 6 hours.
Most of a roof extension located on the first floor of the building was on fire and posing a risk of collapse,preventing firefighters to get in that small section of the building. Investigation is still ongoing but according to the media, the fire probably started a little bit before 2 am on the first floor of the five-story building located on 188 First Avenue between 11th and 12th Street. The restaurant Uogashi as well as the 8 apartments of the building were badly damaged by the smoke and the fire. The East Side Community High School at 420 East 12th Street near First Avenue and P.S. 19 at 185 First Avenue near East 12th Street were closed for one day to make sure students didn’t get exposed to smoke.
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Jeffrey Bloom lectured at “Mount Sinai Update 2018: Breast Imaging” seminar
Our partner, NYC Medical Malpractice Lawyer Jeffrey Bloom, was recently invited to be a faculty member at the “Mount Sinai Update 2018: Breast Imaging” seminar that occurred October 1st to 3rd in New York. Jeff spoke on how to reduce Medical Malpractice Exposure. Organized by The International Institute for Continuing Medical Education, the seminar covered all clinical aspects of breast imaging including mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, molecular breast imaging and interventional procedures, as well as medicolegal issues. Jeff was part of a faculty of nineteen nationally and internationally recognized experts.
More info about the seminar can be found here
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The story of Dr. Death illustrates how the medical system is failing to protect patients from medical malpractice
Last year a neurosurgeon was sentenced to life in prison after it was found that he committed medical malpractice and butchered 33 of the 37 patients he operated on, including two who didn’t survive. His name is Christopher Duntsch. After he was arrested in Dallas, his story was covered by all the local media who nicknamed him Dr. Death. A few days ago, ProPublica released the result of an in-depth investigation on his story and describes how the case had to be taken to the criminal system because the medical system wasn’t working and patients couldn’t be protected.
After an unsuccessful beginning of a career as a football player, Duntsch decided to become a neurosurgeon. He was able to get his undergraduate degree and to enroll at the University of Tennessee at Memphis College of Medicine to get an M.D. and a P.H.D. During his surgical residency, with a few partners, he launched DiscGenics, a company that was developing and selling disc stem cells.
Duntsch also developed a terrible cocaine habit and had the reputation of being a party animal. He would often do cocaine and alcohol all night and go straight to his residency to the hospital. His partners at DiscGenics worried about it and forced him out of the business.
