New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog

Published on: October 31, 2013

Claims related to medical malpractice in outpatient primary care settings are more likely to be settled or result in a verdict in favor of the plaintiff compared with those from other practice settings according to study

A recent study looked at the medical malpractice claims of the 2 largest insurance companies in Massachusetts during five years. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine and led by Doctor Gordon Schiff (Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care) looks at patterns of primary care malpractice types.

During the five years under review there were 7224 medical malpractice claims of which 551 (7.7%) were from primary care practices. Out of these 551 cases, researchers found out that most medical claims were failure to properly diagnose a condition (72.1%). Other malpractice claims were related to medication errors (12.3%), medical treatment errors (7.4%), failures to communicate properly (2.7%), patient rights (2.0%), and patient safety or security(1.5%).

According to the author “many of these claims “appear to be due to failure in more routine yet high volume outpatient office processes”. The study also found some evidence suggesting that “outpatient primary care in general and diagnostic cases in particular were less defensible than other malpractice claims because they were significantly more likely to be settled (35.2% vs 20.5%) or result in a verdict for the plaintiff (1.6% vs 0.9%) compared with non–general medical malpractice claims.

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Published on: October 30, 2013

New York Medical Malpractice: failure to diagnose Diabetes Type 1 leads to the death of a six year old girl

By GGCRBHS&M

The medical malpractice case of 6 year old Claudialee Gomez-Nicanor who died after Dr. Arlene Mercado failed to diagnose her Diabetes Type 1 raises questions about the quality of care for Medicaid patients.

A pediatric endocrinologist treating a Medicaid patient earns $30 a visit while a pediatric endocrinologist treating someone with private insurance gets nearly $100 an hour. So Medicaid providers often have trouble filling their networks with enough doctors who specialize in common issues like diabetes. Patients are sometimes left to the lesser skilled or lesser known-doctors who can’t afford to turn away the business.

You can read the complete story in a very detailed article from the Village Voice.

Published on: October 30, 2013

Two pedestrians died after being struck by an SUV in two separate car accidents in Brooklyn and Queens New York

By GGCRBHS&M

A 50 year old woman died after being struck by a car when she was crossing crossing Pennsylvania Ave. near Glenmore Ave in Brooklyn Wednesday night. 30 minutes later a similar accident happened in Queens. A 40 year old man died after he was struck by a car while crossing Jamaica Ave.

New York Nursing home negligence: elderly man beaten to death by fellow resident

By GGCRBHS&M

leg%20rest.jpg A 70 year old man died after being assaulted by another resident at Ocean Promenade Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Rockaway, Queens, New York last night. The attacker used the leg rest of a wheel chair to beat the victim to death according to the police.A dispute over the curtain between their beds sparked the attack. The two men who were sharing the same room since July never got along according to residents.

Children injured in a school bus accident in Staten Island, New York

By GGCRBHS&M

A bus driver and several children were injured when a school bus overturned after a collision with a pick up truck. The crash happened this morning at the intersection of Oakdale St. and Preston Ave. in Eltingville, Staten Island, New York. The police are still investigating the cause of the accident.
Read more in the New York Daily News

Published on: October 30, 2013

Product Liability: Dangerous ready to eat salad kits that may kill you!

By GGCRBHS&M

salad%20kit.jpg Fear of possible Listeria Contamination prompted several companies to recall their ready to eat salad kits as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are working together to monitor and prevent potential Listeria-related illnesses.

In a previous blog we announced that Milwaukee-based Garden-Fresh Foods Inc had recalled close to 100,000 pounds of food in September and October. Last week the FDA issued a third class I recall for the company that included an additional 103,080 pounds of products. A food safety assessment at the facility following the initial recall, indicated that additional products may have been contaminated due to harborage of Listeria monocytogenes within the facility.

Another Class I recall was issued on October 29 for Taylor Farms Maryland and Taylor Farms Texas. Approximately 22,849 pounds of broccoli salad kit products were recalled due to concerns about possible Listeria contamination in the salad dressing.

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Published on: October 29, 2013

Turning the Table: Cross-Examining IME Doctor Using Video of Exam. New York Law Journal

By GGCRBHS&M

In their Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz of Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, and Evan Torgan of Torgan & Cooper, write: Just as defendants use surreptitious video-recording in an attempt to capture images of unsuspecting plaintiffs engaging in activities which they claim their injuries restrict, in fairness, plaintiffs should be afforded the same opportunity when it comes to challenging the weight of the opinions offered by defendants’ examining doctors at trial.

Published on: October 28, 2013

New York Product Liability Attorney Anthony Gair: Trial of the Plaintiff’s case

By GGCRBHS&M

Our partner Anthony Gair was invited by the New York State Bar Association to speak at their seminar LITIGATING THE PRODUCTS LIABILITY CASE: LAW AND PRACTICE in New York City on October 24th.

This is a video from his presentation. If you would like to see the complete program (with different speakers) a live webcast option will be available on Friday November 1st 2013 for the Albany Program. Click here for more info.

Published on: October 26, 2013

Product Liability – Defective Car: 188,000 SUVs recalled by Nissan to fix brake issue

By GGCRBHS&M

Defective brake control software may increase the risk of an accident for Nissan Pathfinders from model years 2013 and 2014, as well as Infiniti JX35 SUVs from model year 2013, and QX60 SUVs from model year 2014.

In the affected vehicles, on rough or uneven roads, software settings in the antilock braking system may lead to stopping distances that are longer than drivers expect, Nissan said.

Published on: October 25, 2013

New York Personal Injury Attorneys Jeffrey Bloom and Jeffrey Lichtman are the new leaders of LawPAC, NYSTLA’s political action committee

By GGCRBHS&M

Jeffrey%20Bloom.png Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is proud to announce that our partner Jeffrey Bloom together with Jeffrey Lichtman from Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman have been elected Co-Chairs of LawPAC, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association’s Political action committee.

Both Mr. Lichtman and Mr. Bloom have dedicated their time and energy over many years to NYSTLA’s political campaigns, and their election as Co-Chairs is a well-deserved recognition of their efforts.

Jeffrey B. Bloom graduated from Hofstra in 1979. He joined our firm that same year and became one of the top medical malpractice and personal injury attorneys in New York. Jeffrey has been co-chair of NYSTLA’s Medical Malpractice Committee for the past eight years.

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