Medical malpractice comes in all forms and can run the range on levels of seriousness. Any time a doctor or hospital fails to abide by the accepted standard of care, and that failure results in injury or harm to a patient, there may be cause for a claim of malpractice.
Surgeon error certainly ranks up there with the scariest instances of doctor negligence because patients are truly vulnerable as they are under anesthesia. Many surgeries are inherently risky, even without adding doctor error in the mix. But sometimes run of the mill procedures and daily treatments can also set the stage for malpractice. The family of an elderly patient in New York recently learned this the hard way.
The 84-year-old man died after he received a bad blood transfusion. The Coney Island Hospital performed the transfusion and it appears they gave the patient the wrong blood type in what was supposed to be a routine procedure. The hospital claims an incorrect label is to blame.
Out of precaution, the New York State Health Department ordered the hospital to send its blood elsewhere for testing after the incident.
The family of the patient may be able to bring a medical malpractice and wrongful death claim against the corporation that runs the hospital. In order to win such a claim, a New York surgical error attorney or other attorney must demonstrate that an error or negligence caused the patient’s death through one of the hospital’s employees, doctors, nurses or the hospital itself.
The family must act quickly if they are to bring such a claim. New York statute says that the victim has only 90 days from the time of injury to place notice of the intent to sue. And any lawsuit has to be filed 15 months after the date of injury.
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Routine procedures and surgery can create malpractice claims
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Jay W. Dankner
JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduation from law school in 1973, he joined the firm of the legendary, Harry H, Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the intricacies of civil litigation and trials. He tried and won his first case against General Motors in a case involving a design defect within weeks after his admission. Thereafter, he focused his attention on the emerging and developing field of law known as products liability litigation.
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