Medical Malpractice On The Rise In New York

New York is one of the top five states when it comes to the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed against medical professionals. Continue reading →

Oct 01, 2016 /prREACH/ -- Whenever someone isn’t feeling well, the hope is that a trip to the doctor will fix the problem. The last thing that a patient wants to think is that their doctor is going to make a mistake. But unfortunately, doctors make life-threatening mistakes that can cost their patients their health, money, and time.

New York is one of the top five states when it comes to the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed. Claims have alleged a wide variety of mistakes including misdiagnosis, the use of the wrong medication, and surgical errors, including numerous allegations that a surgeon removed the incorrect body part.

One of the most shocking cases, however, was filed recently by the widow of a man who is alleging that doctors declared him dead hours before he actually died. Her husband suffered a heart attack while grocery shopping and when she rushed to the hospital, his doctors informed her that he had passed away. She was allowed to visit him to say her goodbyes but she was shocked to find that his eyes moved when she spoke to him. She called the doctor in three separate times only to be told that it was “normal” to believe her husband was still alive and breathing. It wasn’t until the last time when she insisted that the doctor perform an exam on him and her husband actually lifted his head off of the table that they believed her.

He was quickly taken for further examination and treatment but by that time, he had been suffering from a collapsed lung and his medical team was unable to save his life.

The unfortunate thing is that there is a statute of limitations defining how long a victim has to file their claim. Because so many medical mistakes aren’t discovered until years later, this sometimes means that time has run out for the victim. Thankfully, state officials understand the need for a change and recently announced that the time allowed to file would begin once the mistake was found instead of the date the mistake was made.