New York Injury Lawyers Blog

August 17, 2018

Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions May Harm Patient Health, At Least in Short-Term

After the rapid pace of consolidation in the healthcare industry over the past decade, many patient advocates are beginning to study the effects of these mergers and acquisitions on the quality of patient care. While many of the business executives in charge of these restructurings tout improved patient health as a benefit, it appears the opposite may be true – at least in the short-term – for many patients. The study, which was reported by STAT, found that new patient populations, unfamiliar infrastructure, and new settings for physicians caused the bulk of problems related to possible declines in patient health after a hospital merger.

Since 2014, there have been more than 100 hospital or healthcare mergers each year. Last year alone, there were 115 mergers and this trend is likely to continue. For that reason, it is important to learn about its effects on patient care. After thoroughly reviewing several randomly chosen mergers and acquisitions, STAT found a disturbing pattern of patient neglect. In two examples, a surgeon and an anesthesiologist ended up in the wrong part of the hospital after being summoned for a time-sensitive procedure. In another example, an ER doctor was given only thirty minutes of training before being put to work in an Emergency Room. According to STAT, “[The Doctor] had not been brief on how to obtain backup help in the case of an unexpected emergency.” Therefore, when multiple ambulances arrived with several critical patients, the hospital was overwhelmed and ineffective in treating the majority of patients. In all of these circumstances, the hospital had reorganized itself and not properly trained the medical staff at the hospital.

August 11, 2018

August 2 Marks Deadliest Day for Car Wrecks in America

by Gallivan & Gallivan

According to the National Institute of Highway Safety, August 2 is the most lethal day for driving a car in America – with 505 deaths on the day just between 2012 and 2016. As the most common cause of death in America, car accidents tend to peak in the summer, with three of the five most dangerous days occurring during the warmer weather months. Perhaps surprisingly, Thursday 8/2 is the deadliest day of the week to be driving.

The summer is “prime vacation time,” according to Bloomberg, which reported on the federal government’s study. The first week of August, especially, is the most common time for a family to take a road trip in America. According to the researchers, the increase in travelers on the road is essentially the sole cause of the higher accident rate in August. Anecdotal evidence also shows that “driving habits” tend to be more erratic in the summer months – with no icy, dark roads to fear. Other data indicating that August is the most dangerous month for American drivers? According to Nationwide Mutual Insurance, more motorists report claims in August than in any other month.

August 8, 2018

“Speed Week” Begins in New York

by Gallivan & Gallivan

An “enforcement blitz” against speeding motorists is expected over the coming week as New York performs its an annual “speed week.” The initiative, funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, is entering its ninth year in the Empire State. Now an annual tradition, local police stations take to the streets and ramp up enforcement for driver’s disobeying speeding laws.

According to LoHud.com, Westchester residents should not expect any mercy or “warnings” if they are pulled over for speeding sometime in the next week. In fact, the entire slogan for the week is “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine,” according to the state government’s website. Speaking on the topic of “Speed Week”, New Rochelle Traffic Unit Supervisor Detective Sgt Myron Joseph told LoHud.com, “Speeding drivers put themselves, their passengers, and other drivers at tremendous risk. Our goal is to save lives, and we’re putting all drivers on alert – the posted speed limit is the law.”

August 7, 2018

Speed Cameras in New York School Zones Program Ends

by Gallivan & Gallivan

Amid a steady decline in pedestrian deaths, New York lawmakers will allow a law allowing speed cameras in school zones to expire this week. According to Mayor de Blasio, traffic deaths have decreased 55 percent in school zones equipped with cameras. Despite its effectiveness and relatively low cost, the Republican-led state Senate refused to renew the program while in session, despite its passing the Democratic-controlled state Assembly

Originally part of Mayor de Blasio’s “Vision Zero,” the cameras originally went up across the city in 2014. Since that time, over 140 schools have been equipped with speed cameras across the five boroughs, according to NY1. Hoping the Senate would be recalled from recess to extend the deadline before it reconvenes in January, Mayor de Blasio accused the state legislators of “effectively legalizing deadly driving in New York City school zones,” and failing to “protect New Yorkers.”

August 2, 2018

Artificial Intelligence Attempts to Counter Patient Neglect at Hospitals, Nursing Homes

by Gallivan & Gallivan

Patient neglect causes serious issues in hospitals throughout the country, including pressure ulcers, falls and medication errors. However, a new company is attempting to gather data about patients using artificial intelligence which will, hopefully, led to fewer patients neglected in hospital rooms. The new sensor from start-up Inspiren is currently on trial at a hospital in Queens.

The sensor, which is roughly the size of a thermostat and possesses a glowing ring, will attempt to accurately report when a patient is “checked on” by a nurse or hospital staff member. While common procedure across the country, “hourly” check-ins by nurses are not uniformly followed when the hospital or staff are busy. The sensor, which is named “iN” will sit on a wall and monitor when a staff member enters and leaves a room. If the “iN” glows green, then the patient has been checked on recently. Unsurprisingly, yellow and red serve as warning signs that a patient may need assistance. Unsurprisingly, iN will come with an app notifying nurses whenever a patient has not been checked on in an hour.

July 25, 2018

Falls Are Second Most Common Cause of Death for American Workers

by Gallivan & Gallivan

A new study released by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine showed that falls remain the second leading cause of death for workers across the country. The study showed that falls represented 14 percent of all workplace fatalities in the United States during an 11-year period between 2003 and 2014. Workers with the highest rates of fatal falls were employed in the construction industry, representing 42.2 percent of all fatalities, and installation, maintenance, and repair, representing 12.5 percent of all workplace fatalities caused by falls.

Overall, a total of 8,800 workers died in America as the result of a fall during this 11-year period. The falls were further divided into the “length of the fall” and, unsurprisingly, workers that fell a single story or more were more likely to die as a result – with 84.7 percent of all worker deaths caused by a fall of “more than one level.” For workers that fell, but not a full story or level, only 12.7 percent of workers died. The remaining 2.6 percent passed away from “all other types of falls.”

July 23, 2018

In New York City, Traffic Deaths Continue to Decline

by Gallivan & Gallivan

Following a five-year pattern, New York’s traffic deaths continued to decline during the first six months of the year. From January to June, a total of 81 traffic fatalities occurred throughout the five boroughs. With the exception of motorcycle fatalities, all other traffic fatalities saw a decrease compared to the immediately preceding year. The continued decline is largely attributed to Mayor de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” campaign which aims to reduce vehicular deaths and pedestrian deaths to zero.

Across the city, vehicular deaths have decreased a full 30 percent since 2013. For pedestrian deaths, the decline is even steeper – at a full 45 percent compared to five years ago. According to The New York Times, pedestrian deaths are the lowest since at least 1910, when the city began keeping record of the fatalities.

July 15, 2018

New York Doctors Prescribed More Opioids After Receiving Money from their Manufacturers

by Gallivan & Gallivan

A new report found that New York doctors who received payments from opioid manufacturers were more likely to prescribe opioids to their patients. More disturbingly, the report, released by the New York State Health Foundation, found that as payments from the drug manufacturers to the doctors increased the prescription rate for their addictive painkillers increased almost lock-step. Overall, opioid manufacturers paid more than $3.5 million to New York state doctors between 2013 and 2015, as the opioid problem in the country began to reach epidemic levels.

According to the New York State Health Foundation, a nonprofit foundation established less than a decade ago, roughly one in 10 physicians received payouts from opioid manufacturers. The President and CEO, David Sandman bluntly said, “The more money you get, the more opioids you prescribe.” The data released by the agency confirms his statement. Doctors who received less than $20 from opioid manufacturers – approximately the cost of lunch or dinner – billed Medicare for an average of $34,000 just for opiates, which include hydrocodone, oxycontin, and fentanyl.

If the doctor received between $20 to $50 from the drug companies, the average billing went up to $50,000. For the 3,000 New York physicians who received more than $1,000 from these companies, Medicare was billed an astounding $1.24 million just in opioid prescriptions. The doctors who received payments from opioid manufacturers increased their prescriptions for these dangerous and addictive drugs by almost 37.2 percent in just two years. Doctors who did not receive any payment from the drug companies increased their prescriptions by just 15.6 percent.

July 13, 2018

After Dancing Through Her Surgeries, Georgia Doctor is Finally Suspended

by Gallivan & Gallivan

A Georgia doctor who wanted to be known as the “dancing doctor” will no longer be a doctor in the State of Georgia. In a fantastic story by the New York Times, the dermatologist, whose name is Dr. Windell Davis-Boutte, would stop in the middle of her surgeries and perform a dance routine to popular hip-hop and rap songs. Then, the doctor would post them to her social media account, which was deleted after more than 100 patients came forward and several lawsuits were filed against the now-disgraced doctor.

Davis-Boutte advertised herself on her website as having “MASTERFUL SURGICAL EXPERTISE, having sought additional extensive training by some of the most famous surgeons in the world.” The patients who were harmed during her surgeries provide a different story. One patient, who was included in a video of the former dermatologist dancing to the song “Cut It” received a botched liposuction, breast augmentation, and Brazilian butt lift operation all on the same day. In the video, one of the 20 provided to the New York Times, the former doctor prods the midsection of the patient and then finger rolls her skin to the beat of the song. According to the newspaper, once the hook begins she starts “slicing the air with her scalpel… then making incisions, her scalpel moving rhythmically to the song.” The day after the surgery, the patient had a “collapsed lung and suffered from anemia because of her acute blood loss.”

July 11, 2018

Medication Errors Common in ICU Transfers

by Gallivan & Gallivan

A new report by Christiana Care Health System showed that medication errors occurred in 47 percent of ICU Transfers. The study which followed 985 patients at almost 60 different ICUs across the East Coast who were transferred from the ICU to a non-ICU area in the same hospital or medical unit. According to the study, an average of 1.88 errors occurred per patient transferred out of the ICU, a startlingly high number.

The report, authored by Andrea Tully and detailed in MDMag.com, found that the most common errors related to anti-infectives, hematologic agents, and intravenous fluids, electrolytes or diuretics. The patients with the highest risk of a medication error were patients taking the most medications and patients in need of renal replacement therapy. While 75 percent of these medication errors were deemed “Category C” which meant no actual harm or minimal harm caused to the patient, a full 25 percent caused harm to the patient. According to patient care advocates, these numbers are unacceptable.