Personal Injury Attorneys - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and the Bronx

Devadas v. Niksarli, Index #: 107637/07, is an action for medical malpractice and lack of informed consent with respect to LASIK eye surgery. It was alleged that the defendant departed from the accepted standard of care for refractive surgeons inasmuch as the eye surgery was contraindicated in that at the time of the surgery the plaintiff suffered from forme fruste keratoconus, an early stage of keratoconus. Keratoconus is the non-inflammatory thinning and steepening of the cornea. The presence of forme fruste keratoconus weakens the corneal stroma and can lead to iatrogenic ectasia. (the word iatrogenic roughly translated means the doctor did it.) Ectasia, a bulging of the cornea, is also called iatrogenic ker

New York Governor David A. Paterson announced on July 8, 2010, the launch of a new State website on Federal health care reform. Several reforms take effect this summer, including a temporary high risk pool for people with medical conditions that are expensive to treat, an early retiree reinsurance program that will help offset the cost of providing health insurance to retirees age 55 and over who are not eligible for Medicare, and the mailing of rebate checks to Medicare Part D enrollees who reach the "donut hole" coverage gap. The website - www.HealthCareReform.ny.gov - includes descriptions of health care reform, how it will benefit New Yorkers, and the progress of implementation in the State. The website also includes information on how residents can obtain health insurance coverage and the public programs already in place in the State. The website also includes a timeline of when specific provisions of health care reform, not just the ones this summer, go into

New York Governor David A. Paterson announced on July 8, 2010, the launch of a new State website on Federal health care reform. Several reforms take effect this summer, including a temporary high risk pool for people with medical conditions that are expensive to treat, an early retiree reinsurance program that will help offset the cost of providing health insurance to retirees age 55 and over who are not eligible for Medicare, and the mailing of rebate checks to Medicare Part D enrollees who reach the "donut hole" coverage gap. The website - www.HealthCareReform.ny.gov - includes descriptions of health care reform, how it will benefit New Yorkers, and the progress of implementation in the State. The website also includes information on how residents can obtain health insurance coverage and the public programs already in place in the State. The website also includes a timeline of when specific provisions of health care reform, not just the ones this summer, go into

A $2.9 million grant from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to New York State (roughly $500,000 of which will go to the Unified Court System) to conduct a pilot program to reduce expenses associated with medical malpractice lawsuits by encouraging early settlement and by improving patient safety to reduce preventable medical injuries. Five New York City hospitals will participate in the initiative: Beth Israel Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia Presbyterian Center. The hospitals will receive funds that can be applied to patient safety initiatives and will contribute significant in kind funds to implement their functions under the grant. The gr

A $2.9 million grant from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to New York State (roughly $500,000 of which will go to the Unified Court System) to conduct a pilot program to reduce expenses associated with medical malpractice lawsuits by encouraging early settlement and by improving patient safety to reduce preventable medical injuries. Five New York City hospitals will participate in the initiative: Beth Israel Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia Presbyterian Center. The hospitals will receive funds that can be applied to patient safety initiatives and will contribute significant in kind funds to implement their functions under the grant. The gr

A March, 2010, Data Brief of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that nearly a third of cesarean sections in New York state may be performed unnecessarily, and a report released by Public Citizen this past Wednesday found that Long Island has among the state's highest rates of caesarean sections. The rapid rise in cesarean sections is due to the procedures being performed on women who had never had one before, as well as to a sharp decline in the rate of women who undergo a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean (VBAC). The Public Citizen report analyzes the rates of c-section by counties and hospitals in New York, and sets forth suggestions for expecting parents to try to avoid an unnecessary c-section. The NCHS paper describes major risks of undergoing a caesarean section: Cesarean delivery involves major abdominal surgery, and is associated with higher rates of surgical complications and maternal rehospitalization, as well as with compl

A March, 2010, Data Brief of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that nearly a third of cesarean sections in New York state may be performed unnecessarily, and a report released by Public Citizen this past Wednesday found that Long Island has among the state's highest rates of caesarean sections. The rapid rise in cesarean sections is due to the procedures being performed on women who had never had one before, as well as to a sharp decline in the rate of women who undergo a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean (VBAC). The Public Citizen report analyzes the rates of c-section by counties and hospitals in New York, and sets forth suggestions for expecting parents to try to avoid an unnecessary c-section. The NCHS paper describes major risks of undergoing a caesarean section: Cesarean delivery involves major abdominal surgery, and is associated with higher rates of surgical complications and maternal rehospitalization, as well as with compl

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) have been identified as a complication that can be avoided with proper care and procedures. To put pressure on hospitals to reduce if not eliminate HAIs, Medicare has included some infections on its list of never events, that is complicatoins that could reasonably have been prevented. As a never event, Medicare will not pay the extra costs of treatment when acquired in the hospital. Nonetheless, according to the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) issued April 13, 2010 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) very little progress has been made on eliminating HAIs. For example, of the five types of HAIs in adult patients who are tracked in the rep

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) have been identified as a complication that can be avoided with proper care and procedures. To put pressure on hospitals to reduce if not eliminate HAIs, Medicare has included some infections on its list of never events, that is complicatoins that could reasonably have been prevented. As a never event, Medicare will not pay the extra costs of treatment when acquired in the hospital. Nonetheless, according to the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) issued April 13, 2010 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) very little progress has been made on eliminating HAIs. For example, of the five types of HAIs in adult patients who are tracked in the rep

The sports pages continue to be filled with articles about athletes who suffer concussions and other head injuries. A hot topic this week is the National Hockey Leagues consideration of imposing a rule effective this season - as opposed to next season) - to prohibit shots to players heads from behind or blindside (considering that such contact bears no relation to the skills of playing the game on an individual or team wide basis it seems almost incomprehensible that such hits are presently legal so long as there is no finding of intent to injure). Now, in what has been reported to be a first in the recent years since concussions in football players became a matter of public scrutiny, a former professional football player has filed a lawsuit for medical malpractice against a team doctor who he claims mistreated his concussion two years ago, resulting in permanent injury.