New York Malpractice & Injury Lawyer Blog

A woman whose grandson died after a diagnostic procedure that allegedly perforated his colon is suing for malpractice.

According to 24th Judicial District Court documents, Emily Mae Dobard has filed a malpractice lawsuit on behalf of Terril Dobard against Ochsner Clinic Foundation, Ochsner Medical Center Westbank, Dr. Rebekah Lemann, Dr. Travis Hill and Dr. Emery Minnard early last month.

The plaintiff, Emily Dobard, claims that she is the closest living relative to her grandson, Terril Dobard who died in the care of the defendants. Terril Dobard went to Ochsner Medical Center Westbank on March 4, 2012, complaining of abdominal pain and digestive issues. He was diagnosed with a bowel obstruction. Three days later on March 7, he was placed on an IV for hydration. Dobard asserts in the lawsuit that her grandson underwent a series of tests that identified a malignant tumor in his bowel. It was during one of the procedures that Terril Dobard’s bowel had been punctured. Terril Dobard died on March 8, 2012 from a pulmonary embolism. Dobard claims that the death of her grandson was caused by the invasive testing which caused the puncture of his bowel.

The potential dangers surrounding a widely used blood thinning drug have again come under scrutiny in patients, doctors and families with loved ones who are on the medication.

Patients, mostly those who are elderly, often are prescribed the drug Coumadin, or its generic version, Warfarin, as a blood thinner that is used to help reduce the incidence of clots or to regulate abnormal heart rhythm. Coumadin must be carefully calibrated to avoid the chance of uncontrolled bleeding if too much is given or if a patient received too little, they can develop blood clots which in some instances, can be fatal.

In an analytic study conducted by ProPublica, it was suggested that there are thousands of injuries of deaths or serious injuries every year that occur when a nursing home or similar care facility fails to maintain the delicate balance when administering Coumadin. From 2011 to 2014, there were at least 165 nursing home residents were hospitalized or died after errors involving Coumadin that were examined by the government. That leaves many others that are either uninvestigated or unreported.

A patient who went to his doctor for a colonoscopy wanted to make certain that he got the instructions his doctor would give after the surgery. So he activated the record function on his smartphone. The device ended up under him and what was recorded during the procedure, he got far more than he bargained for.

While the patient was unconscious the surgical team had made many disparaging remarks, joked about a rash on his body, and at times the team mocked him. One member of the team advised an assistant to lie to him, to avoid him after the procedure, and to put down a false diagnosis on his chart.

The patient rightfully sued the doctors for defamation and for medical malpractice and other related offenses. A Fairfax County jury sided with the patient and ordered the surgical team to pay him $500,000.

A medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed in connection to the death of a man in Benton County Jail who was found unconscious and then later died at an area hospital.

According to court documents, the suit was filed in Benton County Circuit Court on behalf of the administrator of the estate of Jared Parks, Barbara Kelley. Dr. Dennis E. Hughes is the only defendant that has been named in the malpractice lawsuit.

Authorities say that Jared Parks, 23, of Bentonville had been found unconscious and discolored by jail staff just on April 9, 2014 after 5:00 a.m.

When a doctor loses his or her medical license, it’s a very serious matter. A medical professional has to have committed serious acts of negligence or ethics in order for something so drastic to happen. Sometimes a physician can appeal the decision of having their license to practice medicine revoked and can be successfully reinstated.

This is what happened when a doctor was denied a rehearing by the Texas Medical Board after he lost his license for alleged negligence and several incidents of sexual relations with his patients.

According to those familiar with the matter, Dr. Douglas Shelton allegedly failed to meet the standard of care during two surgeries that led to complications. Dr. Shelton was sued for malpractice and his medical license was revoked.

Early detection and treatment can make all the difference in what kind of care a patient receives for their illnesses. If detected soon enough, diseases such as some forms of cancer can be treated and patients can eventually become cancer free and survive at a much greater rate than if it is caught later in the course of the illness.

Not detecting a potentially deadly disease such as cancer in its early stages can drastically change the course of treatment – and limit its success. Patients trust their doctors to correctly diagnose illnesses and to treat them sufficiently. Successful and accurate diagnosis is one of the most important parts of medicine. When doctors and other medical professionals fail to do this, they need to be held accountable for those failings.

In the State of New York, if a patient discovers that their doctor got their diagnosis wrong, they have a very limited time in which to file a malpractice lawsuit against the doctor. The time limit is 2 1/2 years after the date of the diagnosis or injury rather than the time that the patient discovered the incorrect diagnosis or injury.

The family of a Fort Worth mother who died after experiencing three seizures has filed suit against the hospital where she was first taken for treatment.

The family of Kristy Stingley, 32, is seeking monetary damages topping $1,000,000. Their lawsuit alleges that Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, an ER doctor and a neurologist are all to be held accountable in a number of multiple medical malpractice errors that led to the death of Kristy Stingley.

The suit states that Kristy Stingley suffered a seizure on December 14, 2013 while she was at home. Stingley’s husband, Jeff, called 911. She was transported by ambulance to Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital where a CT scan showed blood on Kristy Stingley’s brain. Doctors diagnosed Stingley’s condition as a sinus infection and migraine caused by work-related stress. Stingley was released and sent home with medication.

A complaint has been filled in Cabell Circuit Court by a woman who underwent plastic surgery. She alleges that she was injured during the surgery.

On May 30, 2013, Tabitha Nicole Ross named Dr. Michael R. Spindel, a plastic surgeon, in a lawsuit related to breast augmentation surgery that he performed on her. Ross’ suit alleges that Dr. Spindel negligently, carelessly and recklessly failed to exercise reasonable care in her treatment by failing to inform her of the risks. Further, Spindel failed to properly address the complications and lack of healing of Ross’ wounds and downplayed the negligence in her care.

Ross’ lawsuit alleges that in the follow-up care she received from Spindel after her surgery, the physician was negligent and failed to promptly recognize, diagnose and treat the complications of her surgery, including the lack of surgical wound healing, deformities, nodules and lumps. Because of Spindel’s negligence, Ross’ injuries are permanent and will require future treatment and she will continue to suffer pain and discomfort, physical deformities, scarring and disfigurement.

A malpractice lawsuit that was filed after a botched neck surgery has resulted in $4.2 million in compensation. On July 1, a New Jersey jury ruled that Gregory Leigh, 58,of Wallingford, CT, should be awarded that amount.

Leigh filed the suit in 2011, suing his physician, Dr. Daniel Schwartz, and MidState Medical Group after he underwent a surgical procedure to remove a mass in his neck in 2008.

Leigh’s lawsuit alleges that the damage was caused by the surgery and that the plaintiff suffered permanent nerve. As a result of the pain caused from the surgery, Leigh has not been able to work or use his left arm for physical activity.

The 11^th District Court of Appeals upheld a verdict for $13.9 million in a case against a pediatrician who was blamed for the development of severe disabilities in a child.

According to court documents, Dr. Tara Shipman, the pediatrician, and her medical practice filed the appeal. Lawyers for the child and the family allege that Dr. Shipman failed to perform a cesarean section. This failure was the cause of the child’s disabilities.

The defendants asserted in their appeal that Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Common Pleas Court in Trumbull County erred in his refusal to allow Dr. Shipman to read into evidence the deposition of a pediatric neurologist. The neurologist said that the child’s brain damage began approximately 10 minutes after she was born, resulting in oxygen deprivation which caused the brain damage. The blame for this oxygen deprivation was due to an anesthesiologist having failed to properly resuscitate the infant.