Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Johnson & Johnson recalls hysterectomy machines over cancer risk

Published on: August 27, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson announced recently that it would stop selling and distributing its power morcellators, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that its use in hysterectomies and myomectomies could lead to cancer in women. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 27 of every 10,000 women who underwent a hysterectomy using a morcellator machine could develop cancerous tumors that could spread to other parts of the body.

Moreover, scientists could not determine if a uterine fibroid could be cancerous prior to being removed with such a machine. Because of this, they discouraged the use of power morcellators and advised doctors to fully discuss the risks and benefits of using other treatment options.

As such, Johnson & Johnson has pulled the machines from the marketplace.

Survey: Parents may not be setting the best driving example

Published on: August 24, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

As you made your way to work this past week, there’s a very good chance that you observed some fairly reckless conduct behind the wheel from speeding and tailgating to running red lights and, of course, distracted driving.

The unfortunate reality is that even though New York has outlawed talking or texting while driving, making it a primary offense, motorists here in the Empire State can still be regularly observed with their smartphones held to their ears or their heads looking downward as they are sending a text message.

In fact, it’s not just New York that has a problem with distracted driving, as statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that 3,360 people were killed in distracted driving-related car accidents in the U.S. in 2011 and another 3,328 were killed in 2012.

Fatal truck accidents rise as fatal car accidents fall

Published on: August 22, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Trucks have always been dangerous on the road. And really, any vehicle has the potential to be dangerous — but with trucks, the threat is more unique than other vehicles. They are so big and powerful, not to mention a bit hard to control, that when they are involved in a wreck, the results are usually disastrous.

Here’s the kicker: the number of fatal truck accidents in the United States has been increasing at an alarming rate, and few people seem to be taking notice. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the number of fatal truck accidents increased by 18 percent from 2009 to 2012. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) piles more misery on top of that stat, noting that 3,921 people died and 104,000 people were injured in truck accidents in 2012.

But these shocking stats don’t entirely capture the truly disturbing part about this rise in fatal trucking accidents: other motor vehicle accident factors have been in decline.

If you ever wondered why doctors don’t criticize each other

Published on: August 21, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

New York is one of a few states that has yet to pass a law that will enable doctors to apologize to patients when procedures go wrong without fear of reprisal in the form of a medical malpractice suit. In the past, many doctors would not say anything or register any form of regret out of fear that it would be construed as an admission of guilt.

Even with this new landscape, the question of whether doctors should disclose each other’s mistakes remains a touchy subject. After all, doctors have enjoyed a long-established culture where they do not comment on each other’s mistakes.

This is likely because peer review is not a part of the culture engendered among physicians, especially high level surgeons. Instead, criticism may be taken as a personal and a professional affront. Also, newer doctors are more likely to be reluctant to criticize a senior colleague out of respect (or fear). Moreover, busy doctors may not notice mistakes or believe that they do not have the time (or the responsibility) to air their concerns about their colleagues’ mistakes.

Liability still to be established in Times Square bus crash

Published on: August 9, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

By now, many of you may have heard about the serious bus accident in Times Square that injured at least 15 people. The crash occurred just days ago when a Gray Line bus crashed into a double-decker tour bus then jumped the curb, travelling along the sidewalk before coming to rest at the edge of the plaza.

Although the driver of the Grey Line bus, a 58-year-old man who police say has a history of license suspensions due to administrative infractions, was initially arrested on an impaired driving charge, he was released recently. Police say they are awaiting the results of a full toxicology report before they decide whether to move forward with prosecution.

Although the driver insists that he is innocent, it’s important to point out that there are a number of things that can impair a driver besides alcohol and drugs, both of which were not found in the driver’s system after the crash. Everything from driver fatigue to prescription medication can interfere with a person’s ability to drive, making them a danger on the roadway.

Are electronic medical records really safer? Part II

Published on: July 31, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Earlier in the week we talked specifically about the risk that electronic records could pose to patients, especially when hospitals or medical providers have some kind of hybrid system in place between electronic and paper reocrds. This is such a big concern because of the federal government’s push to get more health care providers to use electronic records, but what if hospitals adopt faulty or shoddy systems?

Ultimately, it will be a hospital’s responsibility to adopt an electronic record-keeping system that allow physicians to successfully and safely treat patients. If a hospital chooses a system that is somehow subpar, it would be negligent if it did not find work-arounds that made up for the system’s deficiencies.

Unfortunately, it seems that some of these systems are clunky or are deficient in some way. Though many doctors say they do not want to go back to paper records, they do want better computer systems.

Are electronic medical records really safer? Part I

Published on: July 30, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

If your doctor is not yet using electronic medical records, it is only a matter of time before he or she does. Though it is not mandatory for hospitals and doctors’ offices to use electronic records, the federal government is strongly encouraging them to do so through both financial incentives and penalties. If medical providers adopt electronic records, they will be paid an incentive over five years. If they haven’t adopted them by 2015, however, they will start to face financial penalties.

While there are certainly benefits to using electronic records, they can and have caused serious medical errors in the past. One major cause of concern is when a hospital or doctor’s office uses a hybrid paper and electronic record system. The possibility of mistake is very real and can have severe, if not fatal consequences.

Imagine going to the doctor and undergoing the normal pregnancy-related tests. After a series of diagnostic tests, your doctor records that your child is showing signs of a condition that will require a specialized delivery technique or specific medications. Yet he or she wrote this note in your paper records, not your electronic record. By the time it is time to deliver, however, if the doctor only has your electronic record, if it has not been properly updated, you or your child could be in trouble.

Tracy Morgan alleges Wal-Mart Stores negligence in trucking crash

Published on: July 25, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

The news has certainly made the rounds that noted actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was involved in a very serious trucking accident last month, but it has only recently been announced that Morgan and two others injured in the crash have filed a lawsuit against the owner of the truck: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Morgan and his fellow plaintiffs allege that the national retail chain was partially responsible for the crash by sending out a driver that it should have known was fatigued. In addition to their request for regular damages, Morgan, his assistant and another comedian are also asking for punitive damages.

While the accident did not happen in New York, this story serves as an important reminder that it is not just the individual truck driver who can be responsible in a trucking accident. If there is any indication that the owner of the vehicle or the trucker’s employer was negligent, they can also be held liable. In cases such as these, adding other responsible parties to the lawsuit may be the only way to truly be compensated for just such an accident. If the trucker’s insurance cannot cover all of the damages, Walmart certainly will be able to.

The lawsuit claims that Walmart should have known that the driver they were sending out was tired, as it had requested a Georgia driver to drive to Delaware before even starting his shift. Before he even started driving the Walmart truck, the driver had to drive more than 11 hours; it is no wonder that he was fatigued.

Dosing with spoons will lead to under- or overmedication

Published on: July 17, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

At some point in our lives, most of us have been given a prescription for a liquid medicine. Liquid medicines, though generally as effective as pill-based medicine, do have one major drawback, it is up to the patient or his or her caretaker to measure out and administer the medicine. Unfortunately, this means that many people are being under- or overmedicated. Sometimes these medication errors can lead to serious injuries or even death.

One way in which patients can be improperly dosed is if a patient or caretaker uses a spoon to measure medicine. And if neither the prescribing physician or the pharmacist explains that it is important to measure out medicine in milliliters, some patients may not realize they aren’t taking the proper amount of medicine.

It would also be relatively easy to eliminate the risk of medication error if doctors and pharmacists would just prescribe a certain number of milliliters instead of in teaspoons. If the directions say to “take 5 milliliters” of medicine, patients would need a measuring container that lists various volumes. If the directions are listed in teaspoons, a patient may wrongly assume a kitchen spoon will be fine.

North Syracuse car crash remains a mystery

Published on: July 15, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Sometimes it is immediately clear who caused a crash, like when a tractor-trailer driver falls asleep at the wheel, crosses into oncoming traffic and smashes headlong into a car. Or, when a driver is busy texting and fails to notice a stop sign, plowing into a left-turning motorcycle. Sometimes, however, fault is a little harder to find, at least at first glance, yet this does not mean that the family members of those killed in fatal car accidents shouldn’t work with a wrongful death lawyer to file a lawsuit.

And that may be what the family of a woman who is believed to have been killed in a North Syracuse car crash will do once it is a bit more clear as to whose fault the accident was.

Although the North Syracuse police are saying that one of the vehicles involved in this two-car crash ran a red light, officers have not yet said if it was the minivan in which the woman was riding or an SUV.