Sad But True: Hospitals Hide Medical Mistakes

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Jim Reed

Before you get too deep into reading the scary truth about hospital cover-ups of medical mistakes in New York City , I want you to know this isn’t something that just happens in other places. I have been practicing personal injury and malpractice law in Elmira for more than 20 years. Lest anyone think this doesn’t happen in our neck of the woods, I want you to know I have personally handled two medical malpractice actions in which records were intentionally altered in an effort to conceal clear medical mistakes.

Months of investigation led to the recent expose by the New York Daily News, “Hospital Horror Coverups.” The newspaper discovered that staff at New York City hospitals were routinely altering medical records to cover up evidence of medical errors. In just four years, the state had issued 517 citations to city hospitals. Doctors, nurses and support staff were in on the cover-ups, falsifying medical records to hide mistakes.

Just think, state citations are issued when there is enough evidence to cite a hospital or staff. With cover-ups going on, how many cases do you think slipped by?

The Daily News also found that in many cases, patients were not notified of medical errors OR that their cases had inspired state citations.

It is unfortunate, but not every medical professional is considering the best needs of patients at all times. That’s one of the reasons I do what I do – to get to the truth, uncover medical mistakes and make things right.

Thanks for reading,
Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

New Government Resource For Disabled

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Jim Reed

Disability.gov was launched today to coincide with the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Disability.gov is operated by the Department of Labor and incorporates information from 22 federal agencies.

Disability.gov has social media tools to encourage interaction and feedback, and new ways to organize, share and receive information. Visitors can sign up for personalized news and updates, participate in online discussions and suggest resources for the site. Features include a Twitter feed, RSS feeds, a blog, social bookmarking and a user-friendly way to obtain answers to questions on such topics as finding employment and job accommodations. Additional tools will be added during the months ahead.

Given the wide range of government programs about which you can find information on Disability.gov it’s very likely that you can find information useful to you or someone you care about so click on Disability.gov and have a look around.

Thanks for reading,
Eric

___________________________________________
Eric L. Johnson, Esq.
Workers’ Compensation and Disability Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14901
Tel: (607) 733-8866
Fax: (607) 732-6062
Toll Free: 1-800-943-3529
Email: ejohnson@zifflaw.com
Web: http://www.zifflaw.com

New Law Adds Bite to Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuits

Posted on July 21, 2009 by Jim Reed

elderly-hands Nursing home neglect is a devastating crime, for both the elderly victims and the family members who feel terrible guilt because their loved ones were mistreated in a place that should have given them loving care.

Over the years the Ziff Law Firm has handled a number of very sad cases where nursing home residents were either neglected or even actually abused by nursing home staff.

Now there is important news to report. Recent amendments to New York state’s Public Health Law have put some teeth into New York law in these cases.

Punitive = intended as punishment

The law provides for both a straight mathematical calculation of the MINIMUM damages that a jury may award as well as setting forth that a jury may award PUNITIVE damages if the jury finds that the nursing home engaged in conduct that was “willful or in reckless disregard of the lawful rights of the patient.” This is a very important amendment to New York state law and one that assists in protecting the health and safety of nursing home residents.

The Twin Tiers has a significant senior population. According to 2007 Census Bureau data, Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties all have a higher percentage of people over age 65 than the state average. The same holds true for Tioga and Bradford counties in Pennsylvania.

Geriatric health and accommodations are a big business in our area. Just consider the large number of nursing homes in this part of New York state:

In Steuben County: Absolut Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Three Rivers, Founders Pavilion, Hornell Gardens, Ira Davenport Memorial Hospital, Mcauley Manor at Mercycare and the Steuben County Infirmary.

In Chemung County, we have the Arnot-Ogden Medical Center Residential Health Care Facility, Bethany Nursing Home & Health Related Facility, Chemung County Health Center-Nursing Facility, Elcor, and the Skilled Nursing Facility at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Schuyler County: Schuyler Hospital’s Long Term Care Unit.

Yates County: Penn Yan Manor Nursing Home and Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital Extended Care Unit.

Tompkins County: Beechtree Care Center, Groton Community Health Care Center Residential Care Facility, Kendal at Ithaca, Lakeside Nursing Home and Oak Hill Manor Nursing Home.

I found all these nursing homes in a just a few minutes spent on the New York State Department of Health website, http://nursinghomes.nyhealth.gov. The Department of Health offers quality and cost comparisons of nursing homes for every New York state county; the Pennsylvania Department of Health offers a similar service at http://app2.health.state.pa.us/commonpoc/NHLocatorIE.asp.

Given that the Twin Tiers has so many facilities for elder care, the Ziff Law Firm feels that it is important for people to know about this recent change in the law. It’s a powerful new tool in finding a legal remedy if a loved one in a nursing home is subjected to neglect or abuse that results in significant injury or damage.

Medical Liability System Needs a Dose of the Truth

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Jim Reed

Tom Baker has it right. He’s the author of “The Medical Malpractice Myth,” a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a recent contributor to the New York Times Op-Ed page.

I just read his column, “Liability = Responsibility” (July 11, 2009) and I completely agree with his argument that we need a medical liability system that is based on evidence. Not on punishment, not on personal gain, but on the truth.

Reform is desperately needed

Let’s look at some of the problems. Health care costs are astronomical. Health insurance without employer or government subsidies is out of the reach of most Americans. Doctors are paying more in liability insurance, while research shows that medical malpractice settlement amounts are decreasing. (Hmm. I wonder what’s behind the growing discrepancy between what insurance companies are charging doctors and what the companies are paying out to claimants?)

We can’t have it any other way though, because a system that imparts liability pushes doctors and hospitals to keep reducing preventable medical injuries.

‘Liability is a symptom, not the disease’

That’s what Baker says of rising medical care costs, and I agree. I think every person in the country has a stake in preventing medical injuries. I mean we are all at some point patients, and we all pay for a system that provides patient compensation for medical malpractice. The real cost comes from the root of the problem: preventable medical errors.

You can’t put the cart before the horse. Medical errors, not patient compensation, are what ring up extra costs for additional treatment. Research in 2006 by the Harvard School of Public Health even found that the majority of victims of medical malpractice do not even file claims.

Doing away with liability in medical malpractice claims removes a great impetus to improve practices and patient safety. The threat of liability has spurred hospitals to hire risk managers, surgeons to improve safety practices, and studies to be done of patient safety.

Let’s look at the evidence. Let’s have a constant drive to find out what works to keep patients safe, to understand where the real costs come from and what medical treatments are really worthwhile.

As Baker says in his opinion piece, “the real problem is too much malpractice, not too many malpractice lawsuits.”

Research: Medical Malpractice Payouts NOT on the Rise

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Jim Reed

Two new independent studies point out the truth that doctors and health care lobbyists are careful to ignore in their rhetoric about malpractice lawsuits: Settlement values are DECREASING, NOT increasing, in medical malpractice cases.

The New York Public Interest Research Group recently found that “the amount of money paid for malpractice claims in New York has actually fallen in recent years, and that the number of overall claims has remained ‘remarkably stable.’ ” You can read the study, “Contraindication: New York’s Medical Malpractice Insurance Hikes are Contrary to Payment Trends,” here.

Another study, “Medical Malpractice Payments Hit Record Lows,” released by Public Citizen, an independent government watchdog group, reinforces the findings by the NYPIRG. Public Citizen compared information about medical malpractice payments and patient safety estimates. They found that although medical malpractice payments were at or near record lows in 2008, the low payout was not caused by fewer claims.

These two studies bring to light a shocking fact: medical malpractice is occurring at the same rate, but victims are not receiving as much compensation.

In 1990, the federal government established the National Practitioner Data Bank. In 2008, for the third straight year, medical malpractice payments declined – to their lowest level EVER. The 11,037 payments in 2008 were 30.7 percent lower than the average number of payments recorded by the NPDB in all previous years.

According to Public Citizen, “the cost of the medical malpractice liability system – if measured broadly by adding all malpractice insurance premiums – fell to less than 0.6 percent of the $2.1 trillion in total national health care costs in 2006, the most recent year for which the necessary data to make such comparisons are available.”

That’s right. For all the griping you may hear from the medical profession about the high cost of malpractice insurance and payouts, the numbers don’t lie. Less than 1% of health care costs go to dealing with medical malpractice.

As a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, there’s another study I would like to see the results of: How many patients suffer avoidable injuries compared to how many actually bring a lawsuit?

According to Public Citizen, reprinted at Consumer Affairs.com, “Medical malpractice is so common, and litigation over it so rare, that between three and seven Americans die from medical errors for every one who receives a payment for any malpractice claim.”

Schuyler County DA Makes a Strong Appeal to Parents to Curb Underage Drinking

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Jim Reed

“None of us want to see a celebration marred by the death of a student or someone else caused by the consumption of alcohol by a minor.”

That, in a nutshell, is the message of a recent letter (open a PDF copy here, Schuyler County Graduation Letter) sent by Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph G. Fazzary to parents of high school seniors in Schuyler County’s three school districts.

District Attorney Fazzary is a good guy and a friend of mine. I think he is spot-on in providing this warning letter to the public. Local news agencies have reported on the letter: WETM‘s NaveenDhaliwal posted “Schuyler County DA Warning Parents of Underage Drinking” and it was also covered in the Finger Lakes Daily News and Finger Lakes Daily Radio and the Odessa File. Now, with a copy of the letter provided by Fazzary, I’m doing my part in spreading the word.

Strict penalties for lenient parents

One of the most important points Fazzary makes in his letter is that there is a common misconception that parents can legally host a drinking party for their child and his or her friends. This is NOT TRUE.

It is NEVER legal for ANY adult to provide alcohol to someone else’s child – and no parent can grant “permission” for their child to drink alcohol provided by someone else.

The letter outlines the possible punishments for providing a child with alcohol: A fine of up to $1,ooo (plus a $165 court surcharge), up to 3 years of probation and up to 1 year in jail.

Furthermore, a parent/party host’s responsibility doesn’t stop at the end of the driveway. Someone who serves alcohol to underage drinkers can be sued for monetary damages in a personal injury lawsuit, if an accident was a result of intoxication or impairment.

District Attorney Fazzary makes a very compelling argument with these and other examples of the risks incurred by families that permit underage drinking. He also shares some sincere congratulations to the parents and graduating seniors.

His letter is an appeal all parents should heed to reduce the incidence of an all-too-avoidable tragedy. As he writes, “One night of revelry is not worth a lifetime of regret.”

Stay Awake and Drive Safe

Posted on July 8, 2009 by Jim Reed

Late last month, WETM-TV reported on a car crash that injured three people in Chemung County (Driver Falls Asleep: 3 Car Crash, 5/24/09). New York State Police said that the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

It’s seems simple, just reading about it: if you are drowsy, pull over and take a nap before you kill someone (or yourself!). Since I routinely handle NY and PA auto accident cases, I thought I would share what I found out about this type of auto accident.

The National Center on Sleep Disorders and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did a study about drowsy driving and its key issues. They convened an Expert Panel on Driver Fatigue and Sleepiness. I wanted to share some of the study’s findings in a very concise synopsis. You can read the whole Executive Summary of the study here.

Who’s most at risk to fall asleep at the wheel?

Someone who missed an entire night of sleep the night before. This can lead to an acute need to sleep.
Someone who misses just an hour or two of sleep a night, but on the long term. This can lead to a chronic sleepiness.
People who must drive between midnight and 6 a.m. – it’s the body’s natural time to be asleep.
Drivers who put in many miles a year, who drive for a number of hours a day and who put off taking breaks.
People using sedating medications (this can be prescribed anxiolytic hypnotics, tricyclic antidepressants, and some antihistamines, according to the study).
Drivers with untreated or unrecognized sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy.
A driver who’s had a drink. Alcohol can contribute to sleepiness, in addition to detracting from your reaction time and critical thinking.

What does a “sleeping driver” accident look like?

There are a number of factors that commonly turn up in accidents caused by a drowsy driver at the wheel.

It’s a serious crash. The driver didn’t even try to react to minimize the crash.
A lone car left the road.
The driver was alone in the car.
The crash happened late at night, early in the morning, or in the middle of the afternoon.

So what do you do to prevent falling asleep at the wheel?

The NHTSA has a these “countermeasures” to suggest to help you keep alert on the road. This is information on preventative techiques – none is an instant cure to end this problem.

Long-term solutions

Get enough sleep – and to do this, plan on it. Make sleep a part of your schedule like a meeting or being in the office.
Don’t drink even small amounts of alcohol if you’re feeling at all sleepy. Make it a zero-tolerance policy.
Try not to drive between midnight and 6 a.m. That’s when most of these accidents occur.

Quick solutions

The only two techniques that the government found to be effective were:

A 15- to 20-minute nap.

2 cups of coffee (or caffeine equivalent).

There’s no scientific proof that opening the window or blasting the radio has any invigorating result.

Asleep at the Wheel, Deputy Causes Deaths of California Bicyclists

Posted on July 8, 2009 by Jim Reed

Just yesterday, I published a post about drivers falling asleep at the wheel and causing bad car accidents. Just today I read about a tragic wrongful death case where a Deputy Sheriff fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a group of bicyclists…..

Two point three million dollars. That’s the settlement amount recently reached for one victim’s family in the aftermath of a shocking bicycle accident in California.

On March 9, 2008, sheriff’s deputy James “Tommy” Council says he fell asleep at the wheel of his patrol car while driving in the Cupertino foothills of Santa Clara County. His patrol car struck a group of bicyclists out on a practice ride. Two cyclists died, and another was seriously injured. Now, more than a year later, Santa Clara county has agreed to pay the parents of killed bicyclist 29-year-old Matt Peterson a $2.3 million dollar settlement.

“Santa Clara County settles suit in cyclist’s death after crash with sheriff’s deputy” (Tracey Kaplan, 6/30) relates how the county immediately took responsibility for the accident. Not that they had much choice. It would have come out eventually that Council was convicted in 2001 for involvement in a speed contest in Los Angeles county. He’s pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter and been sentenced to community service and house arrest.

I’m a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. I’ve managed to bring in multi-million dollar settlements for personal injury and medical malpractice lawsuits in New York and Pennsylvania. Yet I know that that $2.3 million dollars is not going to compensate that couple for the loss of their son. It’s a real acknowledgement of responsibility, however, from Santa Clara County.

As an avid bicyclist, I love to take to the roads here in the Finger Lakes and in other beautiful places whenever I get the chance. There are safe ways to ride, precautions to take – I take them because wearing a helmet, minding the rules of the road are small efforts in return for the reward of well-being.

The story of this accident is so tragic because it came out of the blue. A sleeping deputy in a patrol car is not something a bicyclist can expect, something you can plan for.

Medical & Travel Expense Reimbursement Revisited

Posted on July 4, 2009 by Jim Reed

Robert William Service said “be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” Truer words were never spoken.

The grain of sand in the shoe of many Workers’ Compensation claimants is medical and travel reimbursement (M&T). I first discussed M&T in my blog “New York Workers’ Comp Attorney Discusses Mileage Reimbursement.” Please see that blog for the basics. This blog offers an inspirational quote (see first sentence) and a few more tips.

Simple mileage reimbursement requests are rarely a problem unless you are seeking years of unpaid mileage. I recommend you submit M&T at least annually. One important point for anyone using a taxi or bus is that you MUST get a receipt. The insurance company will not reimburse you for your actual taxi or bus expenses unless you provide receipts for them.

Similarly, for durable medical equipment and over-the-counter (OTC) medications, receipts are the key. Additionally, regarding durable medical equipment (ex. heating pad) and OTC medications (ex. colace), make sure your doctor is writing in his or her medical narrative that he or she wants you to have it because of your work related injury. Please remember that if your doctor doesn’t write that you need it for your work injury, it’s unlikely the insurance company will voluntarily pay for it and the Workers’ Compensation Law Judge will be without power to order the insurance company to pay.

Thanks for reading,
Eric

___________________________________________
Eric L. Johnson, Esq.
Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel: (607) 733-8866
Fax: (607) 732-6062
Toll Free: 1-800-943-3529
Email: ejohnson@zifflaw.com
Web: http://www.zifflaw.com

Ziff Personal Injury Attorneys Named “Super Lawyers” Again

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Jim Reed

Carl Hayden and I were once again named to the annual list of Super Lawyers by Super Lawyers magazine! This is a distinction I’m very proud to announce.

Super Lawyers recognizes what they describe as “exceptional attorneys” all over the country, in more than 70 types of practice. The magazine’s circulation is more than 13 million.

In the category of Elmira personal injury lawyers, Carl Hayden and James B. Reed are the only names listed.

What makes some lawyers “super”?

Super Lawyers magazine has a unique and thorough process of selecting outstanding attorneys. There are three stages: Finding candidates through peer nominations (monitored so there are no self-nominations or traded nominations), evaluation by research (independent research by Law & Politics), and evaluation by other lawyers. You can read about the process in detail at “Super Lawyers Selection Process.”

I will quote one part, about the criteria they use: “12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement: verdicts and settlements; transactions; representative clients; experience; honors and awards; special licenses and certifications; position within law firm; bar and or other professional activity; pro bono and community service as a lawyer; scholarly lectures and writings; education and employment background; and other outstanding achievements.”

Whew! After reading that it’s not surprising that Super Lawyers represent less than 5 percent of lawyers in the state.

What does it mean for our clients?

Carl and I are the ONLY plaintiffs’ personal injury lawyers in the area to receive this distinction and that fact is not lost on insurance carriers and defense attorneys who must assess the qualifications of the opposing attorney when making a decision about whether they should offer full value to settle your claim.

http://www.zifflaw.com

Credentials Matter: Things to Check Before Choosing an Attorney (zifflaw.com)
Eight Powerful Reasons to Hire a Local Attorney (zifflaw.com)