A New York man has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Massena Memorial Hospital alleging that his 65-year-old father died there as the result of a botched bone marrow biopsy. According to a news report in The Watertown Daily Times, the man’s father checked into the hospital on July 30, 2011 seeking treatment for an arm injury.
Court documents state the victim was diagnosed with an enlarged spleen and a high number of blood platelets as he was being treated for his arm injury. One of the doctors ordered a biopsy to rule out leukemia.
The suit alleges that the doctor broke the victim’s right ilium, which is the largest and uppermost bone of the pelvis and injured his artery while performing the biopsy. The lawsuit states that the doctor was not competent or qualified to perform the procedure. The artery damage was not diagnosed and the patient was sent home. He fainted in the hospital’s parking lot and was readmitted to the emergency room where he was given three blood transfusions. He died later that night.
Medical Errors are a Serious Problem
According to the Institute of Medicine, preventable medical errors kill as many as 98,000 Americans every year, and injure many more. If the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were to include preventable medical errors as a category, it would be the sixth leading cause of death in America, according to the American Association for Justice. HealthGrades, the nation’s leading healthcare rating organization, found that Medicare patients who experienced a patient-safety incident had a one-in-five chance of dying as a result.
Medical Malpractice Claim
When a patient dies as the result of an error made by a medical professional, family members of the victim can file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and the doctors involved. Such claims usually seek compensation for damages including lost future income and benefits, medical expenses, funeral costs and pain and suffering. Often times, a medical malpractice lawsuit will also include other medical professionals such as nurses, anesthesiologists, technicians, etc., whose failure to properly perform their jobs caused injury or harm to the patient.
If you have been injured or if you have lost a loved one as a result of medical negligence, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can provide you with more information about pursuing your legal rights. Our law firm has obtained millions of dollars for victims of medical negligence. Please call us 24 hours per day 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: The Watertown Daily Times