LONG ISLAND’S MERCY HOSPITAL UNDER SCRUTINY AGAIN AFTER THE DEATHS OF SEVERAL PATIENTS
According to the New York Times, The New York State Department of Health is again investigating Mercy Medical Center. Investigations of Mercy began last year when a woman had a double mastectomy immediately after receiving the news that she had breast cancer. The next day the woman died from complications of her surgery. Unfortunately, according to the State Department of Health, the 30 year-old woman never had cancer. Mercy Hospital’s lab had mixed up the woman’s test results with another woman’s results. Mercy Hospital, through its spokesperson, refused to release the woman’s name. In October of last year the Health Department concluded the investigation in that death by indicating that Mercy had taken proper ‘corrective action’ after the medical malpractice lab mix-up.
Now, the Health Department is investigating Mercy for the deaths of three other patients, and according to the Times this investigation was instigated by one of Mercy’s own doctors. Dr. Anthony Colantonio reported, according to the Times, that a physician’s assistant caused the deaths of three people: a 65 year-old man; a 64 year-old woman; and, a 19 year-old woman when catheters, chest tubes and pacemakers were improperly inserted into those patients.
Claudia Hutton, a spokesperson for the New York Health Department, indicated that the investigation is ongoing and she said it was unclear when the investigation would conclude. The Times further reports that a 1999 review by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences showed that medical errors were responsible for the wrongful deaths of between 44,000 and 98,000 people a year in the United States.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new proposed patient safety regulation that aims to improve health care quality and patient safety. The proposed regulation calls for the creation of Patient Safety Organizations (PSO). PSOs are intended to be private entities that would be recognized by the Secretary to collect and analyze patient safety events reported by health care providers. These entities are new and separate from all currently existing entities that address existing health care quality. Members of the public are invited to comment on the proposed regulation until April 14, and their feedback will be used to shape the final regulation. In addition, AHRQ and OCR are planning to host an audio conference on Feb. 29 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST, to provide additional details and answer questions about the proposed regulation. More information on the audio conference can be found here.
Healthcare providers, including, doctors, chiropractors, dentists, nurses, and hospitals need to be held accountable for the pain and suffering that they create after performing medical malpractice or medical negligence. The New York Medical Malpractice attorneys at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro have the legal knowledge and unending dedication to assist you in your New York medical malpractice claim. In the state of New York, medical malpractice victims have two and a half years to file a medical malpractice claim. Certain medical malpractice situations have different time frames, so consult a New York Medical Malpractice Attorney as soon as possible.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of medical malpractice, contact a New York Medical Malpractice lawyer at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro.
