New York Medical Malpractice-Personal Injury Attorney Gary Silverstein of Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff,& Wolff Comments on this Stunning Medical Malpractice Case.
New York, NY (PRWEB) December 06, 2012
As alleged in New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, on August 28, 2010, after swimming laps in her pool, the deceased, a then 79 year old retired school teacher and mother of five felt sharp pains in her back and abdomen and was immediately transported by police ambulance to St. Anthony's Hospital in Warwick, New York. There she was met by her daughter, Susan who had already arrived at the emergency room. The patient was triaged at 5:40 p.m., registered at 5:47 p.m. and treatment commenced at 5:47 p.m.
According to New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, examination revealed an extremely low blood pressure and the patient was sent for CT scan at 7:07 p.m. A diagnosis of a large abdominal aortic aneurysm with retroperitoneal hemorrhage secondary to rupture and/or leak was reported by the radiologist at St. Anthony's Hospital at 7:35 p.m. The family was immediately advised that St. Anthony's was not equipped to handle the surgical intervention required, and therefore it was agreed that the patient would be emergently transferred by helicopter to Westchester County Medical Center for surgical intervention.
As alleged in New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, the plan at that time was to airlift the patient to the more equipped Westchester County Medical Center. The transfer was expected to be immediate, and in all, the trip was estimated to take no more than twenty minutes. Because of the imminent transfer the patient was left in the emergency room awaiting the helicopter and the siblings including patients son who himself is a neonatologist were advised to gather at Westchester County Medical Center and not to bother to come to St. Anthony's.
According to New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, there is a note at 7:30 p.m. which says, “patient stable at transfer”. But in fact the patient was not transferred from St. Anthony's Hospital until 9:15 p.m. According to the record, the patient remained in the emergency room awaiting transfer and other than an IV infusion, no other treatment ensued including a transfusion which was warranted due to the obvious fall in blood pressure to 70/54 at 8:00 p.m.
As alleged in New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, the ambulance record reflects that Air Methods received the call at 7:42 p.m., accepted the dispatch at 8:00 p.m. and was in the air at 8:15 p.m. Subsequent to this however, eyewitnesses have reported seeing a helicopter circling and actually trying to land on several residents' lawns. The hospital nurses reported having heard the propellers but being unable to determine the helicopters location.
"There is a high public trust in air ambulance service, it's always a disappointment when we hear of things like this." - New York Medical Malpractice Attorney Gary Silverstein from the RMFW law firm.
According to New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, there is a note at 9:00 p.m. at St. Anthony's Hospital which states, “still waiting for helicopter in conference with Warwick Police Department, helicopter cannot locate landing area.” It is important to note that St. Anthony's Hospital, assuming that the patient was being transferred immediately offered no treatment and failed to stabilize the blood pressure of the patient. The patient was not typed and cross matched until 8:15 p.m., and a transfusion was not ordered until 8:50 p.m.
“Doctors, nurses and others in the medical profession enjoy our respect and admiration. These professionals are required to make a number of important decisions every day. Most of the time, doctors correctly diagnose problems and treat these illnesses and injuries to the best of their ability. Unfortunately in certain cases, the negligence or misconduct of doctors leads to disabling injuries and even death.” - New York Medical Malpractice Attorney Gary Silverstein from the RMFW law firm.
As alleged in New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, the physician's waiting at Westchester County Medical Center were very concerned but did not alter the transfer order to vehicle transfer. They did, however, change the protocol advising that the patient come directly to the operating room because of the emergent situation and the extraordinarily long time she was waiting for her transfer.
“Many people who need emergency medical treatment are able to be appropriately transported by ground ambulance. The most critically ill patients, however, need the critical care and speed that air ambulances can provide. As the public we depend on air ambulance services in life threatening situations.” - New York Medical Malpractice Attorney Gary Silverstein from the RMFW law firm.
According to New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, the helicopter finally arrived at St. Anthony's Hospital at 9:15 p.m. and the patient was transported to Westchester County Medical Center arriving at the operating room as quickly as 10:02 p.m. Lehigh's transport records reflect a significant drop in blood pressure despite an ongoing transfusion, requiring them to withhold pain medication
As alleged in New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, it is interesting that the decedent's siblings, including the Physician who drove from Queens and was stuck in traffic on the Whitestone Bridge and the other two daughters who drove from Massachusetts had already arrived at Westchester County Medical Center while their mother was still waiting for transport at St. Anthony's. It should also be noted that having noted the delay, the siblings requested that their mother be transported by vehicle and this request was denied.
According to New York State Supreme Court documents, file number 51567/11, due to the unstable condition of the patient, the late transfusions and the obvious hypovolemic state of the patient, surgery was not successful and the patient came out of surgery intubated and unresponsive after the attempted repair. Numerous transfusions failed to stabilize the decedent and she ultimately passed approximately five hours post operatively. The family was advised by the surgeon that an earlier surgery with proper stabilization and with earlier transfusions would have likely resulted in survival.
"Unfortunately, the tragic outcome of this situation was avoidable at many steps." - New York Medical Malpractice Attorney Gary Silverstein.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/12/prweb10209527.htm
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