Articles Posted in Hospital procedure

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An old woman, 95 years of age, is a patient at a certain Staten island hospital. On 9 June 1998, she became comatose, cyanotic and unresponsive after she became disconnected from her ventilator machine. An employee of the hospital heard the old woman’s room alarm sound but the alarm at the nurses’ station failed to sound. Hence, it could not be determined as to how long the old woman remained disconnected from the ventilator. Respirator assistance was then provided to the old woman by the medical staff of the hospital. Thereafter, she was immediately transferred back to the cardiac care unit, which is where she had been prior to the ventilator incident, and there she received intensive therapeutic care and massive blood transfusions. From 10 June 1998 through 11 June 1998, the consulting neurologist indicated in his progress notes that the old woman had a guarded prognosis and was not receptive to outside stimuli. From 12 June 1998 through 17 June 1998, the progress notes indicated that the old woman was improving. The old woman’s neurologist then noted that she was at baseline, neurologically stable. In other words, the old woman’s neurological condition returned to the state that it had been prior to the ventilator disconnection. Thereafter, the hospital took several remedial measures to prevent any future incidents of this type. The hospital’s Code 15 committee reviewed the old woman’s case to decide whether or not it warranted Code 15 treatment, which consists of reporting to the Agency for Health Care Administration or AHCA within fifteen days of the incident, but later voted against such Code 15 treatment, believing that since the old woman recovered to her neurological baseline, no brain damage or brain injury had occurred. Instead of filing the incident as a Code 15, the hospital reported the occurrence as an adverse incident in its Annual Report of Incidents.

Consequently, the AHCA filed an administrative complaint against the hospital and contends that the hospital violated the law by reason of their failure to report a hypoxic event that caused brain damage to a patient as a Code 15 occurrence.

Sometime in December 2000, a formal hearing was held. After that, the administrative Law Judge or ALJ concluded that the old woman did in fact suffer from a brain damage, a transient or temporary brain damage, and the hospital should have reported the incident as a Code 15; and recommended that AHCA had justification to levy a $5,000.00 administrative fine against the hospital.

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The 38-year-olf father of a 9-week-old Grand Island girl was charged with two felony counts of child abuse last Thursday morning after the infant suffered a “severe brain injury.”

The county attorney asked for a “substantial bond” of 10% of $100,000 citing the infant’s injuries. She has retinal hemorrhaging, fluid on her brain and blood on her brain.

The baby’s long-term prognosis is unclear.

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An alleged overdose of post-operative pain medications led a patient to file a law suit against his nurse and her employers. The man suffered and anoxic brain injury after the overdose led him to code. He had been recovering after arthroscopic surgery. The judgment awarded him $126,500.

The man and his wife sued the Registered Nurse, Interim Health Care Staffing of North Louisiana, and Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, Louisiana. The plaintiffs alleged that the nurse did not meet standards of care in her treatment of the post-op patient.

As the man recovered from rotator cuff surgery at Glenwood Medical Center in June of 2001, he received a dosage of IV Demerol. He was then transferred from the operation room to a recovery room and assigned to the above mentioned RN, a contract nurse employed by Interim.

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Back in 1986, the U.S. Congress created the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.  The original jurisdiction of this Program covered children’s claims of injury resulting from vaccines. 

With the necessity of vaccinations and because most children receive several vaccinations for daycare and school, it is of utmost importance that the VICP provide its services and compensations in fairness, due process, and transparency.

A study was recently conducted in both Long Island and New York City to empirically investigate the Program. In the study, claims that the VICP compensated for vaccine-induced encephalopathy and seizuredisorder were examined. According to a report, the VICP has compensated roughly 2,500 claims of vaccine injury since its beginning.  83 cases of “acknowledged vaccine-induced brain damage” that include autism, a severe disorder that affects speech, social communication, and behavior.  21 of these cases brought before the Court of Federal Claims, which administers the VICP, the Court ruled that the petitioners had autism, or described autism.  In the 62 remaining cases, the study found settlement agreements where Health and Human Services (HHS) compensated children with vaccine-induced brain damage, who also have autism or an autism spectrum disorder.

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A woman who claims to have suffered brain damage from a hospital procedure performed shortly after her honeymoon has gotten a settlement after her case was taken to the Irish High Court.

The 46-year-old victim from Loughlinstown, Ireland, was described as “bubbly and vivacious” before her injury. She was employed as receptionist then, but now her injury requires her to have care 24 hours a day.

It was the victim’s husband who brought the suit before the court, on behalf of his wife. The charges alleged the hospital system and the surgeon who performed the operation were negligent and acted in breach of duty at St. Michael’s Hospital, where the victim was treated.

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In 1986, Congress mandated the creation of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) which was to operate under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. The VICP was to oversee all children’s claims of injury that had resulted from vaccines. The program’s implementation was highly important because of the widespread use of and necessity of several series of vaccinations for daycare and school.

A recent investigative study was conducted on the Program. In the study, many claims were examined, primarily vaccine-induced encephalopathy and seizure disorder claims. A Manhattan Brain Injury Attorney says that the study found the VICP has compensated about 2,500 claims since its inception. In 83 cases, compensation was given to “acknowledged vaccine-induced brain damage” including autism, the disorder that severely affects speech, social communication, and even behavior. 21 of these cases saw the Court of Federal Claims ruling that the child petitioners had autism. In the other 62 cases, the study found that the HHS (Health and Human Services) has paid settlement amounts to children with vaccine-induced brain damage such as autism or an autism spectrum disorder.

In order for their children to be compensated by VICP, parents must report the existence of autism via a telephone interview. They must also supply supplemental diagnostic materials, such as official medical diagnoses, school records, and autism screening questionnaires. All of these requirements are to validate the parents’ claims.

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Severe closed head injuries are generally investigated by computed tomography (CT), which can give a visual representation of injuries that require surgery, New York Brain Injury Lawyershave learned. Medical professionals also monitor pressure inside the head and other details of the brain, so they know when to use artificial ventilation and other forms of therapy. A clinical examination plays in important role in the management of head injuries, especially severe head injuries.

The initial clinical evaluation is just as important here as it is in any other case. It is used in triage to assess the immediate need for care and as a baseline to see how far the patient has come in recovery. This initial evaluation also does a great deal to form the prognosis. The first neurological examination is often performed at the accident site or the emergency room, often by someone with no special experience or training in neurology. Thus, it is vital that paramedics, intensivists, and emergency physicians all know how to perform a neurological examination before other measures are enacted. These steps are followed closely by all hospitals in Brooklyn and The Bronx.

It isn’t necessary for everyone who might treat an unconscious patient to know everything about medical neurology, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have discovered. All that’s necessary is to learn a few basic neurological observations and making an accurate record of them. The care of a head injury patient should not be compartmentalized. The evaluation needs to be a continuous process, with the early findings always remaining important, no matter what the later outcome.

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