|

If you are the victim of New York medical malpractice by a hospital, doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor, it is vital that you obtain your records immediately after the malpractice has occurred. The most important reason is that an attorney cannot commence a medical malpractice case in New York without having an expert in the that field of medicine review the records and make a determination that there was a “departure from good and accepted medical practice.” Secondly, it is a regrettable but frequent occurrence that when records are requested weeks or months after malpractice was committed, they have been “misplaced” or can’t be located when the doctor or hospital suspects that a malpractice claim is being considered.

To obtain your records from the doctor, hospital or other provider, simply download a HIPAA compliant authorization form from the Internet, write in your name, address, social security number, the specific records you are requesting, where you want them sent, sign and date the form, and give it to the doctor or hospital. In some cases, there may be a fee involved, but the doctor or provider is required to honor the HIPAA form.

The other benefit of having your records is to obtain second opinions when you simply want to get another physician’s determination regarding your medical problem or condition. It is a certainty that the second doctor will want to review your records, and you will be able to obtain a second opinion that much sooner if you arrive for your visit with the records from the original doctor.

Continue reading ›

|

According to a study conducted by the United States Department of Justice, Plaintiffs won more than 50% of state court civil trials throughout the U.S. in 2005. Surprisingly for trial lawyers such as this writer, plaintiffs were more likely to get favorable results in bench trials, in which the judge renders the decision, than in jury cases; specifically, plaintiffs won 68% of bench trials and 54% of jury trials. This Department of Justice study is the first of its kind involving general civil bench and jury trials in state courts throughout the United States.

There were approximately 27,000 civil cases analyzed that were resolved by bench or jury trials, in tort matters such as slip and fall accidents, car accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and defective products cases, among others. However, the most common type of negligence case reported involved motor vehicle accidents. The report found that the number of civil trials in the United States has dropped a whopping 52% from 1992 through 2005, and the average award decreased approximately 40% over that same 13 year period.

Awards have increased in two types of cases: products liability (defective products), in which median awards were 5 times higher in 2005 than in 1992, and in medical malpractice cases, in which verdicts more than doubled during that span. As a caveat, it must be repeated that this is a national study, and thus New York verdicts are only a small percentage of the whole. Consistent with this study, I have definitely seen a substantial decrease in cases taken to verdict in Westchester, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange and Putnam counties, and jurors certainly have become more conservative in the last 16 years throughout New York State. However, I continue to believe that if the evidence is there, jurors will give just and proper compensation when the insurance company fails to make a fair settlement offer.

Continue reading ›

|

When you are in a New York motor vehicle accident, your medical bills, hospital bills and lost wage claims are paid by the no-fault insurance company, which is your own insurance company, even if the other car was at fault for your accident. Any occupant of your vehicle that is injured in this New York car crash is also covered under this provision, and makes a claim through your insurance company.

You must be aware that in order to be eligible for No-Fault coverage, an application (known as an NF-2) must be submitted within 30 days of the accident for each person making a claim for No-Fault benefits. Unfortunately, the insurance companies involved often fail to notify the claimants of the 30 day rule, which jeopardizes your medical, hospital and wage benefits through No-Fault. That is why it is vital that if you are in a New York car accident, you should consult an attorney immediately.

If you, a loved one, or friend has been involved in any type of accident, contact The Law Office Of Mark A. Siesel online or at 888-761-7633 for a free consultation with an aggressive, experienced attorney who will provide personal attention and dedication to your case.

|

If you are bitten by a pit bull in a Bronx County dog bite incident, for example, here is a list of what you should and should not do:

Find out immediately from the dog owner if the animal has had its rabies shots so you are aware of the extent of this potential risk;

Try to locate and identify any witnesses to the dog bite, and if possible, obtain the names, addresses and phone numbers of these witnesses;

Continue reading ›

|

When you or a family member are involved in a New York motor vehicle accident, slip and fall accident in the Bronx, from a dog bite, or on a construction site, for example, it is vital to remember the following:

Immediately get treatment at a hospital, doctor’s office, or clinic, as insurance companies consider very closely the time between an injury and treatment. Thus, even if you think you’re o.k., it’s always better to make sure;

Report the accident immediately to the local police, and make sure that the investigating officer is aware of any pain that you are experiencing. This is very important, because insurance companies will always make reference to the fact that the claimant “did not make any complaints at the scene to the officer.” As a corollary to this, when you obtain a copy of the police report, if there are errors or inconsistencies with the diagram or the officer’s description of what you told the officer at the scene, make an effort to have the officer file what is known as an “amended report”, so that the insurance carrier can’t use an erroneous admission against you.

Continue reading ›

|

A report in the New England Journal of Medicine confirms a 2002 study that arthroscopic knee surgery is not effective in reducing the joint pain or stiffness associated with arthritis. Arthritis is caused when cartilage that protects bones at the joints (knee, hips, shoulders, hips) wears down abnormally, causing pain and stiffness due to the bones rubbing together. Arthritis affects approximately 27 million Americans, usually beginning after age 40.

Arthroscopic knee surgery is a technique in which the surgeon is aided by images from a camera in the joint. It is most commonly used in repairing injuries such as ligament and cartilage tears. in 2006, there were 985,000 arthroscopic knee surgeries in the United States, according to figures for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those surgeries, approximately 200,000 to 300,000 were performed to treat arthritis.

The study in question examined 178 adults with moderate to severe arthritis who underwent arthroscopic surgery, during which bone and cartilage are removed with tiny incisions. The main conclusion, as stated by Dr. David McAllister, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at UCLA, is that: “…for this level of arthritis, surgery is not any better than nonsurgical treatment…[including physical therapy].”

|

https://www.injurylawny.com/The American Association of Justice recently released their report named “The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America: How They Raise Premiums, Deny Claims, and Refuse Insurance To Those Who Need It Most.” In the report, Allstate is cited as the worst insurance company in the U.S. The methods by which Allstate obtained its “award” are essentially the tactics that this writer has been seeing more insurance companies adopt each year. That is, they deny claims, delay payment as much as possible, even in the most clear cut cases, and defend cases to trial that ought to be settled out of court. To give a classic example of Allstate and State Farm’s tactics, (State Farm was ranked as 4th worst, but in my opinion, they should be ranked a very close second behind Allstate) in a Brooklyn car accident case about four years ago, my client was in a car that was rear ended by a driver who was later convicted of DWI. He suffered a severely injured shoulder which required surgery, as well as 4 herniated discs. Allstate’s driver had a minimal insurance policy. Rather than settle the case, when their driver was 100% at fault and the injuries he caused were severe, Allstate delayed, fought, and defended an indefensible case, all in an effort to try to get our office to accept a slightly lower offer, which we ultimately refused to do and Allstate had to pay the policy anyway. I would love for someone to explain to me exactly how my client, or Allstate’s insured, were “in good hands with Allstate.”

Allstate began the strategy that resulted in its status as worst insurance company in the mid 1990’s when it hired the “efficiency” consulting firm McKinsey & Company, who specialize in redesigning product delivery systems for Fortune 100 companies to maximize profits. McKinsey created a plan for Allstate’s claims operations known as the “Claims Core Process Redesign” or simply CCPR. According to the author of “From Good Hands To Boxing Gloves”, David Berardinelli, CCPR has generated between $15 to $25 billion in excess profits for Allstate’s stockholders.

The ranking of the 10 worst insurance companies by the AAOJ is as follows: 1) Allstate, 2) Unum, 3) AIG, 4) State Farm, 5) Conseco, 6) WellPoint, 7) Farmers, 8) United Health, 9) Torchmark, and 10) Liberty Mutual.

Continue reading ›

|

New York City Councilman David Weprin has introduced a bill which would ban the sending or reading of text messages while driving within New York City. As the Queens Democrat stated: You’re not looking at the road and you don’t have both hands on the wheel when driving while text messaging… the probability for auto accidents is too high to ignore.” The bill will be modeled after New York State’s ban on the use of cellphones while driving, which imposes a $100.00 fine for this violation of the New York Vehicle & Traffic Law.

The proposal was prompted by the tragic fatal car crash in New York’s Finger Lakes region last summer when 5 teenage girls riding in an SUV died. The accident investigation revealed that the driver was sending a text message when she swerved into oncoming traffic and the vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer.

There are only four states that currently ban texting while driving, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association–Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington. Legislation to do the same is under consideration in 16 other states, according to Mr. Weprin’s staff. Based on a 2006 study by Nationwide Insurance, 19% of drivers text message at the wheel, including a whopping 37% of drivers between the ages of 18 and 27.

Continue reading ›

|

Deaths such as actor Heath Ledger’s drug overdose from a mixture of medications have soared since the 1980’s according to a study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine yesterday. The authors studied 50 million death certificates since 1983, and found that there were more than 224,000 fatal medication errors, including mixing prescription drugs with alcohol and street drugs. Astonishingly, deaths from medication mistakes at home have risen 700 percent from 1983 to 2004, with 1,132 deaths in 1983 and 12,246 in 2004.

This huge increase in fatalities is attributable to several factors, including the widespread home use of prescription medications like Oxycodone, (which 25 years ago was much more likely to be prescribed in hospitals than for home use), people sharing prescriptions, patients ignoring the risk of mixing alcohol with prescriptions, and as in the case of Heath Ledger, the mixing of medications which are contraindicated. The huge increase in deaths is highest among people in their 40’s and 50’s.

Continue reading ›

|

There was a shocking and sobering story on the ABC’s 20-20 program several weeks ago. Tires sold throughout this country in stores such as Sears, Wal-Mart, and Goodyear have expiration dates, and become dangerous after 6 years regardless of whether they have ever been placed on a vehicle and put in use. Despite this fact, and the tire manufacturers and retailers’ knowledge that unused tires are dangerous after several years, they are routinely sold as new to unsuspecting consumers, often with tragic results.

The headline story was that of 19 year old Andy Moore, who was driving his family’s van on a graduation trip to Canada with a friend. Although the tires on the van had been purchased 4 years earlier and appeared to be in good shape, they were in fact 9 years old, and very dangerous. The accident was caused when the tread on one of the tires literally peeled off, Andy lost control of the vehicle, and Andy and his friend were killed in the accident. Apparently, as in numerous cases across the country, the tires on the Miller van had been sitting on the retailer’s shelves for years, looking new, but drying up and becoming increasingly dangerous.

The 20-20 story was very informative in showing consumers how to tell the expiration date on these dangerous tires. At the very end of the series of numbers along the side of the tires, are numbers such as “414” or “4202”, for example. The first number, “414”, means that the tire was manufactured in the 41st week of 1994! The second number, “4202”, signifies that the tire was made in the 42nd week of 2002. One commentator noted that the tires are “like ticking time bombs on people’s cars”, and in England, unlike the United States, dealers are now warned to stop selling any tires that are six years old or older. 20-20 found 12 year old tires being sold as new in a New Jersey Sears, a 7 year old tire sold as new in an Indianapolis Wal-Mart, and 9 year old tires sold in a San Francisco Goodyear store. In one instance, the salesperson acknowledged that the tires were old to the 20-20 narrator, and suggested that the tire should be used as a spare tire only!

Continue reading ›