New York Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

In January, 2010, I posted a blog Katrina Wrongful Death: Lack of Emergency Preparedness or "Act of God"?According to today's news reports, a New Orleans judge approved a $25 million settlement over deaths of 45 hospital patients after Hurricane Katrina cut power to the Memorial Medical Center.
Last January, according to the New York Times, more than 100 patients died in New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when the facilities' power systems failed.
Some 200 lawsuits had been brought in Louisiana alleging that the hospitals or nursing homes had inadequate emergency power systems, failed to have a plan for evacuation of patients, or flood water protection.
Perhaps the settlement of this case will spur the other to reach a similar result.
The hospital defendants alleged that Katrina was an "Act of God", for which they are not responsible.
It appears that someone is now taking responsibility for being unprepared.

A wrongful death inquiry was received recently from someone who was told that an autopsy had been done on his relative, who died unexpectedly while in the hospital, and that the death was "not natural".

What did that mean?

From an excellent article, How Autopsies Work, I learned that there are two kinds of autopsies, forensic and clinical. While both determine a cause of death, the forensic type is done as part of a police investigation, [think "CSI"], while the clinical type is done for research or study purposes, for example, follows the course or progression of disease. The forensic autopsy is often necessary for proving a wrongful death case, by determining the manner of death.

Manner of death findings available through a forensic autopsy are that the death was natural, was a homocide, a suicide, an accident, or remains undetermined. These findings are legally defined and admissible in court.

The manner of death is a crucial component of a wrongful death case, as the plaintiff has the burden of proving a wrongful act, neglect or default on the part of a defendant, which caused the death of the decedent.

Had the autopsy mentioned above revealed a "natural" process, such as a disease, the pathologist would have ruled that way. That leaves four possible manners of death while in the hospital: homicide, suicide, accidental or undetermined? We will need to see the official autopsy to learn if the manner of death was determined, and if there may be a viable wrongful death case against a defendant who caused the death.

The New York Times conducted a study of the use of radiation therapy in New York State, and found that radiotherapy accidents were seriously under-reported to government regulators.The Radiation Boom: A lifesaving Tool Turned Deadly,

While the technology has the potential to offer new cures to some, other use of the technology, which has become ever more powerful and complex over the past few years, has harmed patients. Safety rules may be ignored. Staff may not receive proper training. Quality control guidelines may not be followed.

The story details two patients who received far more radiation than was therapeutic. One overdose was caused by a computer error that went unnoticed for three days of radiation treatment. The other patient received the proper dosage of radiation, however, a missing filter allowed a hole to be burned in her chest.

A March, 2007, radiotherapy accident involving Clifton Springs Hospital was mentioned as part of the article. In that case, the patient was "overradiated" by more than 80%, by inexperienced caregivers.

New York State health officials have warned hospitals to be extra careful in the use of linear accelerators.

The providers of radiation therapy have a duty to abide strictly by safety rules, quality control, staff adequacy and training rules in the use of these machines.

According to the New York Times The New Katrina Flood: Hospital Liability, more than 100 patients died in New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when the facilities' power systems failed.

Some 200 lawsuits have been brought in Louisiana alleging that the hospitals or nursing homes had inadequate emergency power systems, failed to have a plan for evacuation of patients, or flood water protection.

A wrongful death claim was made by the family of a 73 year-old woman who was hospitalized and on a respirator when flooding from Katrina cut the power off. Without an emergency power source, hospital personnel had to hand pump air into her lungs, in the dark and in sweltering heat.

In this case, the owner of the hospital was aware that it might be vulnerable to hurricane flooding, but for budget concerns, did not safeguard the power for the facility. In pleadings, they claim that Katrina was an "Act of God", for which they are not responsible.

A jury in Louisiana will decide the issue.

What kinds of wrongful death matters has the blogging attorney handled in the past? Below is a list of the typical kinds of wrongful death matters previously litigated:

CAR CRASH: A college student returning home for the holidays, passenger in a car driven by a classmate who failed to yield to a speeding car, pulled out and was "T-boned" when entering the highway. The decedent survived for eight days in the hospital before expiring. The student's mother successfully sued both drivers for wrongful death, and used the proceeds to honor her daughters memory by sponsoring a nursing scholarship.

CAR CRASH: A young mother, joyriding in her husband's powerful Chevy Camaro, with three little girls (two her own) in the backseat, recklessly ran a stop sign on a county road and was struck by another vehicle. The three girls were killed. The mother went to prison. The father sued for wrongful death, and used the recovery to provide for the couple's other child.

HOSPITAL MISTAKE: A 44 year old man, a long time Eastman Kodak employee, hospitalized after injuring himself in a single vehicle motorcycle crash, was not monitored properly as his oxygen level dropped precipitously. A hospital employee looked at his "pulse ox" score and remarked that the finger monitors were "always failing" or words to that effect. The fact that he was suffering from massive internal bleeding was discovered after it was too late to save him. His wife successfully sued for wrongful death. His distributees included two teen-age children. Proceeds of settlement were used for their college education.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: A sixty year old retired man underwent surgery for cancer of the penis by a urologist. Following his post-operative aftercare, he received no follow up care or treatment (chemotherapy or radiation) for his cancer. When his cancer returned and spread into his lymph nodes, he was terminal. Although his adult children's economic damages were modest because he was retired, they received sums of money due to the pain and suffering he endured, including his knowledge that he was "terminal" long before he passed.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: A 48 year old man twice in the same day went to his internist, complaining of heartburn and saying that he felt "odd". The doctor gave him an EKG, and prescribed nitroglycerine tablets, but sent him home both times. That evening he died from a massive heart attack. The doctor settled, acknowledging that she should have sent the decedent to the hospital, having previously treated his father for heart disease, and knowing the family history. Since the decedent was earning hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, the settlement amount paid to his wife and daughters, aged 19 & 21, was in the millions of dollars.