Rochester, New York Medical Malpractice Law Blog

Technology has created fabulous new advancements over the last 50 years that make it easier for professionals to perform even the most simple of tasks. However, all of the benefits of this technology is of little use the information gleaned from it is not properly communicated. In some instances, a lack of communication can have deadly consequences, such as when the failure to follow up on tests results in undiagnosed cancer in New York.

Communication breakdown can occur between a lab or radiology department, or between a physician/doctor and the patient. Test results are a key aspect to anyone's health care, but for people who may be dealing with cancer, they are especially important.

Most twentysomething and thirtysomething women are not concerned about breast cancer. They think it is an older woman's disease, affecting women in menopause rather than women still in their childbearing years. These women are not alone. All too often, their doctors think they're too young too.

Physicians who discount the risk to young women are also the ones who are likely to dismiss the signs and fail to diagnose breast cancer when it is most treatable. Although only one in 18 breast cancer diagnoses affects a woman under 40, the odds are that the cancer she does have will be a more aggressive form of the disease.

The cost of a delayed diagnosis for a young woman is immeasurable. Undiagnosed cancer in a woman under 40 may mean the difference between life and death.

A devastating series of tour bus crashes in New York over the past month has highlighted the need for stricter enforcement of safety regulations. On August 3^rd a tour bus returning to New Jersey from Niagara Falls overturned on a rain-slicked roadway. 19 people were taken to the hospital.

Governor Cuomo Responds to Tour Bus Accidents

In response to the crashes Governor Cuomo announced the suspension of the operating licenses of 8 charter and tour bus companies for repeatedly failing safety inspections. The companies were singled out because each one of them had failed at least three inspections of buses and/or drivers over the past six months.

Mounting patient complaints, along with a voluntary product recall, has prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ask 20 artificial hip manufacturers to monitor the outcomes of patients receiving "metal on metal" artificial hips.

According to NPR.com, an all-metal hip artificial hip recalled last year by DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, drew attention to the problem, which has necessitated additional surgery in some patients to replace the defective device.