St. Vincent's Closure Leaves Medical Malpractice Victims in a Bad Spot

September 23, 2010

St. Vincent's Closure Leaves Medical Malpractice Victims in a Bad Spot

In April 2010, board members for St. Vincent's Manhattan Hospital voted to shut the facility down, leaving many residents on the Lower West Side without a local emergency room. For those with indelible memories of September 11th, St. Vincent's absence is a scary proposition. Known as the flagship hospital of the Catholic Medical Center System, St. Vincent's was the primary medical facility in lower Manhattan for nearly 160 years. However, saddled with nearly $1 billion in debt, and with its parent company filing for bankruptcy for the second time in five years, maintaining the hospital was no longer viable.

The hospital's closure also leaves a number of victims of medical malpractice in difficult positions. The bankruptcy filing has stalled hundreds of lawsuits. Moreover, the possibility of lost or destroyed medical records is high, and could prove to be a critical blow to proving medical negligence cases against the hospital and staff. Like other personal injury cases, medical records are an integral part of a negligence claim, and can help to show whether the hospital and staff breached the duty of care to the patient. Without such evidence, plaintiffs may be left with fuzzy recollections of treatments, prescriptions and care cycles that neither the patient nor the physician may remember.

Aside from lawsuits, it is critical for patients to have access to their medical records after a hospital closes. It is important to a patient's future care to know how treatments have worked in the past. It is equally important to know about a patient's allergies to certain medicines, their blood types as well as their family medical history. This information commonly helps physicians order treatment consistent with acceptable medical practices.

The closure of St. Vincent's could effectively deny an injured person's chance to bring a meritorious claim. Plaintiffs must pursue justice through medical malpractice lawsuits and monetary compensation is the most effective way to compensate them for a hospital's negligence. Bringing a lawsuit is also a factor in deterring hospitals from making mistakes in patient care.

If you have been injured or sickened while being treated in a hospital, you may be a victim of medical malpractice. An experienced personal injury attorney can assess your case and advise you of your rights and options.

Article provided by Perecman & Fanning PLLC
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