Personal Injury Lawyers in New York

An 86-year-old Rhode Island man died three weeks after a surgeon operated on the wrong side of his head, and state health authorities are investigating whether the mistake contributed to his death. The state medical examiner is in the process of determining the exact cause of the man's death.

The man underwent emergency surgery at Rhode Island Hospital on July 30, 2007 to treat bleeding in his brain. A nurse practitioner for Dr. Frederick Harrington did not record which side of the man's brain required surgery. When another nurse pointed out the missing information, Harrington allegedly relied on his without consulting a CT chart and began operating on the wrong side. Upon realizing his error during surgery, the surgeon began operating on the correct side.

The hospital has suspended Harrington's surgical privileges, and he has agreed to stop performing surgery until an evaluation is complete. This incident was the third wrong-side surgery error in the hospital's neurosurgery unit in six years. Dr. Harrington also operated on the wrong side of a patient's head during a surgery in another hospital in September 2006.

If you or a loved one has suffered or died due to medical malpractice in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, or anywhere in Manhattan, please contact the Medical Malpractice Law Offices of Silberstein, Awad & Miklos today to schedule your initial consultation.