Patient dies at Coney Island Hospital from botched blood transfusion
An 84-year-old patient died of a faulty blood transfusion administered at Coney Island Hospital in early June, it has been discovered.
The New York Daily News reports that the patient was given the wrong blood type during a routine blood transfusion. The hospital administration said that the blood type was incorrectly labeled.
The patient’s family may have grounds for a medical malpractice, wrongful death claim against the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which operates Coney Island Hospital. In such claims, the decedent’s attorney must show that it was the negligence of, or an error caused by, Coney Island Hospital, via its doctors, nurses or other employed staff, that caused the patient’s death. If the deceased’s family intends to go this route, they must act quickly.
A 1975 New York state law places a stringent time limit as to when an individual can sue a hospital owned by a municipality. The statue of limitations is twofold. First, the family of a victim of medical malpractice has 90 days from the date of injury to notify the city of their intention to sue. Secondly, the suit must be filed within 15 months of the injury.